How to check the authenticity of documents for an apartment when buying it?

It is worth checking the real estate in the Register of Real Property Rights. This can be done on the Diya portal. This is how you will find out who is the real owner of the property and whether there are any encumbrances against it: mortgage, seizure, prohibition of alienation.

If you buy an apartment through an intermediary, analyze the power of attorney in detail. It must be notarized:

• terms of the power of attorney - is it valid at the time of your agreement;

• authority of the representative - does he have the right to sign the contract;

• personal data - whether a power of attorney has been issued for that person. Compare the data from the power of attorney with the passport data of the representative.

*Importantly! During martial law, a notarial power of attorney for the sale of housing on behalf of an individual is valid for no more than one month. That is, if the notary issued the document on March 1, the representative must conclude a real estate sale agreement by April 1.

If more than one month has passed since the power of attorney was issued, the property owner must confirm the validity of the power of attorney with an additional statement. Pay attention to this moment.*

How to check who owns real estate? Request the original title documents from the owner. These can be a certificate of ownership, a certificate of inheritance, a gift contract, a court decision.

If the apartment was inherited or recognized as the property of a person by a court decision, it is worth conducting an additional check:

• note how the inheritance certificate was issued a long time ago. If it is relatively "fresh", there is a risk that other heirs may claim the apartment;

• check the court decision in the Register of Court Decisions by case number. It is important to make sure that it has entered into force and cannot be contested.

If the apartment was purchased during the war, it cannot be alienated within a month from the moment of state registration of the right to own it. The so-called moratorium on the "quick resale" of real estate is provided for by the Resolution of the CMU No. 164 of February 28, 2022. So pay attention to when exactly the right to ownership of housing was registered.