1. Purchasing a residential apartment is associated with various risks: the building may be structurally unsound, the seller's ownership rights may be defective, the building may not have been commissioned, etc. 

2. Before concluding a real estate sale and purchase agreement, it is recommended to take the following measures:

a) Have the stability of the building's foundation and walls checked by an independent structural engineer; 

b) Measure the internal area of the apartment to accurately determine its size; 

c) Verify that the current area of the apartment corresponds to the building layout registered in the Public Registry and to the floor plan approved by the local municipality's architecture department; 

d) Check whether the seller is registered in the Debtors' Registry or is subject to enforcement proceedings; 

e) Check whether the real estate is encumbered with a mortgage or any other obligation; 

f) Check whether the building has been commissioned by the local self-government authority; 

g) Check whether the apartment is connected to utility networks (electricity, water, sewage, natural gas), and whether subscriber numbers have been assigned; 

h) Check whether there are any outstanding utility debts on the apartment to utility service companies; 

i) Ensure that at the time of executing the sale and purchase agreement, the apartment is vacant and no third parties, including the seller, reside in it; 

j) The purchase price should be paid only after the buyer is registered as the owner or future owner of the real estate; 

k) Check whether construction of a new residential building is planned adjacent to the apartment you intend to purchase (near external windows); 

l) If the apartment is encumbered with a mortgage, obtain written consent from the mortgagee regarding the terms of mortgage cancellation; 

m) If the apartment is leased, the fate of the lease agreement must be determined before concluding the sale and purchase agreement. 

n) Check at the local court whether any civil dispute is ongoing regarding the real estate; 

o) Check at the local court and local municipality whether any construction-related administrative-legal dispute is ongoing regarding the real estate (the amount of the fine may range from 4,000 to 50,000 GEL); 

p) The unified extract of the real estate should be updated from the Public Registry and also from the Entrepreneurial Registry if the seller is a legal entity.

q) In the updated extracts, check whether any restrictions (seizure, tax lien/mortgage, etc.) are registered against the seller;

r) Obtain and review the architectural and urban planning documentation issued by the local municipality regarding the real estate (building) to determine whether any restrictions have been established on the building or land plot.

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