New apartments with two or three bedrooms are for sale in the center of Bucharest for prices that can well exceed a million euros. Of course, it’s nice to enjoy the beauty of old Bucharest in the comfort of a new home, but there are a few things you need to pay close attention to, especially when buying in regions where the pressure on real estate is huge. But the steps apply to anyone looking to buy a new home.

Some of the new buildings erected in the city center are the so-called “real estate cannons” – an old, historical building was demolished on a plot of 500 square meters, then permission was obtained for blocks 5-10. floors between the houses and its construction began.

However, neighbors unhappy that their homes were left without electricity and a block towering under their windows, or heritage organisations, challenged the permit in court on the grounds that it had been issued illegally. There are several cases when neighbors and public organizations won and achieved the demolition of a new building. So far, two new illegally built blocks have been demolished in Bucharest (one at 164 Choceaua Giurgiului and one at Putsul de Piatra), but there are dozens of demolition judgments and it’s a lottery to stay. end.

Of course, there is nothing wrong with building new buildings downtown, as long as the city rules and the architecture of the area are respected, and there are many buildings built with integrity, but let’s see how we can protect ourselves from those who do not have good intentions.

What do you check when you first want to buy an apartment in a new building?

I spoke with Dumitru Dobrev, a lawyer who specializes in urban planning litigation, who has won court to demolish several neighborhoods that were built illegally or after building permits were issued illegally.

First of all, if you want to buy an apartment in a new building, it is advisable to check the building permit and town plan issued with a lawyer specializing in urban planning or an architect/town planner to see if they have been issued legally or not.

• “Those who want to buy must ask permission and urban planning certificate from the developer. If he says no, then something is wrong. Documents can also be obtained at the city hall. After you go for a used car, you go hand in hand with the mechanic. And when you buy a house, you should go hand in hand with a civil engineer/architect/lawyer who specializes in this, because you don’t buy a house all day long, let them look at the building permit, town planning certificate and plans. If the building is red, you can even visit a specialist at the construction site, preferably. They can tell you if they comply with city planning regulations, if there will be moisture in your house, and what the problems are.
• Only a specialist can say whether the permit was issued illegally. Urban planning specialist/architect or lawyer. If you want to know what is hidden from you about urban planning, you go to an urban planner, because in a quarter of an hour they can tell you what problems he has, whether the conclusions are followed, the height level, the city indicators, there is no parking space. Or you can go to the neighbors, say that you want to buy and ask if they have problems with the block under construction or if they are going to court. If they tell you that there are disputes, don’t buy there,” explained lawyer Dumitru Dobrev.

Do not rush to conclude a preliminary contract when the real estate is only at the project stage

Next, it is important to see if there are disputes regarding the cancellation of the permit and the demolition of the building and at what stage they are. To know what risk you are taking. But it is important to know that disputes usually arise when the work begins and the neighbors find out what awaits them.

• “Disputes appear on portaljust.ro, if you search by the name of the developer or building permit number, the dispute appears in the court in the territory where the land is located. But when issuing a building permit, disputes do not arise. Even if at the project stage there will be significant bonuses and discounts – 5%-10%, I still recommend to those who want to buy not to rush to sign a pre-sale contract when the property is only at the project stage, and that the building has at least erected walls red, because if the neighbor wanted to attack the permit, when he on the neighbor? When he sees a pit being dug and a construction site sign appears.
• Then the neighbors see that a building is being built that takes away their light, that they do not follow the Order, which provides for an hour and a half of sun on the winter solstice, that they do not follow the retreat. If the building was red-lighted and the permit was not attacked, there is little chance that the neighbors will attack it again, because the 1-year period during which it can be attacked ends when the neighbors find out that the permit was issued there building If you leave after 1 year, the court will definitely answer your request as unacceptable,” Dumitru Dobrev explained.

Then it is important to check that what is built complies with the building permit because there have been several cases where floors have been built illegally. There were also cases when the building permit was fake, that is, fabricated by the architect, so it is worth checking with the city hall that issued the building permit, whether it was issued and what exactly is allowed.

You still need to check the history of the developer and the history of the land.

• “It is necessary to check in the land cadastre whether the owner is who he claims to be, whether he has any connections, with joint venture contracts, with whom he has, whether they have disputes or very frequent transfers of ownership, such as Suveica, it is possible and it has also happened that it was a piece of land where the title deed is defective, maybe it was restored with problems and then the technique is to sell it to secure ownership.
• Then you need to look into the history of the developer. It is very important. What else has he built, even visit the block he built 2-3 years ago.
• If he’s done a few projects and had no problems, you go and buy, but if it’s someone who had their permits revoked, who had problems and kept people for 3/4/5 years before passing the machine. Because I am one of those people who act in the Soviet way, they start a quarter, leave it like that, start another and take advances, with the money taken from the second, finish the first and so on. and instead of waiting 1.5 years until you move into an apartment, according to the preliminary contract, you stay for 3 years and during this time he spins money.
• If the developer has made blocks before and it went well, then that’s good. They are also serious developers. You can ask someone from the market, from the industry, they know each other,” Dumitru Dobrev explained.

A robot portrait of a developer to escape from

Another type of investor to be wary of is an 18-19-year-old investor who builds a 7-story building and pays employees from his portfolio, ballast, and does not have a bank loan, Dobrev explained.

“Where does he get the money, at 19 years old, €1 million in cash to build an apartment building. He is either an arrow of organized crime or a party developer, the money is not really his, but the black money of a politician who took the rope and whitewashes it. This is a robot-portrait of developers from whom you need to run away,” explained Dobrev.

Next, it is important to investigate what is happening in the areas opposite and nearby. Because your neighbors may also have planning permission for a block of flats right outside your window, and that dreamy view promised by the developer could soon disappear.

Dumitru Dobrev says that there are many prickly people. “There was a wave of terrible surges when there was a bubble in the housing market – 2008-2009. And now I’m still around 10-15% of what development means,” says the lawyer.