Developer check in Batumi: company, plot, permit, completed buildings, agreement

Developer check in Batumi: before the first payment

A developer check in Batumi is needed because when you buy during construction the apartment does not yet exist as a property. It will be registered only after the building is completed, and until then you have an agreement and the payments you have already sent. So it is not the apartment that is checked but whoever is building it: the company, the plot under the building, the construction permit, past buildings and the agreement itself. All of this is done before the first payment; changing the terms later is much harder. The general risks of buying are collected on the risks of buying property page.

The company

• the extract from the Registry of Entrepreneurs: director, founders, registration date;
• whether the company in the agreement is the one that owns the plot and received the permit;
• tax liens, bankruptcy, liquidation;
• court cases with buyers and contractors;
• how many years the company has operated and what it has completed.

Often one company builds the house, the plot is registered to another, and a third signs the agreement. That is not always bad, but you need to understand how they are connected and who answers to you for completing the building.

The plot under the building

The Public Registry extract shows who owns the land under the building, its designation and encumbrances. Developers often take out a loan against the plot, and a bank mortgage appears in the extract. In itself that is common practice, but the agreement should make clear how the bank will release your apartment from the mortgage in time for registration. If there is an attachment or a dispute over the plot, we advise not paying until the situation is clear. We also check the boundaries: the building must stand within the plot shown in the extract.

The construction permit

The construction permit for a building in Batumi is usually issued by City Hall. We ask the developer for a copy and compare it with what is being sold: number of storeys, floor area, designation of the building. If the permit allows twelve storeys and apartments are being sold on the sixteenth, the upper floors will have problems with commissioning and registration. How the permit and commissioning of a building work is covered on the building permit page. Development rules in Batumi have been tightened in recent years, and legalising storeys beyond the permit is getting harder.

The site itself

The documents say the building is going up; the site shows how. We visit the site: is work under way, how many workers and machines, does the stage match the schedule in the advertising. If the building has stood still for several months, that matters more than any promise from the sales office. We compare the actual floor with what the developer claimed six months ago and take photos for you. We also look at neighbouring plots: if an identical tower goes up next door, the view from the window and the value of the apartment will change.

The developer's completed buildings

The best check of a developer is its past buildings. We look at whether they were completed on time, whether the apartments are registered, how the facade and entrance look after a few years, whether the lifts work. We talk to residents: how the developer dealt with defects and what happened to the promised amenities. If the company has not completed a single building, the risk is higher and the terms of the agreement should reflect that. We also find out who manages the building after completion and how much maintenance costs: in high-rises by the sea, the owner pays this every month.

The developer's agreement

We read the instalment agreement separately: the schedule, penalties for late payment, what happens with early payment. How an instalment plan differs from a mortgage is on the payment plan or mortgage page.

If something is wrong

Not every risk found means walking away. A bank mortgage on the plot is common and is released as units are sold. A young company with no completed buildings may build honestly, but then it is worth choosing a building at a late stage and tying payments to stages. We advise walking away if the company in the agreement is not connected to the plot owner, there is no permit or storeys are sold beyond it, there is an attachment on the plot, and the site has stopped. Once the building is completed, the apartment is accepted against a certificate with an engineer; more on the apartment handover from the developer page.

How much a developer check costs

A developer check covering the company, plot, permit, court cases and visits to completed buildings costs from 1 200 ₾. Review of an instalment agreement from 660 ₾, handover of a finished apartment from the developer from 480 ₾, a legal due diligence check of an individual property from 960 ₾. The final cost is set after reviewing the project and agreeing the scope of the check.