The steps from choosing an apartment to holding the ownership certificate: checks, the deposit, the notary, registration, and what to ask at each stage.
Buying a home is one of the biggest decisions you make, and in Armenia the process is fairly clear once you know the steps. This guide walks through them in order. The details (fees, deadlines, documents) change from time to time, so confirm them with a notary or a lawyer before you sign.
Besides the price itself, plan for the notary's fee, the state fee for registering the ownership, an agent's commission if there is one, and moving and repairs. If you'll take a mortgage, talk to two or three banks before you start viewing: knowing what you can borrow makes you a faster buyer.
Our home value page and the price index show what similar homes ask per m² in each district, so you can tell a fair price from a high one.
Save a search with your filters so new listings come to you. When you view, look beyond the apartment: the building's state, the stairwell and elevator, the neighbours, parking, and the street at different times of day. For a new building, ask about the completion date, the developer's other finished projects and what exactly is included in the price (finishing, parking, storage).
The most important check is who owns the home and whether anything stops the sale. Ask the seller for:
The extract lists the registered rights and restrictions on the property: who the owners are and whether there is a mortgage, an arrest or another encumbrance. If the address, the area or the owners differ from what you were told, stop and ask why.
On realest.am, the "Ownership checked" badge means our moderators have compared the seller's Cadastre certificate with the listing.
Many buyers and sellers sign a preliminary agreement and the buyer pays a deposit to hold the home. Put in writing: the price, the deposit and what happens to it if either side backs out, the date of the main contract, and what stays in the home (furniture, appliances).
A real-estate sale contract is made in front of a notary, who checks the documents and the parties' identities and explains the contract. Payment is usually arranged so that the seller gets the money and the buyer gets the rights at the same time — ask the notary or your bank how best to do it.
Signing at the notary does not yet make you the owner: the right arises when it is entered in the state register of the Cadastre Committee. The application can be filed through e-cadastre.am or at a Cadastre service office; often the notary files the documents electronically for you. Ask the notary about the filing deadline and don't put it off. Once it's registered, you're the owner on record, and you receive a certificate in your name.
Transfer the utility accounts (electricity, gas, water) to your name, read the meters with the seller on the day you get the keys, and keep all documents together.
Selling instead? Post your listing on realest.am and add the Cadastre certificate to get the "Ownership checked" badge — buyers trust it.