What buying a Georgian flat actually costs on top of the price

The first thing to understand about buying in Georgia is what is absent. There is no stamp duty and no purchase tax on a property transfer, which is the single largest closing cost in many European markets. Buying from a private seller carries no VAT. A new build from a developer does carry 18% VAT, but it is included in the advertised price rather than added at signing — so the quoted figure is the figure, and a developer who presents VAT as an extra at the end of the process is departing from the normal practice.

Registration at the Public Registry is the buyer's cost and is priced by speed: 150 lari for four working days, 270 lari for one day, or 350 lari for same-day registration. A notary is needed only in specific situations, such as a foreign power of attorney, at 100 to 500 lari plus translation. An accredited interpreter at signing runs about 50 to 150 lari, and is worth having rather than relying on a bilingual acquaintance. A lawyer costs 0.3 to 1% of the price, or a fixed fee from around 500 dollars; for a foreign buyer who cannot read the registry extract or the contract, that is the cheapest insurance in the transaction. An appraisal, needed for a mortgage or a residence permit application, is 150 to 400 lari.

On a secondary-market purchase the agency commission of 2 to 3% is usually the seller's, and on a new build the developer typically pays it. That matters when a buyer is told an agent's fee is theirs to pay: it is not the normal arrangement, and it is a fair question to ask who the agent is actually acting for. A buyer who wants independent advice is better served by paying a lawyer directly than by hoping an agent paid by the other side will raise a problem with the title.

The exit matters as much as the entry. A private individual who has owned a residential property for more than two years pays no tax on the gain. Sell within two years and the gain — the price less documented purchase and renovation costs, so keep the invoices — is taxed at 5%. Repeated buying and selling can be reclassified as a business, which brings a 20% rate and possibly VAT registration, so a plan to flip several units in quick succession is a different tax question from a single resale. Rules change, and this is a summary of one published guide rather than advice: confirm your own position with a Georgian lawyer and a tax adviser before signing.