Do you have questions? We have answers! These are the most frequently asked questions of our clients

Blog
16.09.2019
Do you have questions? We have answers! These are the most frequently asked questions of our clients
16.09.2019

The real estate field is a broad subject in continuous dynamic and change. Clients who cross the threshold of the real estate agency New Concept Living often have pertinent questions, to which they need answers to better understand a particular case. What does land book excerpt, pre-contract, energy certificate or developer installments mean? How high is the VAT when it comes to real estate transactions?

In this article we answer some of the most common questions that our customers, who are looking for a new home or who are in the position of sellers, ask us.

1. What is the land book excerpt of a property?
The role of the land book is to provide information about the legal situation of a building: who the owner is, the existence of pre-contracts, neighbors of the building, mortgages and much more. Thus, we can say that it is the identity document of any building. There is a land book excerpt for information purposes, which shows the situation of the building at a given time or a land book excerpt for authentification purposes that can only be requested by a notary public. The latter is mandatory for the conclusion of any real estate transaction.

2. What is a purchase pre-contract?
The pre-contract (also called promise to purchase) is the contract by which the parties obligate themselves to conclude in the future a final contract for the sale of a property already established, at the price agreed in the pre-contract. This is usually the first step in the process of buying an apartment/house and obligates the parties to sign the final purchasing contract. The pre-contract can be concluded at any notary public in Romania, regardless of the domicile of the parties or the address of the traded real estate.

3. What is the energy certificate?
The energy certificate is a mandatory requirement of the European Union for the sale or purchase of any building, old or new. This document certifies the energy performance of a building. Obtaining such a certificate takes a day or two from submission of the complete file and costs about 1 €/sqm. The costs of this certificate are paid by the seller.

4. What does „developer installments” mean?
Developer installments represent the payment of some apartments/houses in monthly installments to the real estate developer or to the builder. How and when did the implementation of this system start? In the more difficult times of a real estate market, when the lending conditions offered by banks were tightened, a new payment system called „developer installments” was created.

This solution is ideal for those who cannot opt for a bank loan (because they do not fit the conditions, they do not work in the country, etc.) or for those who do not want to borrow from banks for a longer period of time. The substantial down payment and the rather high monthly installments make this solution not necessarily the best. At the moment, in Sibiu there are few developers who accept these installments. (See here which is the only New Concept Living project for which payment in installments is accepted.)

5. What do gray finishes include?
This is one of the most frequently asked questions from buyers, given that most apartments/houses for sale in Sibiu are handed over in the gray phase. The gray finishes most often include the entrance door, uPVC windows, central heating and radiators, cement screed and plastered walls, sockets and switches, water-drainage installations. In particular cases, some developers have also included bathroom sanitary ware or interior doors.

6. How high is the VAT when purchasing an apartment?
First of all, it should be noted that we are discussing Value Added Tax only in the case of juridical persons. For transactions between natural persons, this does NOT apply. When we refer to the price of an apartment sold by a juridical person, the value of VAT is 5%, if the following conditions are met: the maximum usable area should be 120 sqm, the land, including the ground footprint of the house should not be larger than 250 sqm and the total value should not exceed 100,000 Euros, excluding VAT.

Until January 2019, buyers could benefit from a one-time 5% VAT. In the first month of the year, the Romanian Government changed the regulations and the same person can buy as many properties as he/she wants with 5% VAT, if all the conditions listed above are met.

If the traded property does not meet these standards, the VAT will be 19%.
See here our complete offer: www.newconceptliving.com.
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