Have you already chosen an apartment and want to buy it? Be sure to check it out before buying!
Our lawyers check the apartment within 48 hours with the issuance of a written legal opinion.
View Sample Legal Opinion Sample
Buying an apartment without risk is the purchase of real estate, which is not associated with any encumbrances (for example, loans, debts), third parties claiming to own the object or live in it. Paying for real estate services of this kind will save you from problems up to the loss of the purchased housing.
The cost of checking is 25,000 rubles, the term is 48 hours Request an inspection
By ordering an apartment inspection from us for legal purity You'll get:
complete peace of mind in the transaction of buying an apartment and no risks
strong arguments in a dispute with the seller about price reduction
full refund if we do not meet the allotted time
To order the service of checking an apartment before buying, you only need its address.
So where are the risks? What do our experts check first?
1. Authenticity of documents for the apartment
Checking the legal purity of real estate at this stage involves a thorough study of not only the title documents themselves, but seals and letterheads. A popular fraud scheme is when scammers, under some pretext, provide not the original papers, but their duplicates. However, there are several good reasons why an owner may use certified copies to record a transaction. Therefore, legal verification of the apartment should be entrusted to specialists with extensive experience in this field.
2. Marital status of the seller
Our realtors make sure to find out if the owner was married. Any property (including real estate) acquired by spouses during marriage is considered joint. If there is no spouse’s consent when making a purchase and sale transaction, there is a risk that the “second half” will sue and the transaction will be declared invalid.
This nuance is often used by scammers. For example, a husband with money from the sale of common housing goes abroad, then a “deceived” wife appears on the scene and demands justice.
Sometimes sellers are simply not aware of this law. There is a case when a woman tried to sell an apartment, half of which actually belonged to her deceased husband.
3. Legal capacity
Legal due diligence of real estate always includes verification of the seller's legal capacity (as well as the authenticity of his passport). The transaction can be challenged by the guardians of the owner (or heirs in the event of his death), if it turns out that he was incapacitated (or partially incapacitated), abused alcohol, took drugs - in a word, at the time of signing the contract he was not able to soberly assess his actions . There was a situation when the court appointed a post-mortem examination, and then the sold apartment was returned to the heiress.
4. Third parties entitled to reside or own housing
This stage of checking real estate for cleanliness in practice often turns out to be more important than research owner's personality. The third party concerned may be a relative.
Last update: 03/01/2018
You need to start, of course, with passports. Not everything is as obvious as it seems at first glance. How to check it and what to look for is described later, in the next step. INSTRUCTIONS- « Checking your passport» .
Concerning authority Seller for the sale of an apartment ( does he have the right to control her), then they are determined by the coincidence of the passport data of the identity we have established, and data on "Subject of law / Rights holder" specified in or in .
In practice, there were cases when an apartment was sold with a real passport, but the owner of the apartment himself was a fake. That is, the scammers took away the passport from the real owner, found a person who looked like him, and sold the apartment according to these documents. This option is possible if the owner of the apartment is a single person and is included in the so-called "".
The protection here is the usual poll of neighbors on the subject of whether you know this person. The same grandmothers sitting near the entrance, or concierges in the entrances, can provide very valuable information ( What do law enforcement officers regularly use?).
More about the situation with the Seller from at-risk groups explained in the corresponding step INSTRUCTIONS Further - " Seller at risk
».
except authority Seller, you must also verify its full capacity . This is also discussed further, in order, at step INSTRUCTIONS- « Legal capacity of the Seller ».
If another person acts for the Seller, powers of attorney, then our actions will be as indicated below in the corresponding step - " Sale of an apartment by proxy ».
Verification of the identity of the Seller of the apartment- a very sensitive issue, and some sensitive people, due to their upbringing, may be embarrassed to find out some details from the Seller. But such “delicacy” can cost us dearly ( in the price of an apartment, for example). And if the Seller turns out to be, then for him such a shy Buyer is just a godsend.
So, not succumbing to the charm of our Apartment Seller, and slightly strangling our innate modesty, we decided to check what kind of character he really is.
