Posted by Jon on May 07, 2002 at 06:31:10:
In Reply to: Cost to buy Apartment in Kiev posted by Bob on May 06, 2002 at 18:15:55:
Bob,
As I mentioned in my previous post on 26th April, the property market in Ukraine is not as well developed as western markets. You won't find many web sites listing property for sale in Kiev. Even if you do, they will not give you the detailed information you need to make a purchase decision.
The english language Kiev Post carries some advertisements for property by private individuals in their classified section. I have found that these tend to be in the upper end of the market - refurbished flats in the centre of Kiev. Many appear to me to be overpriced. The Post also carries advertisements by the larger english speaking real estates agents. Companies such as Colliers and Jones East deal with residential property and may be worth a call. (Pick up the phone and ask them the price of buying a flat in the area you wish to live!) I used to work for DTZ Tie Leung, arguably the best real estate company to deal with in Kiev. Unfortunately in your case, they focus on commercial property - offices, retail and industrial. However, they do sometimes deal with "top end" luxury refurbished and newly constructed flats. If that is what you are after, give them a call. If you want the easiest route to buying a flat in Kiev, ask one of the above companies to search the market for you to acquire a property of your specification. They will carry out the internal viewings for you, negotiate with the owners on your behalf and coordinate the legal matters for you. For this level of service you will have to pay them a fee.
Another alternative is to use a local agent. Cheaper, maybe. But you may have the problem of language and also trust. They might well try to obtain a fee from both you and the owner. Would you really trust that they were negotiating the best deal for you if this was the case? Even so, if someone can recommend you a local agent, they should be a lot cheaper and save you the legwork.
Before you go down this road though, my advice would be to search the local market yourself. Perhaps ask your wifes relatives in Kiev to buy a couple of the Kiev papers that carry only classified advertisements. Either get them to take a look at the flats or ask them to post the paper to you, to give you an idea of current prices. You will find a large amount of real estate listings in russian / ukrainian language. Often they will include photos. If you cannot read russian, get you wife to help you with the abreviations in the advertisements. You will soon be able to skim through them yourself.
Once armed with this info, the only way ahead is to take a few days in Kiev and try to see as many flats as you can!
Prices range from $10,000 for a dive in a block on the outskirts of the city up to $300,000 for a duplex on Khreschatik. Take your pick.
: Hello,
: I have seen many post about renting an apartment instead of staying in a hotel. My question is a little different about apartments in Kiev. I am married to a woman from Kiev. We have talked about splitting our time between here in America and in Kiev. We talked about spending 6 months here and 6 months in Kiev. I didn't want to have to go through the hassle of finding an apartment every 6 months and thought if possible to just buy an apartment. So my question is does any one know of websites that sell apartments and if so how much would an apartment cost to own?
: Hope someone can shed some light on this subject.
: Thanks,
: Bob
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