How can a foreign person buy an office in Ukraine?
When starting a business in Ukraine, expanding or simply looking for options for profitable investments, many foreign entrepreneurs and individuals are faced with the need to find and buy an office or even an office building in Ukraine.
This process requires you not only to estimate the economic benefits of buying an office space, but also:
- understanding of the procedure of office purchase by a foreign person in Ukraine;
- confidence in the reliability of the seller and the transaction of buying an office;
- answers to the questions of how to safely bring money to Ukraine and what to do with the office afterwards
Of course, we can’t give a one-size-fits-all answer in one article. There are different algorithms depending on whether you plan to continue to use the office for personal purposes, or you are going to rent it partially or completely.
In addition, the money transfer conditions differ for the different countries. The seller’s status also has no small share in the process - an individual or a legal person in Ukraine.
We will try to cover the most important aspects of buying an office in Ukraine. If you want to get answers to your specific situation, please contact our experts for a personal consultation.
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How can a non-resident buy an office in Ukraine?
In order to buy office space in Ukraine a foreigner will need:
- To obtain a TIN ( 1-3 days with the assistance of a lawyer);
- To open an account in a Ukrainian bank.
When concluding the transaction at the notary. a foreigner will need to bring a TIN, certificate of account opening, as well as provide his/her passport used for entering Ukraine, and a copy of it, including translation certified by a notary.
A foreign legal entity will only need to open an account in a Ukrainian bank and prepare certain documents - first and foremost, the company registration documents, certified and translated into Ukrainian.
Payment for the purchase of real estate in Ukraine must be made by bank transfer. In this case the buyer pays 1% of the contract amount as a state fee and another 1% to the Pension Fund.
Does it matter who the seller of the office is?
The seller of an office in Ukraine can be either an individual or a legal entity. The sales procedure will differ in terms of the set of documents required by the seller and the nature of the pre-sale due diligence.
For example, if a legal entity intends to sell an office space, if it is its asset, it will need to go through a certain procedure, the result of which will be:
- The decision of the legal entity to alienate the real estate, as set forth in the Minutes of the meeting;
- Copies of constituent documents of the legal entity;
- Documents of the representative, including power of attorney and documents confirming his/her identity;
- Copies of documents confirming the title of the legal entity to the real estate;
- Documents confirming the preliminary appraisal of the property.
Before buying, you need to make sure that these documents are legitimate and that the representative of the company really has the right to conclude this kind of transaction.
Regardless of who is selling you the office - an individual, a legal entity or a real estate developer - you need to check the seller and make certain that the seller is reliable.
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How to check the office in Ukraine before buying it?
Buying an office is a serious investment, which means you have to be sure of its security. Unfortunately, it is often not enough the word or advice of a realtor who has access to a very limited number of sources of information, and is not responsible for in-depth verification of the transaction safety.
When selecting office premises, we advise checking the following issues to ensure that your transaction goes smooth and without surprises.
Check the premises for general requirements.
- The premises must be owned by the seller, which must be confirmed by relevant documents;
- The premises must not be pledged or be the subject of legal proceedings;
- The office must correspond to its technical passport - any unrecorded alterations and redevelopment may become a problem when buying premises;
- The office must be provided with all necessary utilities for your business, without any utility debts.
If it is a new office building that is under construction it’s worth checking the following:
- The reputation and history of the real estate developer, make sure that it has no proceedings before the court, etc;
- The documents on the construction land - we know cases when the land was in a lease, and after the construction was completed, the lease contract was terminated, which caused a lot of problems for the persons who bought the property;
- The construction permits - while investing your money in a new building you should understand if the construction is legal and if there is a high chance for its completion.
Check the seller of the commercial real estate.
- It is necessary to check the seller’s authority to sell the property;
- If the seller and the owner are different persons, it is necessary to verify the reality of the owner's desire to sell the office premises;
- If there are several owners, it is necessary to obtain the consent of all of them, and to make sure that they can sell the office premises. It is also necessary to get a notarial permission for sale from each of them;
- It is necessary to check the seller/owner in the registry of debtors, registry of court decisions, and registry of alimony debtors;
- Check the seller’s reputation and history.
Check the contract of sale for the office premises.
- It is necessary to carefully proofread and, if necessary, improve the contract of sale;
- If the office is an asset of a legal entity - the contract must specify the procedure for its withdrawal and transfer to the new owner;
- It is necessary to know the rules of signing an agreement at the notary, and apply only to a proven notary;
- If you do not speak Ukrainian well, you will need the services of a certified interpreter to sign the agreement at the notary, otherwise the notary will not be entitled to conduct the transaction.
Please note! Office premises in Ukraine can be found not only in large office centers, but also in residential buildings. In this case, it is important to make sure that the premises, if required by law for the type of your business activity, is transferred to a non-housing stock - that is, the office doesn’t belong to a housing stock.
We have already described this procedure here.
With regard to the procedure of buying the office premises, you need to clearly understand whether it is suitable for your purposes, and to make sure that it has been already transferred to the bob-housing stock.
Usually, the pre-sale inspection of commercial property includes checking of these data.
You can find the cost of the pre-sale inspection services for an office or other property here. When ordering legal support services for the entire procedure of real estate purchase, the above services are included in the service package.
Our company offers you:
- Consultation services regarding the purchase of office premises and complexes for foreign persons in Ukraine;
- Analysis of all available documents and assistance in obtaining missing documents to purchase an office in Ukraine;
- Comprehensive pre-transaction background check of the property and the seller;
- Review and improvement of the office sale and purchase agreement in Ukraine;
- Legal support of the office sale and purchase procedure in Ukraine, arranging the transaction with a reliable partner notary;
- Advising on how to proceed with the office: lease, resale, registration of the business place, etc.
Do you want to buy an office in Ukraine safely and easily? Don’t hesitate to contact us! We will find the best solution for you and take care of the security of your transaction in Ukraine.
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