Legal support for a real estate transaction
Buying and selling apartments in Moscow: checks, a written report, comments on the other side's documents and advice until the registry extract is 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. If you are buying, I check the apartment and the seller, review the draft contract and deposit agreement and give comments as «current wording / proposed wording», recommend a payment set-up and advise you until registration. You pass the comments to the seller, agree the terms, sign, file for registration and pay; I explain what to do and why. If you are selling, I work for you as the seller and run the sale myself: that is a separate section below.
Author: Oksana Prisyazhnaya, real estate lawyer · published · updated
Buying: what I do and what you do
- A check of the apartment and the seller before the deposit (details on the apartment check page).
- A deposit agreement or preliminary contract: I review the seller's draft (amount, deadline, when the deposit is returned) and give comments as «current wording / proposed wording».
- Terms worth agreeing with the seller and their agent: move-out date, deregistration of residents. I tell you what to ask for and how to word it; you talk to the seller.
- Mortgage: which documents the bank needs, comments on the contract in light of the bank's requirements.
- The sale and purchase contract: a review of the seller's draft and comments that you pass to the seller. If the deal must be notarised (shares, children as owners), I tell you what to check in the notary's draft.
- Payment: I recommend the set-up (letter of credit, notary deposit or the bank's safe settlement service) and the release conditions. The seller gets the money only after title is registered to you.
- Registration with Rosreestr: you or the notary file, I advise on documents and timing. By law 7 business days when filed with Rosreestr and 9 through a public service centre (MFC); a notarised contract takes 3 business days, or one if filed electronically. Then the handover act, keys, and a check that the seller deregistered on time.
Selling: I work for the seller
When you sell, the roles are different: I work for you as the seller and run the sale myself.
- 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 when buying
- A written report on the apartment and the seller.
- A review of the seller's drafts (contract, deposit agreement, handover act) and comments as «current wording / proposed wording» that you pass to the seller.
- Recommendations on the payment set-up and terms.
- Advice at every stage until registration. You reach me directly, no managers.
What you do yourself: pass the comments to the seller and agree terms with them, sign the documents, file for registration and make the payments.
Steps and timing when buying
- 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 report. I check the property and the seller against registries and documents; a written report with risks and a conclusion.
- Documents. A review of the draft deposit agreement, contract and handover act, comments «current / proposed»; you pass them to the seller.
- Until registration. I advise on final versions of the documents, payment and filing; you sign, pay and file.
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, as of 5 October 2026. 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?
I am a lawyer: I check the property and the parties against primary sources and am responsible for making sure the deal cannot be challenged. You can have an agent and me in the same deal, we do different work.
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. I then build this into my recommendations on the timeline and the payment scheme.
Can the deal be done remotely?
Yes. Checks, the report, comments on documents and advice are online; registration is electronic through a bank or notary.
Do you support purchases of new builds?
Yes: developer check, a review of the share-participation or assignment contract, escrow, mortgage, advice on acceptance of the flat and registration.
Tell me about the deal and I will tell you where the risks are
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