How to avoid risks when buying an apartment on the secondary market

What risks does the Buyer face when purchasing an apartment? How to reduce them, or would it be better not to encounter them at all?

We have to immediately disappoint some optimists - no one has ever managed to completely avoid risks in an apartment purchase and sale transaction. This is understandable, because in the primary market there is always a chance that a new building may not be completed . And in the secondary market, the other party to the contract can always challenge the transaction; the law gives it this right. This means there is always a risk . But not every challenge leads to the recognition of the transaction as invalid.

The risk of the Buyer of an apartment is the possible loss or limitation of the property rights that he acquired as a result of the purchase and sale transaction. It is this possibility of losing their right that frightens those who buy housing on the real estate market. But this possibility (or probability) is quite amenable to assessment and control.

To reduce the risks that arise when buying an apartment, you need to at least know . As a maximum, be able to evaluate (or measure).

Knowing the risks means our understanding of what exactly may threaten us in a particular case. Risk assessment means our decision - whether it is worth taking a risk (taking it) or not. And this just depends on our knowledge of these very risks and understanding of how to protect ourselves from them.

It is for these purposes that our STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS for Sellers and Buyers of apartments have been developed (an interactive diagram of the instructions will open in a pop-up window).
How do alternative transactions with apartments take place?
What is the procedure there? As for the Seller, he has one concern - how to get money when selling an apartment, and this issue has been resolved for a long time and quite safely in the real estate market (how exactly - see the link). Therefore, all the Seller’s risks when selling an apartment are eliminated only by competent preparation of mutual settlements.

Another thing is the Buyer! The Buyer's risks in a transaction are incomparably higher and more varied, both when purchasing a new building and when purchasing an apartment on the secondary market. So that the ownership right for which the Buyer paid money does not turn out to be limited, canceled, or not formalized at all (as in a new building, for example), he should know the moments in which such a danger exists. These points are described in our INSTRUCTIONS. It also indicates what actions must be taken to eliminate dangerous situations.

Below is a list of typical risks that the Buyer is exposed to when purchasing an apartment on the primary and secondary urban housing markets. This list is not exhaustive, but covers most situations that occur in practice.

Which Sellers are better not to buy an apartment from and why – see this article.

This is a scary word - realtor

You find an interesting apartment option from the owner and arrange a viewing. An intermediary appears at the meeting, introducing himself as a friend/relative/colleague of the owner. He explains that the owner of the property is away and has instructed him to lead the sale. He refuses to show the power of attorney without a preliminary deposit. Some realtors act exactly like this - they pretend to be someone other than who they are, they are obnoxious and playful. Run away from these guys. At best, they will get their hands on your deal for an unauthorized 300-400 thousand rubles. The worst option is not even worth considering.

What is the responsibility of this specialist?

The realtor's responsibilities are as follows:

Material damage supported by facts. The agent must conclude the purchase transaction so that the buyer does not lose money and property.
Refusal to fulfill one's obligations or performing them improperly. Each realtor undertakes to accompany the client until the end of the transaction, taking on all the difficulties.
Violations that are contrary to the laws of the country. This may include additional amounts of money for services provided, as well as insufficiently professional provision of services to the client.

When can an intermediary be trusted?

A conscientious realtor never hides the truth. Upon first request, he shows a power of attorney from the owner to confirm his authority and provides documents from which it follows that the principal actually has the right of ownership of the apartment. A professional realtor will not require you to hand over a deposit - such an agreement is concluded only between the buyer and the owner. The role of the selling agent is limited to assisting in the preparation of the document and being present during the transfer of money.

How can you tell if a realtor is a scammer? A topic for a separate article.

You, as a buyer, can also enter into an agreement with a realtor, transferring to him the responsibilities of finding suitable housing. A good specialist with a developed professional sense is a godsend for those who are poorly versed in the specifics of the market. In addition, the contract provides for liability insurance to the client. If the realtor makes a mistake due to which the transaction is declared invalid, you will receive compensation for damages within the agreed amount.

Responsibilities of a realtor

The main responsibility of a real estate agent is to provide intermediary services. He searches for buyers for existing housing or selects real estate options for those wishing to purchase. A realtor can be private or represent a real estate agency.

Consider a situation: a married couple wants to buy an apartment. They don’t have time to select premises and talk with owners. In order to save their time, they turn to a real estate agency. Together with a real estate agent, the spouses draw up a list of criteria for future housing. The specialist takes care of all the search, preparation and execution of documents.

