Can any one help, im planning to buy 3 hectares (30,000m2) of land plus a basic peasant house 60m2 and a 70m2 barn poor condition. The land has a spring and electricity. This is 15mins up a hill/mountain (800m above sea level) from the tourist village of corund in harghita county. (City of tirgus mures, 1-2 hours away. benefit: cheap flights wizz air from Luton-)

My English agent based there said at first the seller wanted 60,000 euro, I said E40, 000 £ 26,925, for which he agreed suspiciously quickly.

To add to matters their are no "clean papers" but this is now in process and should be solved at a court hearing next week

At present I would be paying £ 1 per m2 for land and buildings/BARLEY HABITABLE

Q: can anyone tell me if I could get or insist I get an INDEPENTDENT valuation of the PROPERTY in Romania? By an independent body before buying.

AND CAN ANY ONE TELL ME:
Q; WHAT IS THE MOST COMMON WAYS TO GET RIPPED OFF UNDER ROMANIAN SYSTEM 0r looholes thta locals can use
Q: WHAT CHECKS SHOULD I MAKE SURE I HAVE COVERED BEFORE I SIGN A CONTACT

Q: the agent said it would be easy to change land use from agriculture to buildable is this also true?

Foreign nationals cannot own land in Romania - just buildings.

So, unless you are Romanian, you *are* being ripped off.

http://www.channel4.com/4homes/buyingabroad/countryguides/cg_romania-2.html

A few minutes rsearch on the web will probably tell you an awful lot.

Sorry, a bit too terse . You need to go through specific processes in terms of a company in order to won it.

thanks, i have set up a srl company, the real problem is i have no context/comparison for similar rural properties prices. my instinct is saying this too much to pay and was thinking if if i forced my agent into obtaining a vauluation
the truth could be found

Once more I find myself agreeing with vbland.
I will continue in the vein of terseness.
If you had read that post from someone else investing in say Costa Rica - What would be your first reaction to reading it?

If you have the slightest hint or unease about the deal for any reason whatsoever - WALK AWAY -it's not rocket science.

Start again from step one and do more research, of course you can get independent valuation and advice, it's your money you can do what the hell you want with it. Do not let some mealy mouthed local rep(tile) pressure you in any way.
Follow your instincts and insist on doing it the safe and cautious way. If business cannot be conducted in this manner in Romania then why on earth are you consider investing there?
You sound unsure of yourself in the realm of investing overseas. Is a high risk venture the sort of thing you should be cutting your teeth on? I've been in this game for a long time and I would not trust myself to try to talk my way out of or into this deal or this situation. You have money, you are the king - remember that.
For God's sake try somewhere safer and surer, leave the gambling to those who can afford to lose the odd deal. You do not sound confident enough to spar with the sharks.

Why gamble in Romaina?

Utilities may not be available (often the case unless lots of homeowners apply).
Terrible healthcare.
Almost impossible to sell - on.

You must start over again.

1) Chose somewhere safe such as German which has lovely countryside - perhaps try just over the border from France, as France is so much more expensive and Brits are looking over into Germany now

2) Use a large law firm based in a large City

3) A MOUSE NEVER EVER ASKS THE CAT WHETHER IT'S SAFE TO SLEEP IN HIS BASKET. An agent is the last person you should take any notice of

thanks to every one especially vonreisa , just needed a push to see the light

quote:

Originally posted by raybest1:
thanks to every one especially vonreisa , just needed a push to see the light

My pleasure. Really do not like peeing on someone elses bonfire but alarm bells were ringing for me.
Thorr is right take a look at Germany - about as safe as it gets, as cheap as it gets and with a market that will probabably increase in popularity and and value.
Failing this invest in something close to home for the first time and then get braver as you get braver. Wish you well.

You also have to consider how you would get there if the cheap flights from Luton were stopped suddenly.

Great point Continental and one far too frequently overlooked.
Far too many, "Investments" are only considered such by the whim of an airlines CEO or the local aviation authorities they are constantly locking horns with.
Fairly close to my neck of the woods a budget flight carrier pulled out of Erfurt to leave many Brits having to re-think the bargain purchase they made as a result of the ease of access.

As others have said, there are safer options - with Germany being one. If you remain keen on Romania, then perhaps a closed ended fund is the way to go. This is ideal if you don't want the hassle of managing a foreign property but do want to benefit from added value to land that developers deliver in addition to house price inflation in that area. Funds aren't for everyone and many perceive them as high risk. But, if you perform your due diligence thoroughly you should be able to tell the good providers from the bad and also be able to reduce risk further by securing your investment against the land.