The process of selling a property in Romania, may be a complex one depending on the legal status of the property and the taxes that need to be paid by the seller before and at the moment of the sale.
In order for a person (legal or natural) to sell property in Romania the land, building or both should meet a series of conditions such as: the real estate should be free of encumbrances (mortgage, limitations or court cases expressly notified to the Land Registry) or if these exist this shall be notified to the Buyer (not an obligation, but it may make the process go more smoothly); the existence of court cases related to that particular estate, the real estate should not have an interdiction to be sold etc. Also, so that the property may be sold with any hinderance its legal status at the Land Registry should be in order.
Regarding the seller the one who wishes to sell property in Romania should have legal ownership over the real-estate, as nobody can sell something which does not pertain to him/her.
The seller shall then put the property on the market. The Seller has two main possibilities for this: either to conclude a contract for services with a real estate agent, or to designate a representative to deal with the selling of the real estate. In a contract with a real estate agent, the Seller usually pays a commission of 1 up to 3 percent of the value of the transaction.
After this Buyers shall contact the Seller if they are interested in buying the property. The Seller may draw up a contract named unilateral promise to sell in which the Seller is obliged to sell the property and the Buyer has a limited period of time to decide if he desires to buy.
After the parties have agreed upon the property and its price then a sale-purchase contract may be drafter. Before the conclusion of the sale – purchase contract, the parties may sign a sale – purchase promise agreement stipulating that the sale – purchase agreement shall be drawn up in a determined period of time.
The sale-purchase contract must be authenticated by a public notary (the taxes for this may be paid by the Buyer or divided among the parties) in order fo it to be valid according to Romanian legislation. A series of documents must be presented to the notary by the seller: documents from the the fiscal authorities (stating that there are no outstanding debts), from the Land Registry ( stating that the seller is the owner) etc.
According to the Romanian Law, the Seller is held responsible for any hidden vices that Buyer may subsequently find by the real estate and also for any eviction against the Buyer.
The Legality Team are specialised in matters relating to the buying and selling of property in Romania and may assist you through the entire procedure.