The responsibilities of a real estate agent include:

search for premises options;
search for buyers;
preparation of favorable conditions for all parties to the transaction;
checking the cleanliness of documents;
conclusion of contracts and agreements.

A real estate agent must first of all know the actual situation on the market and study the existing supply and demand. He organizes viewings of apartments and tells prospective buyers about the characteristics of the property. It also helps resolve various types of disputes that arise between the parties.

On what basis?

You should definitely find out on what basis the current owner’s ownership of the property in question arose. This point is a kind of cornerstone in checking the legal purity of housing. Having an accurate idea of how the apartment came to the owner, you will be able to determine the range of documents that require verification, as well as draw conclusions about the presence/absence of third parties who can lay claim to the living space. Depending on the reason why the apartment was in the possession of the seller, the basis document can be presented:

agreement on the transfer of ownership of housing - for privatized real estate;
purchase and sale agreement - in case of purchasing an apartment on the secondary market;
an agreement with a construction company if the housing was purchased in a new building;
gift agreement;
certificate of right to inheritance;
a voluntary agreement or a court decision on the division of property, if we are talking about joint property of former spouses;
mortgage agreement;
certificate of paid share;
a lifelong maintenance agreement in the case of obtaining an apartment under rent obligations.

If the apartment is inherited

You were unlucky. And this is only partly a joke. Buying such housing is risky, especially if three years have not passed since the date of inheritance. After the statute of limitations expires, the likelihood of possible surprises is noticeably reduced, but not reduced to zero. A forgotten relative can drop out of the blue at any moment, report that he did not know about the opening of the inheritance and declare his rights to the apartment that you have long considered yours. You should not discount another category of heirs - those who are entitled to an obligatory share, even if the property is bequeathed to another person.

How to insure yourself against possible claims?

The best thing you can do is give up the apartment. But if the option is very attractive, try to lay plenty of straw. Thoroughly study the certificate of inheritance and find out whether someone from the family is granted the right to lifelong residence in the apartment. Make sure that among the seller’s relatives there are no heirs in the same line as him. If so, get a written refusal of the inheritance from them. Ask the seller to draw up and notarize a statement that he undertakes to satisfy all demands of potential heirs at his own expense. Finally, insure the deal.

Title insurance provides protection if you lose title to the home you have purchased. If the court finds the transaction illegal (due to the appearance of a previously unknown heir or for other reasons that you were not aware of at the time of purchase), you will be able to get your money back. But only if the judges consider you a bona fide purchaser. This is the name given to real estate buyers who have completed all the necessary actions to verify the legal purity of the apartment.

The legal nature of real estate contracts and the realtor’s liability under them

I have long been tormented by the qualifications of so-called real estate contracts and the responsibility of the realtor under them. And then I came across an article by A. Egorov, head of the apparatus - administrator of the Supreme Arbitration Court of the Russian Federation, “Mediation agreements. Which type is better to choose depending on the range of entrusted actions” published in the magazine “Company Lawyer”, No. 4, April 2013, which put everything in its place. In this regard, I wanted to share my thoughts.

As a rule, real estate agencies enter into two types of agreements with their clients: the provision of services and agency agreements. They can be either to provide assistance in the sale of a client’s existing property, or to assist in the acquisition of a property from a third party. In this article, we will look at the qualifications of a real estate contract and the liability under it, using the example of an agreement the subject of which is to provide assistance in the acquisition of real estate.

Almost all real estate agencies in advertising indicate that their liability is insured for a very large amount, which the potential client associates with the fact that if the title is lost, the insurance company will pay losses in the form of the cost of the amount paid under the real estate sale agreement. Is it so?

First of all, it is necessary to understand the nature of the real estate contract.

An opinion may arise that a real estate contract is a contract for the provision of services for a fee under which the contractor undertakes, on the instructions of the customer, to provide services (perform certain actions or carry out certain activities), and the customer undertakes to pay for these services (Clause 1 of Article 779 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

At first glance, it really seems that the realtor’s actions in selecting a suitable property for the client and supporting the transaction, i.e. legal advice on all the intricacies of registering the transfer of ownership in Rosreestr may well qualify as a service agreement. The responsibility of the contractor for non-fulfillment or improper fulfillment of the contract, in this case, should be determined by the general article 723 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation in the event that the customer is a legal entity or individual entrepreneur, and the special norms of Art. 737 Civil Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 29 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” if the customer is a citizen concluding an agreement exclusively for personal, family, household, household and other needs not related to business activities, as explained in paragraph 11 of the Resolution of the Plenum of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Federation dated June 28, 2012 N 17 “On the consideration by courts of civil cases in disputes regarding the protection of consumer rights.”