Let's start with the passport - click on the next step.
Hello. I'll start with history. I was approached by a family who decided to buy an apartment for themselves. They chose the right one for themselves and decided to find out if the sellers are really the owners. To do this, they turned to one law firm and there they were asked for 1,500 rubles for this information. I jumped out of my chair when I heard that amount. I told them that you can find out the owners of apartments on your own and much cheaper. Therefore, I wrote about these methods, which somehow come down to.
No free ways to find owners
Information about the owners of real estate is stored in the Unified State Register of Real Estate (hereinafter referred to as USRN). Ordinary citizens cannot receive information from the USRN for free - this is written in paragraph 2 of Art. 63 of the Registration Act. Only law enforcement agencies, courts, bailiffs etc.
Do not look for any free services and databases with information about property owners. Most likely, these databases are outdated, because the information in the USRN is constantly updated + you can run into viruses.
The best way number 1 - you will find the owners in the extract from the USRN
All methods are somehow connected with this extract from the USRN. Look at the sample below. In section No. 2 in paragraph No. 1.1 "Copyright holder" it is shown who owns the apartment. The apartment is owned by a certain Bobkov, the rest I painted over. If the apartment is owned by several people, then the size of their shares will be shown with the full name.
(to enlarge the picture, click on it)
The official name is "an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the main characteristics and registered rights to the property." In our case, the property is an apartment.
Service for ordering an extract from the USRN, which I use
An extract from the USRN is issued electronically and paper form. An electronic statement is perfect for finding out the owners: you don’t need to go anywhere, after payment it will be sent to email; can be opened on a computer and on a smartphone; can be printed. Any person (not even a citizen of the Russian Federation) can order an extract for any real estate in the Russian Federation.
I used to order an electronic statement on the official website of Rosreestr, but now I use its partner service Ktam.pro (order instructions). The cost of statements on both sites is the same - 250 rubles. But: 1) with Ktotam.pro they are sent much faster - on average after 1 hour. On the other hand, Rosreestr had to wait an average of 47 hours; 2) With Ktam.pro, statements are immediately sent in a readable form - you can open them on a computer and smartphone, no additional programs not required. From Rosreestr, you will receive an extract in an unreadable .xml format and you will have to remake it into a readable form. 3) In Ktotam.pro, it is easier to fill in the fields for the order, which are much smaller. Also, when ordering, your passport data is not required. And on the website of Rosreestr it is difficult to understand what to fill out and in what form, plus you need to fill in all the passport data.
Statements from Ktotam.pro also have an electronic digital signature of the Rosreestr registrar (EDS), i.e. they also have official and reliable information from the USRN.
Instructions for ordering an extract in Ktam.pro
Ordering instructions with pictures. For clarity, I ordered an extract from the USRN for an apartment at Moscow, st. Vostochnaya, 13. I won't show you the apartment number.
- Go to Whotam.pro. Support: [email protected], [email protected] You can also ask me questions in the comments, but please note that I am not the owner of the service, I only use it in my work.
- Enter the address of the apartment and click on the "Find" button.
Here's what happened to me.
(click on pictures to enlarge)
In the "Street" field, enter only the name of the street, lane, boulevard, etc. Address examples: example #1, example #2, example #3, example #4.
If there is a building in the apartment address, then don't worry about the absence of the corresponding field. Just enter the address without the body, click on the "Find" button. In the next window, select the address that contains the desired enclosure.
If you need the city of Moscow or St. Petersburg, then type in the "Region" field. To search for other settlements, first enter the name of the region, then the settlement.
- In the window that opens, check the address and click on "Select object".
If the message “Rosreestr cannot provide information about the requested property is displayed. Check the correctness of the entered data and try again "- this means that the wrong address is entered or the Rosreestr servers are "slowing down" (this happens). I advise you to double-check the address, and if it is correct, then wait a bit and try again.
