Why in Albania?



Can a foreign citizen buy real estates in Albania?

Yes, all the foreign citizens can buy real estates (immovable properties) in Albania buy registering it directly in their individual name, or in another subject, company or partnership.


What are the transaction costs?

- The income tax from the transaction is paid by the SELLER in the amount of 10 % off the difference between the transaction price in the new contract and the price in the former contract of the SELLER.
(Price per unit (m2) in the last contract should not be lower than the reference price set by the "Local Office of the Immovable Property Registrations"

- The payment of 3% for the Agency (this payment is split: 1% from the BUYER and 2% from the SELLER)

- The payment of 1 % to the Notary (the division of this payment is negotiated between the SELLER and the BUYER).
Other costs such as translations and other paperwork administration costs have negotiable tariffs.


What is the buying process and how is it performed?

Buying a property is an open process. After the parties agree on the price and method of payment, they sign the Contract formulated by the Notary. A notary is impartial to the buyers and sellers and is responsible for the tasks that he has; verification of Title Deed, controlling of the underlying registry Wealth, preparation of contracts and insuring that fair contract conditions for transfer of ownership, up to the registration of the contract on ZRPP – Property Registration Office). Both parties must be present at the notary to sign the contract or, alternatively, they may be represented by another party through a Special Power of Attorney.


Does the mortgage guarantee exist in Albania?

Yes. Although Albanian banks have been careful in the recent years, the collateral of an asset, particularly in the case of foreigners, can be a lengthy bureaucratic process. It depends on the value of the property that is placed as collateral in the bank, so the latter can lend up to 70% of the property value, after the buyer has prepaid not less than 30% of the new property selling price. All applicants must make a statement about the payment of their taxes in the last three years. They also have to submit their employment contract including salary, bank accounts statements, certificates of assets, etc. The Albanian banks are favorable to foreigners who transfer or start their own business in Albania.


What are the costs for the management and maintenance of common facilities?

It depends on the type of property. For residential buildings, all property management costs, maintenance and repairs are generally separated for unit apartments. Property management expenses are usually 10-20 Euros per unit per month. Rent tax is 10% of the monthly rent, paid by the owner or the lessor. In some cases, 10% tax may be withheld by the Tenant and paid from him by being deducted from his monthly rent.


Learning more about Albania

Albanian's surface is 28,748 km².
The Albanian population is about 4,000,000 people.
More than 2,000,000 ethnic Albanians are in Kosovo, hundreds of thousands in Macedonia and Montenegro, and about 2,000,000 in other countries: USA, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Greece and Canada. About 70% of the population is considered to be non-religious or non-practitioners.

The rest are 20% Muslim, 6% Orthodox and 4% Catholics. Tirana has officially 750,000 inhabitants (although the actual number could be much higher). Tirana covers an area of 42 km² and is located at 110m above sea level, although both mountains with altitude of 1,612 m and 1,828 m belong to the municipality. The city has about 30,000 students.


History

Albania is founded around the 7th century BC by Illyrians (the ancestors of Albania former nation). On 229-168 BC the Romans defeated Illyrians and constituted the protectorate of Illyria. The Roman Empire was divided in 395 AD and the Albanian territory at that time was included in the Eastern Empire (Byzantium).

Albania was invaded by the Ottomans in year 1385 and their government lasted over 500 years. In 1443, Skanderbeg, the leader of Albania, conducted the war of independence against the Ottomans, which continued for 25 years until the death of Skanderbeg in 1468. In 1830 the Ottomans suppressed the autonomy of Albania.


Albania declared the independence in Vlora city, in November 1912.

In 1925, Ahmet Zogu became the President of the New Republic of Albania. Zogu proclaimed the kingdom and crowned himself as "King Zog" in 1928.

In November 1944, The National Liberation Front, led by the Communists took the power of the governance.

In 1968, Albania withdraws from the Pact of Warsaw and cultivates the relations with the Republic of China.

In 1978, the leader and Communist Party Chairman, Enver Hoxha, condemned China as a revisionist and Albania was left without any friends. Enver Hoxha died in April 1985. Ramiz Alia, the successor leader of the communist party, declared the democratization of the Country in March 1991 and the reforms came slowly.

In December 1991, it was founded the Democratic Party. The economic collapse became clear during 1992 when thousands of Albanians mobilized the ships to seek the asylum status in Italy. In March 1997 began the destruction caused by fraud and then the collapse of pyramid schema companies. The Socialist Party, landslide the victory during parliamentary elections in June 1997, held in the middle of riots across the country. President Berisha was accused as guilty for allowing the flourishing of pyramid schemes and he resigned from his position.

Albania turned into NATO operations base in March 1999, time when NATO launched a war from air in Yugoslavia. During May of the same year, 500.000 Kosovo flocked to Albania.

In 2006, Albania signed the Stabilization and Association Agreement with EU as the first step towards closer cooperation of Albania with the European Union.

In April 2009 - Albania joins NATO Tractate. In December 2010 - EU announces free travel-visa regime to the Schengen countries for Albanians.

In October 2012, the European Commission recommended the granting of the candidate status for Albania to the members of the EU States paving the way towards EU membership.



-Studies & Publications-


Immovable Property Market Analysis

Eshte nje studim i kryer mbi te dhenat e Agjensise 1st Real Estate - Immobiliari e cila ka si per qellim tju vije ne ndihme Institcioneve Financiare Kredidhenese, Vleresuesve te Pasurise se Paluajtshme si dhe Individeve te cilet duan te perllogarisin vleren e prones qe zoterojne ose duan te blejne. ...read more >>


Multi-Unit Apartment Buildings in Albania

Prepared for: Conference on "Real Estate Research in Central East and Southeast Europe" 15th and 16th of January 2004 Vienna, Austria. By J. David Stanfield and Artan Dervishi, with Romeo Sherko. Terra Institute, Mt. Horeb, Wisconsin Land Tenure Center, University of Wisconsin - Madison ...read more >>


A real estate lesson from thousands of miles away (real estate brokerage in Albania)

It's a long day at the office for Artan Dervishi, a 35-year-old native of Tirane, Albania, who until three years ago was the manager of the Tirane opera house. In 1992 he established Immobiliari Agency Tirane, one of the few real estate companies in the country's capital and largest city. Dervishi's company, ...read more >>


Immovable Property Markets in Metropolitan Tirana, Albania

Author: David Stanfield, Malcolm Childress, and Artan Dervishi. This paper is an output of the Land Market Action Plan in Albania, implemented by the Project Management Unit of the Immovable Property Registration System and the Coordinative Working Group (Tirana, Albania), with support from the Government of Albania ...read more >>