Let's imagine a situation: an agreement was concluded between a citizen and a real estate agency for the provision of real estate services for the selection of an apartment, consulting and acquisition of ownership of the apartment. The apartment was selected, the contract was concluded, the transfer of ownership was registered. A year later, a bona fide buyer is approached with a claim to reclaim the apartment from someone else’s illegal possession in accordance with Art. Art. 301 – 302 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The court satisfies the claim. The buyer, knowing that it will not be possible to recover anything from the seller, goes to court with a claim for recovery of losses against the real estate agency and the insurance company that insures the professional liability of this agency.

What decision should the court make in this case, when the purpose of the real estate agreement - the acquisition of ownership of an apartment - has not been achieved? Intuitively, it is clear that a real estate agency cannot be held responsible for the invalidity of a transaction concluded by a citizen buyer with a seller who turned out to be not the owner of the apartment, because at the time of concluding the sale agreement, the real estate agency received an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, in which the seller was listed as the owner, the seller had the keys to the apartment , which also indicated that he was its owner. That is, the real estate agency exercised due diligence when choosing a counterparty for the client and therefore cannot be held responsible for the nullity of the transaction. However, paragraph 3 of Art. 401 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation imposes innocent liability on the person carrying out entrepreneurial activities, and it is hardly possible to change it by agreement with the consumer, because with a high degree of probability this clause will be declared invalid on the basis of Art. 16 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” as infringing on the rights of consumers in comparison with the rules established by laws or other legal acts of the Russian Federation in the field of consumer rights protection. Thus, the court has every reason to recover from the insurance company losses in the amount of the cost of the apartment caused by the actions of the real estate agency and possibly abstract losses in the form of the difference between the price established in the apartment sale agreement and the current price.

However, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation in paragraph. 4 clause 3.1 of the Resolution No. 1-P dated January 23, 2007 in the so-called “success fee” case, explained that the identification of the performance of certain actions or the implementation of certain activities as the subject of a contract for the provision of paid services is due to the fact that even within the framework of one type of service the result for which the contract is concluded is not always achievable in each specific case, including due to objective reasons. Taking into account this interpretation, we can conclude that failure to achieve the main goal of a real estate contract - the emergence of ownership rights of the buyer to a property selected by the agency - does not constitute improper execution of the contract if it was not fulfilled due to objective reasons, and therefore in the recovery of damages to the citizen should be refused.

The conclusion of the Constitutional Court, although correct in essence, is incorrect in terms of the qualification of contracts for the provision of legal assistance, in the case which it considered, as contracts exclusively for the provision of services, which has been repeatedly noted by many lawyers. An agreement for the provision of legal services may qualify as exclusively an agreement for the provision of services if its subject is consultation on legal issues, as well as the preparation of legal documents. In the case (as in the case under consideration) if an agreement was concluded to represent the interests of the principal in court, such an agreement should be considered as a contract of commission or an agency agreement, even if it was named as a contract for the provision of services. These conclusions are also valid for the contract for the provision of real estate services. If the client issued a power of attorney to the realtor to conclude a real estate sale transaction and was entrusted with performing not only legal, but other actions, in particular the selection of real estate, such an agreement should be qualified as (agency article 1005 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) in accordance with which one party ( agent) undertakes, for a fee, to perform legal and other actions on behalf of the other party (principal) on his own behalf, but at the expense of the principal or on behalf and at the expense of the principal.

An agency agreement is included in the circle of so-called intermediary service agreements, which also includes an agency and commission agreement, the essence of which can be expressed as an agreement for the conduct of someone else’s business. Someone else's business is the range of actions that an intermediary can perform, acting in someone else's interest (the owner of the business).