If the message “There is no information in the electronic database of the USRN Rosreestr. Perhaps the last transaction for this object was earlier than 2000, or the object has the status “previously recorded”. Unfortunately, we will not be able to provide an extract for this object ”- this means that Rosreestr in the region (subject of the Russian Federation) where the property is located began to register transactions since 2000 (in some regions since 1998). Until 2000, transactions were registered at the BTI, so the BTI has information about the copyright holders. The difficulty is that only the owners themselves or someone with a notarized power of attorney from them can request this information.
- Select "Extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate for a property - 250 rubles." and click on "Further".
- In field enter your email address(e-mail) to which you will receive an extract, and click on "Next".
- Choose a payment method, click on the "Pay" button and pay for the order.
If you select "Other ways", then you will be given a choice of payment via Qiwi, terminal, from the balance mobile phone, electronic wallet, etc.
I always pay by credit card or mobile phone balance. It's the most convenient for me. For payment from bank card select the appropriate checkbox, click on the "Pay" button, enter the card details in the window that opens and click on the "Pay 250 rubles" button. To pay from a mobile phone, select the payment method "Other methods", click on the "Pay" button and select a mobile operator on the page that opens.
- Activate your personal account.
After payment, an email will be sent to your e-mail containing the login and password for your personal account in the Ktotam.pro service (2). In the letter, click on the "Activate Personal Account" button (1). Check your spam folder, sometimes emails end up there.
(letter looks like this)
- Cabinet activation message shown. You can close the window.
- Log in to your account to make sure your order is being processed..
To enter your personal account: 1) click on the "Login" button on the top right; 2) in the window that opens, enter your email and password; 3) click on "Login". I remind you that the password was sent in the letter with the activation of the account.
When you log in, you will be immediately redirected to the "My statements" page. Scroll down to see your statement. On the right, it will show that the order is being processed.
In the "Profile" section, you can specify a phone number to receive an SMS notification about the readiness of the statement.
- As soon as the statement is ready, you will be notified by e-mail(if you specify a phone number in your profile, you will be notified by phone that the statement is ready). Check your Spam folder.
The extract can also be downloaded from personal account . Click on the middle "PDF" button. The statement will be in pdf format, you can immediately open it on your phone and computer using a browser. To print, click on the right button with the printer sign. To download the archive with the source files of the statement, click on the left button "EDS". The extract will be in xml format in the archive. A .sig file is electronic signature registrar (EDS).
They sent me an extract 50 minutes after payment. I showed her.
Method number 2 - on the Rosreestr website
Please note that property owners are not shown for free on the Rosreestr website. I wrote about this in detail in my article, there you will find proof.
To find out the owners, you will have to make a paid request on the Rosreestr website, or rather order for 250 rubles. an extract from the USRN on the main characteristics and registered rights to the property. I do not advise ordering it on the Rosreestr website, because. they send it on average after 2 days and in an unreadable form. In I spoke in detail about this extract and where you can get it in 1 hour for the same 250 rubles.
If you do not believe me that the Rosreestr website does not show owners in the public domain, then see for yourself:
- Go to the page "Rosreestr - online reference information on real estate objects. This is the only page through which you can learn for free background information about real estate, there are no other similar pages;
Everything is the same here - they won’t just name the owners for you, you will need to order an extract from the USRN. The cost is 400 rubles. in paper form and 250 r. in electronic. Statements are issued in 3-4 working days, there are delays. I know where for the same 250 rubles. Electronic statements are sent literally in 1 hour -.
If you still decide to contact the offices of the MFC or Rosreestr, you only need a passport and money for an extract. You can contact any branch, no matter where the apartment is located. If in locality there is an MFC, then go there, because in this case, Rosreestr branches do not directly accept citizens. If there is no MFC, then feel free to contact the offices of Rosreestr. Tell the employee the address desired apartment, he will fill out an application, issue a receipt and name the date the statement is ready. You can also check the readiness of the order by phone. On the appointed day, come for an extract with a passport and a receipt.
