Renovated apartments for sale in Batumi: what to check under the finish
A renovated apartment in Batumi saves months: you can move in or take your first guest soon after the deal. But “renovated” covers a developer's finish under a contract, the previous owner's renovation and a fresh coat of paint for the sale. We shortlist such apartments to your brief, an engineer checks what is hidden under the finish, a lawyer the documents, and you know what you are paying for in the price of the apartment.
What to know about the district
Apartments with a developer's finish are most often sold in new seafront buildings on the New Boulevard and Khimshiashvili Street, where they are prepared for letting straight away. If the building has already been through at least one winter, we look at neighbouring flats: the same finish usually has the same weak points.
In the centre and the Old Town, renovated apartments are mostly resales. Behind a fresh finish there may be old risers and wiring as old as the building, and in older houses timber floors as well. Under a new floor you cannot see them, so we look at the basement, the stairwell and the condition of the whole building.
Humidity and salt by the sea quickly expose poor work: shower joints darken, laminate swells by the balcony door, the brackets of outdoor units rust. An apartment that has been through a winter is easier to check than one renovated this spring.
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Buying a renovated apartment in Batumi pays off when time is worth more than money: you can move in or open the apartment for bookings soon after the deal, while your own renovation from frame condition takes several months. But you pay for the renovation in the price of the apartment, so it deserves the same careful check as the documents.
Renovated apartments for sale in Batumi: when they make sense
A finished renovation helps if you need the apartment for the season, if you live abroad and do not want to run building work from a distance, or if you are moving with your family and need somewhere to live straight away. For short-term letting the difference is especially clear: an apartment bought renovated in spring can take its first guests in summer.
There is also a money argument. An apartment in frame condition is cheaper to buy, but the renovation has to be paid for in the first months after the deal. With a finished renovation the whole amount sits in the price of the apartment, which means it falls into the developer's payment plan or into the valuation the bank looks at.
It makes no sense to pay for a renovation you will redo anyway. If you do not like the layout, the kitchen or the bathroom, price the apartment as if there were no renovation and add your own estimate. A renovation done to someone else's taste is worth less to the buyer than to the seller.
A developer's finish: checking against the contract
In new buildings, renovated apartments are often sold by the developer itself. The scope of such a finish is set out in the contract or its specification: materials, sanitaryware, doors, kitchen, air conditioners. At handover the engineer checks the apartment against this list, and anything that does not match or is poorly done goes into the certificate.
The finish is done on many apartments at once, so neighbouring flats usually share the same mistakes: gaps at the skirting boards, a shower joint without waterproofing, sockets next to the kitchen sink. If the developer has not fixed the defects, you can hand the rework over to us; more on our page about reworking a developer's renovation.
The previous owner's renovation: age and history
In a resale apartment the renovation was done by the seller, and the first thing we find out is when and by whom. A five-year-old renovation in an apartment lived in all year is more honest than a fresh one: its weak points are already visible. A renovation done a month before the sale is checked more strictly, since anything can hide under new paint.
We ask the seller for photos of hidden works, the contract with the contractor and receipts for appliances. A contractor's warranty is usually in the previous owner's name, so we check whether it transfers to you. How an engineer checks someone else's renovation without opening anything up is covered in our comparison of renovating before or after buying.
A layout change under a fresh renovation
Renovated apartments often come with layout changes: a loggia merged with a room, a kitchen moved into the living room, a wall knocked down. Partitions can be moved without a permit as long as load-bearing walls, slabs and columns are untouched. Work on load-bearing structures is done only to a design and with a permit, and if there was none, you buy the problem along with the apartment.
So we compare the actual layout with the plan from the registry or the building design. The engineer looks at which walls were removed and whether any of them were load-bearing, and the lawyer checks the area in the extract against what came out after the balcony was merged. How such changes are formalised properly is explained on our page about the layout change design.
Furniture, appliances and the inventory
“Renovated” and “furnished” are different things, and listings often mix them up. What stays in the apartment we write into an inventory attached to the contract: furniture, appliances, air conditioners, curtains, kitchenware. Without an inventory, at the signing it may turn out that the TV and the dishwasher have left with the seller.
We look at the appliances switched on: the air conditioners in cooling and heating mode, the water heater, the hob, the washing machine. By the sea, outdoor air conditioning units and their brackets rust faster, and their condition is part of the price too.
A renovated apartment for letting
Even a good renovation usually needs some finishing before letting: code locks, a stock of linen, small kitchen items, photos for the listings. This is weeks rather than months, and it is worth allowing for before the season. What needs doing before the first guests is described on our page about preparing an apartment for letting.
If the apartment has already been let, we ask the seller for its history: reviews, monthly occupancy, maintenance costs. Reviews on the platforms do not pass to the new owner, but they show what guests complained about.
What checking a renovated apartment costs
A technical inspection of the apartment before purchase, with a moisture meter, a look at the consumer unit, pipes and ventilation, and a report with photos, costs from 480 ₾. Legal due diligence costs from 960 ₾. Accepting a finished apartment from the developer costs from 480 ₾ per property, and reworking the developer's finish, if defects remain, from 150 ₾ per m².
A search for a renovated apartment on a flat fee costs from 5 400 ₾. The final price is set after the inspection and once the scope of work is agreed.
Questions and answers
How much does it cost to check a renovated apartment before buying?
A technical inspection by an engineer costs from 480 ₾. It includes a moisture meter on the outer walls and by the bathroom, a look at the consumer unit, the pipes under the sink, the ventilation, windows and appliances, and at the end a report with photos and a list of what will need fixing.
Legal due diligence costs from 960 ₾. You can negotiate using the engineer's report: we send a preliminary estimate for the repairs within 24 hours on business days. The final cost of the work is set after the inspection and once the scope is agreed.
Does a renovation warranty pass to the new owner?
It depends on who gave it and how. A contractor's warranty is usually written into the contract with the previous owner, and whether it passes to you depends on the text of that contract. Ask the seller for it together with the warranty terms and photos of hidden works.
If the finish was done by the developer, its quality obligations are set out in the sale contract, so defects should be recorded in the certificate at handover. If we do a renovation or rework after the purchase, our work carries a 2-year warranty, and hidden pipes and wiring 5 years.
How can I tell how much the renovation adds to the price?
Compare the apartment with similar unrenovated ones in the same building or district, and add the estimate for your own renovation and furniture to their price. The difference shows how much the seller is asking for the finished interior and the time saved.
If part of the renovation will have to be redone, it is worth less. We prepare a preliminary estimate from photos and a floor plan within 24 hours on business days, and a detailed one after the inspection, and with it you can see whether you are overpaying.
Can I redo part of the renovation after buying?
Yes, the bathroom, the kitchen and the electrics are redone most often, and the rest is freshened up. If you are planning changes, it is better to know their scope before the deal: then you negotiate with figures in hand and can see straight away when the apartment will be ready.
Redoing a bathroom or kitchen in a building with neighbours is planned around the building rules: hours for noisy work, removal of waste, protection of the lift. When pipes and wiring in the walls are replaced, our 5-year warranty applies to them.
Is it worth buying a renovated apartment if I live abroad?
It is often the calmest option: you do not have to manage a renovation from afar, and the apartment can be let or moved into almost at once. The risk lies elsewhere: you cannot see the renovation with your own eyes, and the photos in a listing hide a lot.
So we do the inspection: the engineer films a video, checks the walls with a moisture meter and sends a report with photos. The deal can be done under a power of attorney, and after the purchase the same team will prepare the apartment for letting and take it into management.