It is important to remember that the mediator is a kind of assistant. The subject matter of his obligations does not imply a guarantee that he will be able to perform certain transactions or legal actions. Therefore, he is responsible only for the fact that he does not take the necessary actions aimed at executing the order, but he is not responsible for the failure of a third party to fulfill a transaction concluded in the interests of the “owner of the business.” An exception is if the intermediary, acting as a commission agent or as an agent in an agency agreement according to the commission model, has accepted guarantee for the execution of the transaction - del credere, and also if he has not exercised due diligence when choosing a third party (Clause 1 of Article 993 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation) . But failure to exercise the necessary caution when choosing a counterparty applies to the moment of concluding a transaction with him and cannot be interpreted broadly (clause 15 of information letter No. 85) (see: A. Egorov. Intermediary agreements. Which type is better to choose depending on the range of entrusted actions. // Company Lawyer, No. 4, April 2013).

However, there are practically no cases of a client issuing a power of attorney to a realtor to perform legal actions in the real estate business due to the distrust of citizens in realtors. Therefore, the most common case of a real estate agreement is an agreement under which not legal, but other actions are performed - actions to find a counterparty and advise on concluding a transaction - actual mediation. In this regard, doubt may arise that this agreement is an agency agreement, since it provides, when literally interpreted, for the aggregate performance of “legal and other actions,” whereas in this case only “other actions” take place.

However, such an agreement is also an agency agreement. As A. Egorov writes, “actual mediation is, in essence, bringing together counterparties. That is, the intermediary himself does not conclude a deal on behalf of the “owner of the business.” He finds a suitable counterparty, negotiates the terms of the transaction with him and brings him together with the “owner of the business”, accompanies the transaction, in particular, with consultations and legal support. If the “owner of the business” enters into an agreement with the counterparty found, then the intermediary acquires the right to remuneration. This is where his mission ends.

It must be said that European law recognizes actual mediation as an independent type of contract. In German law it is called a brokerage agreement. This institution was also known to Russian pre-revolutionary law. But, as you know, it is not in the current Civil Code, and this is a serious omission. The fact is that in practice brokerage relationships are very common: this is how, for example, recruitment agencies and real estate agencies work. Due to the lack of special legal regulation of actual mediation, which is limited to bringing together counterparties, in our country such relationships are sometimes qualified as paid services, although this is fundamentally incorrect.

Returning to the agency agreement, it is the actual mediation that is those “other actions” that can be entrusted to the agent. By the way, there is another common misconception regarding the subject of the agency agreement: the wording of paragraph 1 of Article 1005 of the Civil Code (“legal and other actions”) is sometimes understood to mean that the agent must certainly be entrusted with both legal actions and other actions (there cannot be only legal actions or only actions of actual mediation). In fact, the preposition “and” in the above norm is used in the sense of “or”, that is, it indicates an alternative (the subject of agency can be legal actions or actual mediation)” (see: ibid.).

From this we can conclude that the most common real estate agreement is an agency agreement of actual mediation, even if it was named as a service agreement. The agent is not liable to the principal for the invalidity of the transaction, but may be held liable for the nullity of the transaction if it is proven that he did not exercise due diligence when choosing a counterparty for the principal (decision of the Sverdlovsk Regional Court dated January 15, 2013 in case No. 33-501 /2013 (33-16244/2012)). In reality, this means that when the agent receives an extract from the Unified State Register of Ownership of the property, the so-called verification of the legal purity of the transaction is exhausted and the agent and the agent’s insurer will not bear responsibility for the loss of title by the principal, therefore the assurances of professional liability insurance of the realtor are nothing more than clever advertising technique.

If minors are registered in the apartment

The protection of children's rights is monitored by guardianship and trusteeship authorities - housing transactions involving minors rarely occur without their intervention. If a child has a share in the ownership of an apartment, the seller is required to obtain permission from the guardianship authorities to sell the home. You cannot do without such a document in cases where children are left without parents or are under guardianship. And if a minor has parents and does not have a share in the apartment, then regardless of the fact of his registration, permission from the guardianship authorities is not required. It is not easy to understand these intricacies on your own, so if you are determined to purchase an apartment in which children are registered, you should seek help from an experienced lawyer.

Typical risks of buying an apartment in a new building

The main risks of the primary housing market (when purchasing a new building) come down to the reliability and integrity of the developer. If the Developer has proven his financial and professional solvency, and has earned a decent reputation, then we can say that the Buyer’s risks here are close to zero.