Tax, notaries, housing office, BTI - just do not provide information about the owners
I'm just amazed at what they write on some legal sites. Allegedly, the tax / housing office / BTI will name the names of the owners of the property if you convince the employee that you want to buy this property and check it before buying. This is just complete nonsense, but people go and write in the comments that they were not told anything there.
Just like that, none of these organizations will name an ordinary citizen the full name of the owners of other real estate, neither for a fee, nor for free. .
All real estate agencies offer such a service as checking the legal purity of the apartment or the history of the apartment. If they say that the apartment is clean, they mean that there are no legal obstacles to the transaction, that the ownership of the apartment is not limited by prohibitions or encumbrances, and that there are no and in the future there will be no grounds for challenging the legality of the transaction and declaring it invalid.
How does a realtor check the legal purity? In most cases, it is enough to carefully read the documents prepared for the transaction, they contain all the necessary information. And verification comes down to establishing the authenticity of documents and their correct reading. The advantage of a realtor is that he knows how to read correctly, that is, he knows what exactly you need to pay attention to.
The entire history of the apartment is contained in the house book and the Unified State Register of Rights to real estate and deals with it. To date, the only legal and quite reliable way checks - obtain an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It (EGRP), or - a certificate from the City Bureau of Real Estate. From them you can find out about the composition of the owners of the apartment, as well as whether it is under arrest or encumbered with collateral and rent ...
From January 31, 1998, the rights to real estate and some transactions with it are registered in a special register - the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It. Prior to this date, real estate transactions were processed in a slightly different way, through the BTI, the City Bureau of Real Estate.
Thus, the legal purity of real estate, the rights to which are registered after this date, can be checked by taking an extract from the USRR. If the rights to real estate arose before 01/31/1998, then in order to obtain information, you should contact
Extract from the USRR for everyone without restrictions
So, if you are going to buy real estate, then, first of all, you need to check the legal purity of the property being purchased.
To do this, ask the seller for an extract from the Unified State Register of rights to real estate and transactions with it.
The first thing you should pay attention to is the deadline for issuing such an extract. The extract must be "fresh". The best option is for the statement to be issued literally “just now”. That is, the seller received an extract and immediately presented it to the buyer for review. Remember: the fresher the statement, the more relevant the information contained in it.
If the seller cannot or does not want to show you an extract, then you can get it yourself. It is quite simple to do this, while you will need a minimum of documents and cash costs. If you order an extract as individual, you need an identity document and proof of payment.
But a legal entity will have to submit more documents to obtain an extract, namely, a charter, a memorandum of association, registration certificates, a power of attorney, if a representative is acting, again a payment document, etc.
Reading the extract
An extract from the USRR, which is provided to any applicant, contains the following information:
the name of the body carrying out the state registration of rights;
the date of signing the extract, as well as the outgoing number;
cadastral (or conditional) number of the property;
purpose of the property;
address (location);
data on the right holder (right holders, if the right of common ownership is registered);
type of registered right;
registered restrictions (encumbrances) of the right, including the date and number of their state registration, the terms for which they are established, as well as data on the persons in whose favor they are established;
Full name or title of the person applying for the extract.
Risks when buying an apartment in the primary market.
If we are talking about a new building, then there is no certificate of ownership yet, but there is an agreement that is being resold. If this is a contract equity participation, he fully protects the interests of the buyer and guarantees that his rights to this property will be registered in the Unified State Register. That is, if the apartment is being sold under 214-FZ, then you can not check anything.
Any other contract, in fact, is one or another bypass scheme of the 214th law, and in this case, not the closest attention should be paid to the legal purity of the transaction. Buying any "scheme" apartment at the stage of construction in progress is quite risky.
As a rule, according to the schemes, apartments are not sold directly from the developer, but through some intermediary company. This can be either a company affiliated with the developer, or an independent legal entity that at one time bought part of the apartments in bulk from the developer at the construction stage in order to earn money and then sells them to the public.
So, to deal with such legal entity it can be risky, because we do not know the relationship between the developer and this investor - did he fully pay for the purchased apartments or not?
