Legal support for a real estate transaction
Buying and selling apartments in Moscow, from the first conversation with the other side to the keys and a registry extract in your name.
Most money in property deals is not lost on the price. It is lost on a deposit paid against a handwritten receipt. On a contract from the internet that says nothing about registered residents. On a safe deposit box opened before the registry extract arrived.
I act as the lawyer for one side, yours. I check, draft the documents, negotiate the terms and control the payment until registration.
If you are buying
- A check of the apartment and the seller before the deposit (details on the apartment check page).
- A deposit agreement or preliminary contract: the amount, the deadline, when the deposit is returned.
- Negotiation with the seller and their agent on price, move-out date and deregistration of residents.
- Mortgage: documents for the bank, agreeing the contract with the bank. We can work with your bank or compare several.
- The sale and purchase contract. If the deal must be notarised (shares, children as owners), I prepare it together with the notary.
- Payment: letter of credit, notary deposit or the bank's safe settlement service. The seller gets the money only after title is registered to you.
- Registration with Rosreestr. By law up to 7 business days, faster when filed through a notary. Then the handover act, keys, and a check that the seller deregistered on time.
If you are selling
- Documents in order before you go to market, so the buyer, their lawyer and the bank find no questions at signing.
- Tax on the sale: I calculate it in advance and see whether you can avoid paying it.
- A check of the buyer and their money, especially with a mortgage or maternity capital.
- A contract and payment set-up where the money reaches you before you hand over the keys.
- If the flat is mortgaged, seized or it is a share, separate work is needed, see the pages on encumbered property and shares.
Selling your apartment within a set term
If you need not only the paperwork but also a buyer, I sell the apartment myself under a contract with Weylex LLC (ООО «Вейлекс», INN 9715397784):
- the sale term is 90 days from the contract date;
- my fee is 3% of the price, fixed, no extras;
- if I sell later than 90 days, the fee is 1.5% instead of 3%. This is written in the contract.
I sign the term only for a market price. If your apartment will not sell within 90 days at your price, I tell you at the first meeting and do not take it.
What you receive
- A written report on the apartment or the buyer.
- Drafts of all documents before signing, with notes on what each clause means for you.
- One person responsible for the legal side from start to registration. You reach me directly, no managers.
Steps and timing
- Review, free. You tell me about the deal and send the listing or documents. Within a day I tell you the risks and what needs doing.
- Contract. The support fee is a percentage of the property price, quoted after the review and set in a contract with Weylex LLC (ООО «Вейлекс», INN 9715397784).
- Check and documents. I check the property and the other side, prepare the deposit agreement and contract, agree them with the bank.
- Deal and registration. Signing, payment, registration, handover.
The time from deposit to registration depends on the mortgage, guardianship authority and notary. I name a realistic timeline for your deal after the review.
Fee
The review is free. Support is a percentage of the property price and depends on complexity: mortgage, children, shares, number of owners. The percentage is in the contract and does not change along the way. Selling within a set term: 3%, as above.
Reviews of Oksana Prisyazhnaya's work, Yandex Maps
Yandex Maps, «Присяжная и Партнёры» listing. Reviews in Russian, quoted as written.
«...квартиру приобретали в Москве, а живем мы на другом краю света о.Сахалин. [...] Как мы были рады и счастливы, что нам никуда не нужно выезжать и лететь на сделку. Все можно сделать удаленно. При всем при этом покупка была с применением ипотеки. [...] Она полностью вела переговоры с застройщиком, с банком.»«Благодаря ей, среди множества объектов недвижимости удалось выбрать подходящий жилой комплекс бизнес-класса на Технопарке. Ездили вместе с Оксаной на просмотры объектов, отбирали банки для ипотеки, были на заключении сделки и после получил множество профессиональных советов и консультаций.»Questions
How much does legal support for a deal cost?
A percentage of the property price. I quote it after the free review, once it is clear how many owners there are and whether there is a mortgage, children or inheritance, and put it in the contract. If you also need me to find a buyer, that is a sale within a set term, 3%.
Do I need a lawyer if I have an agent?
The seller's agent works for the seller, the buyer's agent is paid when the deal happens. You need a lawyer on your side so that someone looks at the deal purely in terms of your risks. I work alongside agents without any problem.
Deposit or advance payment?
Under Russian law a deposit binds both sides: if the seller backs out, they return double. An advance is simply returned. Which is better depends on your side of the deal and how sure you are about the flat. Either way, a written agreement, not a receipt.
Letter of credit or safe deposit box?
A letter of credit and a notary deposit are more transparent: the money is released to the seller against registration documents. A safe deposit box works, but the access conditions must be written very carefully.
Can a foreigner buy or sell an apartment in Moscow?
Yes, but for some people there is a special procedure. Since March 2022, under Presidential Decree No. 81, property deals with citizens of countries Russia lists as "unfriendly" (the EU, the UK, the US, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea and others), and with persons registered there, need permission from the Government Commission on foreign investment. Individuals have a general exemption: a Russian resident can usually sell to such a person without separate permission, and can buy from them if the money goes to the seller's type "C" account. Funds on a type "C" account can be used only for a limited list of operations and cannot be freely sent abroad. The procedure does not apply to deals between Russian currency residents, and that includes foreigners with a Russian residence permit. Russian citizens living abroad are usually not affected unless they also hold citizenship of one of these countries. The rules change, so before any deal I check the regime in force on that date: whether your case falls under it, whether you need permission or a type "C" account, which bank will handle the payment and how long it will take. In the deal itself I build this into the timeline and the payment scheme.
Can the deal be done remotely?
Yes, with electronic registration through a bank or notary. Documents and negotiations are online.
Do you support purchases of new builds?
Yes: developer check, share-participation contract or assignment, escrow, mortgage, acceptance of the flat and registration.
Tell me about the deal and I will tell you where the risks are
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