But since there are no ideals in nature, and anything can happen to a development company, the risks of buying an apartment in a new building are still present:

“Unfinished construction” or “unfinished construction” . A significant violation of the deadlines for the construction and commissioning of the house, as well as a “freezing of construction” for an indefinite period. This is usually due to financial and/or administrative problems of the developer company.
Bankruptcy of the Developer/Builder . This is when a construction company officially admits the impossibility of fulfilling its obligations to shareholders/co-investors. Although this is not the “end of the world” - it often happens that the unfinished object, along with the Developer’s debts to shareholders, is taken by another Developer, and the house is completed to completion. In addition, the state has taken care of creating a special compensation fund for developers just for such a case, and from 2021, to protect shareholders from bankruptcy of developers, mandatory settlements through escrow accounts have been introduced (for more details, follow the links).
"Double Sales" . Selling the same apartment during construction several times to different Buyers (this risk is excluded when purchasing a new building under a DDU agreement).
Purchase of a new building from a shareholder by assignment of rights of claim. This includes risks associated with the personality of the Seller himself (as in the secondary market). For example, risks associated with the incapacity of the owner, violation of the rights of spouses, inheritance disputes, debt obligations of the Seller, etc.
“Gray schemes” for selling apartments in new buildings. The use by Developers of agreements to attract funds from co-investors in circumvention of the federal law FZ-214, which significantly limits the rights of the Buyer in terms of claiming the apartment he paid for. This risk is eliminated when purchasing an apartment under an Equity Participation Agreement (DPA).
Assignment of non-existent rights . Failure to fulfill its obligations by a contractor or co-investor of construction who sells an apartment in a building under construction under an Assignment Agreement (it is necessary to check the grounds for assignment - see the link).
Inadequate quality of housing put into operation. Discrepancy between the declared quality of the apartment according to the project and the actual quality of construction. The shareholder here should know how to properly accept an apartment in a new building (see link). And the shareholder has the right to present any detected defects and deficiencies to the Developer and demand their elimination, in accordance with Federal Law-214.

a compensation fund in 2021 escrow accounts in 2021 (see links to them above), the risks of buying an apartment in a new building should have approached zero. But no! Practice shows the opposite - the number of defrauded shareholders continues to grow. Here are the official data (“Kommersant”, 2021 – quote):

In the first quarter of 2021, throughout the country, the list of defrauded co-investors in housing construction increased by more than 5 thousand people, Kommersant calculated based on data from the Unified Register of Problematic Objects (URPO).
...in the first quarter of 2021, the number of defrauded shareholders increased by 25% year on year, in 2021 - by 35%. In total, about 162 thousand shareholders across the country now need to restore their rights.

It turns out that despite these protective mechanisms from the state, the degree of risk of investments in shared construction depends, nevertheless, on the style of work (business reputation) and the administrative and financial capabilities of an individual development company. Therefore, a competent choice of the Developer is the main way to reduce the risks of purchasing a new building .

How to choose a Developer, where and what information about him to collect is described at the corresponding step of our INSTRUCTIONS - “Getting to know the Developer” .

In addition, at the “primary” level there are so-called systemic risks . These are risks that do not depend on the integrity of the Developer, but are a reflection of the current economic situation in the industry or in the economy of the entire country (for example, a crisis similar to 2008, a sharp increase in the Central Bank refinancing rate, etc.). There’s no escape from this – you have to come to terms with the fact that such troubles sometimes happen, but these risks are mitigated by the fact that the state always (albeit slowly) strives to support shareholders in the primary housing market.

What do realtors actually do? Frankly about the hidden - in this note.

What will the other half say?

If the seller is married and the apartment is joint property with the spouse, it cannot be sold without the notarized consent of the latter. Often, real estate belongs to both spouses, even if they are divorced. In such cases, it is also necessary to obtain the consent of the second of the couple. Now imagine how easily a person can “lose” a passport and get a new one - clean, without stamps. Who will confirm that there is no marriage or divorce behind him? Where is the guarantee that after buying a home his ex-wife will not come and demand her share through the court? The ideal option is if the owner is married to the person with whom the home was purchased together, and the spouses are unanimous in their desire to sell it.

How to choose a real estate agency

Real estate specialists provide a wide range of services. How to find yours and not make a mistake in choosing? Please note the following points:

how many years the agency has been working in the real estate market;
number of employees and their specialization;
location of the company's office, presence of a sign with the name and operating hours;
official website of the agency indicating information about employees, services provided and their costs;
customer reviews.

Consider the professionalism and legality of the work performed by agency employees.