If not, then the developer can terminate the contract between them, after which he has the right to get back his remaining apartments (for the amount that the investor did not pay). And these apartments can already be sold by the investor. This is how “double” contracts or “double” sales arise, when the same apartment is sold twice.
Such schemes were, are and will be. Therefore, the buyer needs to restore the entire chain - from the developer to the person who sells the apartment and understand the essence of the relationship between the developer and the selling company. That's what it is due diligence cleanliness of the apartment.
Risks when buying an apartment in the secondary market.
The secondary market has its own risks, one of the main ones is challenging the rights to an apartment. As a rule, this happens when:
The emergence of disputes between the heirs of the apartment or the division of property between spouses;
Recognition as incompetent of the seller of the apartment, who may turn out to be a drug addict, alcoholic or mentally ill, not registered;
The appearance of a convicted person temporarily discharged from the apartment for the term of serving the sentence;
The presence of a missing (missing) family member registered in the apartment.
No one guarantees that this missing person will not appear in a few years and will not dispute the deal. This happens quite regularly. People are in prison, they do not want to inform their relatives about it, and then they come out of prison and declare their rights. Therefore, buying an apartment in which a missing person is registered, you take a certain risk.
At risk are also apartments where minor children are registered, whose interests must be observed, or elderly people, sometimes not understanding the significance of their actions.
If you liked the apartment on the "secondary", then, in addition to the certificate of ownership, you must ask the owner for an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate and Transactions with It (EGRP) on all transactions made in relation to this apartment.
This extract will reflect the entire history of the apartment, starting from 1998, that is, the moment the USRR was created, and this is quite enough. From the register it will be clear whether the apartment was in dispute or not, whether arrests were made on it and the like. All proceedings on the apartment are noted in the register. If you find any disputes in the history of the apartment, pay attention to how many years have passed since they arose.
By Russian legislation, the maximum statute of limitations for invalidating transactions, including real estate transactions, is three years. Therefore, if within three recent years before the proposed purchase, there were no transactions with the apartment, you don’t have to worry that the previous owners will suddenly present their rights.
But if you still find disputes that have arisen over the past three years, ask the owner to provide judgment, based on which it is possible to draw final conclusions about the legality of owning this apartment. If the court decision has not yet been made, we advise you to wait for it before making a deal.
Sometimes it happens - usually with the real estate of the old housing stock- that the apartment is not listed in the register. If such an apartment is not in the register, it means that after its privatization no transactions were made with it, that is, it is an ideal apartment from a legal point of view, absolute "clean". The buyer can submit a request to the department housing policy to verify the true rights of its owner. Nothing more needs to be done.
What can and should alert the buyer? Firstly, if you find that the apartment was bequeathed to someone or donated, while her new owner is not a relative of the previous owner, after which the new owner begins to quickly sell this apartment. Such things are always disturbing.
Another risk factor may be the situation when the apartment was very often resold and passed from hand to hand (this will be seen from the USRR statement), that is, in fact, no one lived in the apartment for a long time, while the reason why it was sold so often is not clear . It is likely that the transactions on this property were "not clean" and in this way they tried to set up a bona fide purchaser.
The biggest "surprises" are fraught with the possible incapacity of the owner. It happens that the seller after some time after the transaction is recognized as incompetent. This gives him the opportunity to challenge his past actions. If it is proved that the owner did not understand the meaning of his actions, there is a risk that the transaction will be challenged. There are many "specialists" on the market who earn money on this. At the same time, even a certificate of the seller’s psychological state, confirming that at the time of the transaction the person was healthy, will not save you. The fact is that there is Article 177 of the Civil Code, which states that "a transaction made by a citizen, although capable, but at the time of its completion in such a state when he was not able to understand the meaning of his actions or manage them, may be recognized by the court as invalid on the claim of this citizen or other persons whose rights or legally protected interests have been violated as a result of its commission.
In fact, this article can cover any deal. This is used by swindlers, against whom it is difficult to go. It is almost impossible to figure them out, as they are very carefully preparing for the deal.
What do you think about the article “How to check the legal purity of an apartment during a transaction?”? Comment it, please!
