How a foreigner buys property in Georgia, step by step

Buying property in Georgia is simpler than in most of Europe. A foreigner buys in their own name, with no resident partner and no special permit. Here is what it looks like in practice.

Step 1. Start with the purpose, not the district

The conversation never starts with "I want Vake". It starts with why you want the property. To live in, what matters is the school, the transport and how quiet the courtyard is. To rent out, what matters is footfall, the view and how close the interesting parts of town are. To resell, what matters is the construction stage and the developer's reputation.

The same building can be an excellent purchase for one goal and a poor one for another. This is where most money is lost: people buy the pretty option and later discover it rents a third worse than the plain building next door.

Step 2. Budget the full cost, not the price

Count what you pay in total, not what the listing says. On top of the price you have:

• notary fees and title registration, a small amount but a real one;
• the agency fee, if you work with a broker;
• renovation, if the apartment is sold as a bare shell, which is very common in new builds;
• furniture and appliances, if you plan to rent it out.

In Tbilisi the gap between a "green frame" shell and a move-in ready apartment easily reaches 300 to 500 dollars per square metre. That is not a detail to clarify later.

Step 3. Due diligence

This is where the real work starts. The minimum set:

• Public registry extract. Shows the owner, the area and any encumbrance: pledge, seizure, mortgage.
• Building permit for new construction. You check that what was built matches what was approved.
• Developer history. Whether previous phases were delivered and how late. A year of delay is not unusual on this market.
• Utility debts. They travel with the property unless cleared before the deal.

If the seller is rushing you and will not allow time for checks, that is itself the answer.

Step 4. Contract and payment

The sale contract is drawn up in Georgian. If you do not read Georgian you need a translation and an interpreter at signing. That is standard practice, not a sign of distrust.

Payment normally goes through a bank account. Cash is possible in large deals but makes it harder to prove the origin of funds later, if you decide to sell or to apply for a residence permit.

Step 5. Registration at the House of Justice

The fastest part. Title registration takes one business day, or a few hours on the express tariff. You walk out with an extract naming you as the owner.

You do not have to be there in person: the deal can be closed under a notarised power of attorney while you are in another country. Many of our clients first see their apartment after the title is already registered.

What usually goes wrong

Three situations we see regularly:

1. Buying from renders. The building in the picture and the building in reality differ in layout, ceiling height and what you see out of the window. Ask for photographs of the actual floor.
2. Verbal promises from the developer. Parking, storage, finishing: anything not written into the contract does not exist.
3. Saving on due diligence. A couple of hundred dollars on a lawyer saves tens of thousands when a property turns out to be encumbered.

How long it takes

With a completed property and clean documents, one to three weeks pass between the first viewing and the keys. The time goes into checks and price negotiation, not registration. That is as it should be: rushing here costs more than waiting.