Apartment history: dig deeper

To understand how reliable the option you have chosen is, ask the owner to make a request for an extended extract from the Unified State Register. This document will reflect all the events that have occurred with the object over the past 20 years. It is important for you to find out if there are any dark spots in the apartment’s past, such as:

dubious transactions, especially involving state-owned enterprises and legal entities;
frequent resales with changes of owners;
litigation;
the fact of being under arrest or pledged by the bank.

If it turns out that the apartment has encumbrances or was recently at the epicenter of a conflict, you should think twice about whether to deal with it. The regular transfer of real estate from hand to hand is a red flag for the buyer. Such actions clearly reveal a fraudulent sales scheme using fake documents.

Features of buying and selling an apartment through a realtor

Buying an apartment through an agency allows a person to quickly find the desired property. In this case, the realtor will independently check it for legal purity, if he works conscientiously and this service is reflected in the contract.

The buyer's and the seller's cooperation with the agency are different. A good agency will not demand payment from people for a service that has not yet been provided. The bad one will take the money, give a list of numbers and ignore the client.

Property For Sale

One of the scenarios for interaction between a seller and a realtor when selling real estate looks like this:

The owner posts advertisements on online boards, and over the next two hours he receives a stream of calls from realtors. During the conversation, they ask if they can look at the apartment and add it to the database. If the person agrees, they will offer housing to their clients.
The realtor inspects the apartment on the appointed day, coming alone or with a potential buyer.
If the buyer likes the property, an agreement is concluded with the agency, and the deal is carried out by a realtor.

There is a second option, when the seller himself contacts a real estate agency:

The owner is looking for a good agency and enters into an agreement with it.
The realtor immediately enters the apartment for sale into the database and finds a buyer who might be interested in the property.
During the showing, a good realtor tries to present the apartment in the most favorable light. Some even manage to turn disadvantages into advantages.
The buyer decides to make a deal, a real estate contract is drawn up, a contract is signed, and documents are submitted for registration.

Important! To sell an apartment through a realtor, you need to choose an agency responsibly. The property of the client with whom the contract has been concluded is offered to buyers on a priority basis. If the owner does not have the opportunity to show the property in person, you can hand over the keys to the realtor, reflecting this in the contract. Then he himself will go to shows with buyers.

Legal Advice: You need to be careful when handing over your keys. One day I was helping a man with a home inspection. It was sold by an agency, the realtor showed it to us. Then we found the owner, who said that she actually handed over the keys during her cooperation with the agency, but then terminated the contract. They opened the house to us with a duplicate, made without the consent or knowledge of the owner. In addition, the house turned out to be built with capital. The shares were not allocated, they tried to sell it like that. We refused the deal: the owner did not agree to formalize everything according to the law through the allocation of shares and obtaining permission from the guardianship authority.

Minimize risks

What buyer would not want to find the apartment of his dreams - suitable in terms of characteristics and price, with a single (adult and legally capable) owner who has owned the property since its construction. Reality, alas, forces us to come down to earth. Finding a home with an impeccably clean history is a quest for the persistent and lucky. Therefore, there is nothing left to do but keep your eyes open, listen to your inner voice and follow a number of rules:

refuse the apartment if three years have not passed since the last transfer of ownership;
reject proxy sales options;
pass by if the property price is noticeably lower than the market price;
continue the search if you encounter several warning signs at once: a large number of household members, children registered in the apartment, disabled people or relatives who have left in an unknown direction;
comprehensively check the owner of the property and the history of the apartment;
record the fact of the seller’s legal capacity on the day the contract is concluded;
have the transaction certified by a notary;
Take out title insurance for at least 4 years after purchase, and preferably 7 or even 10 years.

And be sure to believe that you will find an apartment that you can buy without hesitation or fear. Spare no time and effort - they will more than pay off in stability and peace of mind.

What to look for when choosing a real estate agency?

Before concluding an agreement, you should study the market for real estate services. First you need to familiarize yourself with all the real estate agencies in the city where you plan to purchase housing. It’s better to choose the biggest ones - if something happens, they’re easier to find. An important factor is the duration of the company's operation. If this is a very young agency, there is a high probability of running into scammers. It would be a good idea to contact your friends and relatives, look for reviews on the Internet and social networks, and compare the range of services and prices. Using these criteria, you can choose a real estate agency that will fully satisfy your needs.

Whether you buy an apartment yourself or hire a realtor depends on your desire and capabilities. But if this is your first purchase, then it is better to contact a specialist. In an agency agreement, you can prescribe the terms of cooperation and, thereby, protect yourself from wasting time and money.