House is a special place where everyone feels confident, secure and calm. Why is own home better than apartment? What's cheaper? How is possible to obtain a residence permit in Europe when buying a home? Buying a house in Latvia: step by step instructions from portal ee24.com.
Buying a house - a simple way to get a residence permit in Latvia
Purchase of real estate in Latvia (and houses in particular) has several advantages. These are low prices, quality products and services, proximity to the Russian capitals, opportunity to communicate and receive education in Russian. Of course, you won’t get Latvian citizenship for purchasing real estate but getting a residence permit is perfectly real.
The Russians in Latvia are mostly interested in already built houses from 250 sq. m. or key-ready apartments from100 sq.m. Of course, you can buy an apartment and stay within the four walls, but you’d better own a house to enjoy the cam Latvian life in full.
You can buy a house in Latvia in the outskirts as well as in the city, including the heart of the capital: in the Old Town of Riga. Of course, buying luxury real estate in Riga, the tourist heart of Latvia is not cheap, and probably it will cost a couple of million euros.
Let us see which districts of Riga and suburbs are the most convenient and demanded among foreigners. The market is full of different offers from luxury villas in Jurmala for €4-5 million to economy, but also quite decent houses for €30,000 – 50,000. The latter are in less famous places and towns or farther from the sea.
It is clear that Jurmala is not only a prestigious seaside resort, popular summer festivals and evening promenade along Jomas street. Jurmala is nostalgia for the Soviet past, dressed in abundance, comfort and painted showcases of inviting restaurants. You can buy this nostalgia for a price from €800 per square meter.
Andrejs Kozels, director of the housing department of the company Realia Property says that foreigners more often buy houses in Jurmala. Typical buyers are Russian families who purchase properties for more than €143,000 and expect to get a residence permit in Latvia. Price preferences of the local population are from €20,000 up to €120,000. Andrejs notes that "at the same price you can purchase an apartment in a new building in a residential area or a house in the suburbs of Riga".
Besides Jurmala, there are such strategically attractive areas near Riga: Vecaki (which is also administratively subordinated to the capital) Saulkrasti (as a quieter alternative to Jurmala) or Marupe that borders Riga region. In these places, key-ready houses cost approximately €800 – 1,500 per square meter.
Wealthy people in Latvia often choose areas such as Bergi, in the outskirts of Riga. You can build a perfect dream country house overlooking the lake and with a large plot. Such house, for example, is now for sale for €500,000. Mezaparks area is also popular, prices are higher, but those who like greenery, will like this place. Mezhaparks is a magnificent woodland park with walking paths and playgrounds. Nearby there is the famous Riga Zoo.
What you should pay attention to in the Latvian province
If you are not a fan of metropolises, and you are not going to fly ofter to other European cities, but you are attracted by the Baltic romantic and picturesque landscapes, you have an opportunity to choose such cities as Liepaja and Ventspils as your place of residence. Cheap houses in Latvia can be purchased here, away from "promoted" Riga and Jurmala.
Liepaja is "the city where the wind is born", a mecca of creative people and surfers. And Ventspils is the most comfortable and clean city of Latvia, and its beach is marked with "Blue Flag" - an international award given for cleanliness and compliance with environmental and service standards. You can buy a house in Liepaja or Ventspils for up to € 1,000 per square meter in average.
We suggest that you also pay attention to Engure region, located near the sea and at an acceptable distance from the capital. Here you can live a quiet rural life, if you buy a big beautiful family house for €270,000. On the area of 370 sq. m there are four bedrooms, several bathrooms, a swimming pool, a sauna, a dressing room, a garage and storerooms. And the sea is only 300 meters away.
We recommend to buy a house in Cesis region to those who like lakes and parks. For €225,000 you will get a completely renovated ancient house of 280 sq.m. Next to it there is the Gauja National Park, the largest in the country.
Costs of buying and maintaining a house in Latvia
You will need to provide a full set of documents to the notary, and then to land cadastre service if you buy real estate in Latvia directly from the owner. Andrejs Kozels says that payments will look like this: a tax of 2% of the purchase price, as well as registry charge for €21,43 and notary service for €150-350.
It must be mentioned that it is not necessary to pay the entire amount at once: Latvian banks provide loans for buying real estate, even to foreigners. For Latvia, it is quite a feasible procedure. A foreign client can obtain a mortgage in the amount of 40-60% property price by confirming his financial solvency. Of course, each case is considered individually, but in general all documents for the loan can be issued during only one month.
If you think about buying real estate in Latvia, we can’t ignore the question of utility bills. They are not cheap here, though they depend greatly on district and even on house, as well as on services and conditions of Service Company. For example, expenses for a house of 100 sq.m. can be about €200 in winter and about €140 in summer. In Jurmala, these prices are one of the highest, so the above mentioned amounts can be doubled.
Text: Ekaterina Danilova, especially for ee24.com