Romanian real estate: how to sell a house or a land

By: Eli Doron, Adv; ; Gil Mor, Adv ; Gabriela Marinescu, Adv

8/8/2023

1. First and most important, you need to make sure that you have all the documents from the history of the ownership. We were saying that the history of the asset is very important when you buy but is also important when you sell because the buyer will want to see that it acquires the ownership from the rightful owner. Sometimes it happens that  you don’t have all the documents from the history of the ownership, but wit the proper help, almost any document can be issued from the archives of institutions.
2. Another element of extreme importance is a  real estate broker who will advertise the asset and come up with potentials buyers. The real estate agent can also show his input regarding the value of the asset on the market.
3. In case we are talking about lands, it is very important that the owner issues a town planning certificate – this is a certificate issued by the competent City Hall which shows what are the technical parameters for building on the respective land meaning: number of square meters, height, footprint of the building. Even if it is not expressly required by the law (with the exception of some specific cases), the town planning certificate shows the real building possibilities and thus makes the sale easier. In order to issue it, the owner needs the help of an architect and/or that of an engineer who will make up an architectural project based on which the certificate will be issued
4. Once the buyer and the seller settle all commercial details, the sale and purchase agreement must be drawn up with the help of a law specialist – a lawyer or a notary. Since the transfer of ownership must be done in authentic form, it means that the seller and the buyer must be present in front of a notary.
5. Last but not least, you need a law specialist who will coordinate all the people involved in the process of selling, who will keep up the connection with the buyer and explain to him the history of the sold asset, who will coordinate with the real estate agent, the notary, the engineer and will be able to solve issues that might appear in the negotiations of the parties. This law specialist should know how to translate the commercial conditions of the contract into legal terms and arrange the transaction in such a way that the seller will not take any risk following the sale of the good and receival of the price.