Buying procedure
Regarding permit to buy in Hungary, being EU-citizens there is no problem or permit necessary to buy in Hungary. You can buy by contract what is made by a lawyer. You sign, (ex)owner signs and the lawyer will take of the rest. You can start the buying procedure in Hungary and even from the UK.
Buying as a foreigner is no problem as long as you have a nationality for one of the EU-countries. Also if you are citizen in the surrounding countries, or countries where Hungary has (business)connections with it is very well possible. This second group are countries like Swiss, Russia, Ukraine, Norway, etc. etc., but also USA, Canada, Australia, Israel etc. For citizens from Arabic countries and citizens coming from India, China, Syria,Libia, Africa etc. it is much more complicated.
If you want to come to Hungary in spite of all this impossible rules, you might be able to buy you into Hungary. If you are interested, read here.
If you want to know more on Hungarian residency, read here.
If you don’t have an EU-citizenship and you can buy, we need to ask a permission to the local (Province) authorities. Will cost some extra time and money.
Non-EU citizens are expected to check with their authorities to verify their status in Hungary prior to any visit / purchase.
Purchase contract
To keep the entire purchasing process clear, we follow a step-by-step plan that starts with gathering your personal data as buyer(s). Then we will send you the land registry page so that you know exactly who you are buying from, how many m2 is the plot, what is the status and whether any objections or debts have been registered. If all that is clear then on to the contract.
The lawyer draws up the contract and sends it to you together with a translation. If all this is correct and understood, a Skype appointment will be arranged where you can sign the contract in your own (living) area under the watchful eye of the lawyer. You then send by post to the contract to the seller(s) and they can also sign at home. Then the contract is sent to the lawyer and when he signs it, it's all official.
The contract states what you buy from whom and, of course, how the delivery and payment will take place. Nowadays, payment always goes through the bank and the seller's bank number will be stated in the contract. Of course, exceptions are possible.
The payment can be in one amount so that everything is handled immediately, but if the house is not yet empty, or if, for example, debts must be settled first, we will write a deposit. This gives buyer and seller certainty. To you that the seller is going to deliver and the seller knows that you want to buy the house. This is an important step, because once the seller has accepted the deposit, he can only cancel the sale by repaying you double the deposit . On the other hand, should you cancel the purchase, you will lose the amount of the deposit to the seller.
If we work with a deposit, a date is also written when everything must be arranged and the rest of the purchase amount must be transferred. After that, the house is yours, the lawyer will organize the changes to the land register and the estate agent will transfer the utilities to your name.
Finally you will come to Hungary and you will receive the keys. You can then open a bank account and take out insurance. You will of course receive an original of the purchase contract, the translation and an extract from the land register.
The above procedure can of course be completed in Hungary if necessary and will then be completed within 7-10 working days. If you sign from home, an additional 4-5 days can be added for sending, but all in all, the entire process can be completed within 3 weeks and if necessary it can really be done in a few days.
Important thing to know
Every EU resident can also settle freely in Hungary. Every EU resident can buy directly without any extra steps. For non-EU residents, a special permit is required, which our lawyer can help with. Just takes a little extra time and money.
If you buy a Tanya, a former farm in the countryside, someone else may have the right of first purchase. Rarely if ever used, but the rule is that it takes 60 days before you get approval to buy such an object. After these 60 days, there is still an office of the legislator (usually the land register) that checks whether everything went well and whether you, as a foreigner, are allowed to buy this. That can take another 60 days, so all in all 60 + 60+ a few more days for the post, sending back and forth, but especially passing all procedures, it can just take 4 – 9 months before you can buy . Please note, this has nothing to do with the limit of 10,000 m2 outside built-up areas. Plots larger than 10,000 m2 cannot be bought by a foreigner.
There must also be clarity about the state in which the house will be delivered and it is important to know that in Hungary the kitchen can also be taken with you. It must therefore be clear in advance if it should remain standing.
The transfer of the house to your name will be further arranged by the lawyer and after approximately 3 months you will receive the amended registration.
If you move I Hungary (you sell and buy a house within a year), you only pay the transfer tax on the difference between the purchase and sale amount.
Tax
The tax for this is 4% over the purchase price of the object.
You will receive the assessment through the Sigma, the official office of the Hungarian government to collect the foreign tax. You will receive this assessment after 2-12 months.
