Buying Property in Georgia: In recent years the number of people who want to invest in Georgian real estate is increasing and it has caused economic growth in this country.
Over the past few years, the country has enacted laws to better attract foreign capital to its various industries, including the construction and sale of Georgian real estate.
What are the Benefits of buying a property in Georgia?
The first advantage of buying a property in Georgia is getting a residence permit in this country!! The most important law that the government has made to increase Georgia’s real estate transactions is the law on residence for Georgian real estate buyers.
According to this law, anyone can obtain a one-year residency by purchasing a property worth more than $ 100,000, and then in case the applicant does not take any legal problems during his/her stay in Georgia, the applicant will be able to extend his residency.
Then after 5 years of extending the residency, the owner becomes a Georgian citizen who, in addition to receiving a Georgian passport, also acquires the right to vote in this country.
The buyer of the property does not have a travel restriction to receive a residence permit in Georgia.
It means when you buy a property and after getting your residency you don’t have to stay in Georgia for the following years you can travel and even you can rent your property whatever it is (commercial place, land, apartment…)
In addition, residency is not only issued to the buyer of the property!! The buyer can also receive residency for him/herself, spouse, children, and even parents.
The second advantage that real estate buyers in Georgia will have is the dollar investment because as you know every year in many different countries due to economic problems the rate of a dollar goes up!
When you invest in Georgia, you are basically making a dollar investment and you can do other things without worrying about falling or rising currency prices!
Another important point about Georgian real estate is inflation in this country. Most Asian countries have an inflation rate every year.
In a country like Georgia, it’s about 7-8 percent.
Also, The price of your property purchased in this country also increases.
The last advantage of buying Georgian real estate, and perhaps the most important one, the possibility of Georgia’s membership in the European Union.
You know very well that if this happens, it will have a positive effect on the rise in real estate prices as well as the economic boom.
Can foreigners buy property in Tbilisi Georgia?
The short answer is – YES! Foreigners can buy property in Georgia. Foreigners have exactly the same rights when it comes to buying residential real estate as Georgian citizens have. There are no extra requirements for foreigners and there are no extra taxes either.
What should a foreigner know when purchasing a Georgian property?
A foreigner who wants to open a company in Georgia or to relocate there can benefit from a set of legal rights, that is mostly the same as the ones that are offered to Georgian citizens. With regards to the purchase of a residential property, the purchase procedure implies the same steps that would be followed by locals. Foreigners are not required to provide additional documents, nor do they have to pay additional taxes. Some of the highlights of the purchase procedure available here are the following:
the purchase procedure can be completed relatively fast, and this is also available for the registration of the new ownership;
the purchase procedure does not require the payment of the stamp duty;
the legal system in Georgia allows a standard registration procedure, which is generally concluded in a period of four days (with the payment of a fee);
however, a foreigner can request the express procedure, which can be completed in a single day, through the payment of a higher fee;
foreigners can benefit from full ownership of their properties and this is also available in the case of commercial properties.
What are the characteristics of Georgian properties?
One of the things foreigners should expect when buying an apartment in Georgia is to purchase it as “white frame” property. A white frame real estate refers to a type of property that is sold with just the bare minimum, in the sense that one should expect an apartment to have the following: a metal door at the main entrance, the windows, the lighting system, electricity and water, internet and phone cables and the heating system.
This means that a typical apartment available for sale, which is bought from a developer, will be offered with bare concrete floors and walls. Most of the apartments are delivered as such, due to the characteristics of the local consumer market. Georgian citizens prefer to design their apartments or houses from scratch and the developers working on the local market respect this wish.
Still, since the Georgian property market is also opened to foreigners, who have different expectations when purchasing a property, developers also offer fully finished apartments. When purchasing a fully finished property, the minimum price per square meter increases by $150, as a general rule, but the price can increase depending on the types of materials used.
Investing in Georgian real estate
Georgian government seeks to attract foreign capital in various parts of the country. That’s why they made regulations as easy as possible to invest in Georgia!
One of the most important actions of the government in this regard is to exempt the applicants from buying property from paying any taxes.
In this process, the seller is responsible for paying all taxes. In practice, this law is helping to increase the desire for buying a property in Georgia.
The first rule for buying a property in Georgia is to have legal age. The legal age in this country is 18 years.
Actually this law can be considered as the only restriction on the purchase of property in this country because, in fact, no other law has been enacted for this purpose by government institutions and the laws of this country.
One of the things that will help to increase the desire of foreign buyers to buy property is that you do not need any Georgian partner or other partners to buy the property.
In most countries, foreign nationals must do the same with a citizen in order to be able to buy a property, and a foreign national can only register a limited percentage of the purchased property in his or her name.
This law always causes a lot of legal disputes, and most of the time, it is the foreign national who suffers.
According to the Constitution of Georgia, foreigners can register their property without the need for any Georgian partner or citizen to buy the property and register the purchased property in their name in a completely legal manner and with 100% ownership.
If you are planning to buy a property in Georgia, then you should be aware of the property installment purchase law.
According to this law, you can receive accommodation by paying $ 100,000 from an expensive property and paying the rest in installments.
This rule will help you to buy your favorite property even if your budget is not enough and also at the same time you can obtain your residency.
After all, you need to know that the registration of a document and other legal procedures for the purchase of property in Georgia is done in just a few hours.
Register with the Ministry of Finance and Economy in Georgia
Foreigners who want are interested in the procedure of opening a company in Georgia will need to provide detailed information on their investments carried out on the respective purchased property. Our team of attorneys in Georgia can assist with further information on the investment legislation applicable in this country.
They will need to give information on the business activity, the overall value of investments and also on the number of persons who will be employed in the company. Businessmen interested in further information on other legal aspects related to the purchase of a property are invited to address to our lawyers in Georgia.
For complete information please contact our Company Formation Georgia Lawyers.
