How to buy property in Albania from abroad

Choose the area first, then the property. Compare asking prices per square metre in the neighbourhood and save a few listings to hear when a price changes.

Use messages on hyrja.al for the questions that usually take a visit: the exact floor, which way the windows face, the state of the building, and whether the apartment has its own ownership certificate.

• Properties for sale
• Prices by area

You do not need to fly in for a first look. When you request a viewing on a listing, choose “Video viewing” and your app — WhatsApp or Viber. At the agreed time (Albanian time) the seller or agent calls you and walks you through the home live. During the call:

• Start outside: the street, the entrance, the stairs and the lift
• See every room, the views and the ceiling corners, where damp shows
• Ask to see the meters and the heating or air conditioning working
• Note what you are told and ask for anything important in writing in the chat
• Before you pay anything, have someone you trust visit in person

Before you agree a price or pay a deposit, get copies of the property documents and have your lawyer or the notary check them. Hyrja never verifies the identity of private owners, so the documents are what protect you.

• What Hyrja checks

An independent lawyer in Albania is your eyes and hands when you cannot be there. Choose one yourself, not one suggested by the seller, and agree the fee and the tasks in writing. A lawyer can check the documents at ASHK, review the contracts, sign for you with a power of attorney and follow the registration. An agent is paid to close the sale; your lawyer works only for you.

If you will not be in Albania for the signing, you can give your lawyer or a relative a power of attorney (prokurë) to sign for you. Make it specific — the property, the maximum price and exactly what may be signed and paid — rather than general. There are two usual ways to make one from abroad.

A property sale in Albania is signed as a notarial deed. The notary checks the identities, the ownership documents and any burdens, and reads the contract out before signing. Many purchases start with a preliminary contract, also before a notary, that fixes the price, the deposit, the deadlines and what happens if one side withdraws. If legal Albanian is hard for you, ask for a translation or have your lawyer explain each clause first.

Pay every amount — deposit and balance — by bank transfer to an account in the seller's name, and keep the proof. A transfer links the payment to the contract; cash does not, and should never be handed to an intermediary.

• Check that the account holder is the seller named on the certificate
• Put the contract reference in the payment description
• If payment details change at the last minute, confirm by phone with your lawyer
• Ask the notary how and when the balance reaches the seller

The sale is complete only once it is registered at ASHK. The notary usually sends the contract, and your lawyer or representative can follow it up. Ask for the new ownership certificate in your name. Then move the electricity, water and building-maintenance contracts into your name.

Expect a notary fee, a registration fee at ASHK, a tax on the transfer and, if you use them, fees for a lawyer, a translator and an agent. The amounts, and who pays what, depend on the property, the municipality and your agreement with the seller — and the rules change. Ask the notary for the current schedule of fees and taxes before the preliminary contract, and agree in writing who pays what.

Foreign citizens can generally buy apartments, houses and other buildings in Albania, together with the land they stand on. Agricultural land, forests and pastures are different: foreigners face restrictions there and can often only lease them. The rules can change, so if the property includes land, or you buy through a company, confirm with a lawyer first. Albanians living abroad buy as Albanian citizens, with a valid passport or ID card.

Tick every line before any money leaves your account:

• I have seen the property on a live video call, or someone I trust has visited it
• I have a recent ASHK certificate, and the seller's name matches it
• There is no mortgage, seizure or dispute — or the contract says how it is cleared
• My own lawyer has checked the documents and the contract
• The notary has given me the current fees and taxes
• I pay only by bank transfer to the seller's own account