Safe haven: a Tranio client from Crimea on how he bought a holiday home in Hungary

Dmitry, an entrepreneur from Sevastopol, bought a flat near the famous Lake Balaton. In an interview with Tranio, he explained why Hungary was his choice and how he became a landlord without initially planning to do so.
— Dmitry, how did you get the idea of buying a property abroad?
— I was motivated by the lack of political and economic stability in my native Crimea:
— Why did you choose Hungary exactly? Did you consider other countries?
— I looked into real estate in Turkey, Bulgaria and more expensive countries, such as Cyprus. Above all, I was looking for a property with a reasonable price and maintenance costs. While
— Had you been in the country before you bought the property?
— No, I went to Hungary for the first time precisely to choose a property. I thought,
Overall, I liked Hungary:
Thanks to the relatively short distances and good roads, it is convenient to travel around Europe from there. I stayed seven kilometres away from Keszthely, in Hévíz, and rented a car there to go to Austria just for the fun of it: in just two plus hours, I was already having coffee near the Vienna State Opera. In two and a half hours you can reach Ljubljana and in three hours the Adriatic coast of Croatia by car from Keszthely.

— Tell us how you went about looking for a property.
— I was searching online: I looked through the websites of several of the largest companies in the field, one of which was Tranio; Inna Opalyuk, your manager for Hungary, helped me to find my flat. Inna explained everything professionally and introduced me to your Hungarian partners.
— Which cities apart from Keszthely did you consider? Did the property in Budapest. appeal to you?
— I did consider Budapest, but the property prices there were about twice as high as in Keszthely. With my budget, I could only afford a flat far from the city centre in a block with panel houses, which
By the way, I viewed the properties in the suburbs of Hévíz, and the local townhouses
— So, you went on the viewing tour in summer? Do you have an idea what the weather is like in Keszthely in winter?
— What property did you buy eventually? Do you have all the necessary infrastructure to live comfortably?
— I bought a flat
— Did you experience any difficulties during registration?
— Not at all. First, I signed an agreement with a local attorney who handled the transaction, after which I paid the deposit equal to 10% of the property value. Having signed the preliminary agreement, I had to wait for about a month for a permit to buy the property from the Hungarian authorities. In general, it seemed to me that Hungary had relatively little bureaucracy. You can settle many issues by email, without any queues.

— Did you plan to rent your Hungarian property out immediately?
— Who is managing your property?
— Do you have a tenancy agreement? And do you have to pay a rental income tax?
— We have an agreement,
— What is the yield rate of your flat?
— The tenants pay me €150 per month (excluding utility costs), which is not much even by Sevastopol standards. However, this is the market rental price for such a property.
— Do you plan on getting a Hungarian residence permit?
— Not now; instead,
— Sure,
Anna Bugayeva, Tranio.com
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