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In Bucharest, A Flourishing Housing Market...



 
 
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  #1  
Old October 4th, 2007, 10:02 AM posted to rec.travel.europe
Gregory Morrow[_32_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 101
Default In Bucharest, A Flourishing Housing Market...

Here ya go, DFM...:


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/gr...bucharest.html


By JON GORVETT
Published: October 3, 2007
BUCHAREST


Romanian Rewards

"The streets may sometimes be chaotic and the sidewalks crowded, but to some
of the New Yorkers who live in Romania's capital, it can also be one of the
most rewarding cities in Europe.

Leslie Hawke, mother of Ethan Hawke, the actor, is one such resident. She
moved here seven years ago and now lives in a rooftop apartment on the city'
s main street, Calea Victoria.

"It's Bucharest's Fifth Avenue," she said, looking down from her
45-square-meter (485-square-foot) terrace, which curves around her
apartment. "It has all the major department stores and museums, palaces and
squares."

Spreading out below her apartment is the eclectic jumble of downtown. And
across the rooftops are the onion domes of a Russian church rising above
19th-century French-style apartment buildings. This is Europe's
sixth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million.

Ms. Hawke's 1930s-era apartment has 95 square meters (over 1,000 square
feet) of living space, with a large living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a
bathroom, and is just a few minutes' walk from her office. She works for
Ovidiu Rom, a nongovernmental organization that uses education programs to
support families and children, a job that spun out of the Peace Corps
volunteer work she did when she first arrived in the country.

"One of the really great things about Bucharest is the sense of proximity,"
she said. "Here, everything is still going on in the city center. I almost
never have to go to a social or work event by car."

That suits Anthony Raftopol, too. "As someone who grew up in the Big Apple,"
he said, "I am absolutely fine with the metro and the buses."

Mr. Raftopol works for Salans, a law firm. He moved here when it opened a
local office in the 1990s. He bought a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment in
the city center near Cismigiu Park, where he and his partner, Shawn Hargon,
now take their 13-month-old daughter, Zoe.

Mr. Raftopol's parents were Romanians who fled the Communist regime in 1968.
Although the family ended up in New York, he was born in a refugee camp in
Austria - where, he said, an exiled Hungarian countess used to help take
care of him.

As both a buyer and a real estate lawyer, he has seen the market evolve.
"Prices have exploded here," he said. "The economy has been growing fast,
yet the supply of apartments just hasn't kept up with demand. We estimate
they need about 300,000 new units at the moment, and so far this year there
are plans to build just 30,000. At that rate, the boom in prices should
continue for a decade."

Because of the shortage, prices are comparable with those in Vienna and
Berlin.

"Residential property in new developments in the suburbs goes for around
1,500 euros a square meter these days," or $198 a square foot, said another
real estate specialist, Brian Jardine, an American who works here for Wolf
Theiss, an Austrian law firm. He said that 100- to 150-square-meter (1,100-
to 1,500-square-foot) apartments downtown sell for around 300,000 euros
($426,000). "That's five or six times what it was five years ago," he said.

With high potential yields, Bucharest has become an increasingly popular
place for foreigners to invest, and now that Romania is a member of the
European Union, the number of those investments is likely to grow.

"Many individuals from places such as Germany, the U.K. and Austria are
already here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The U.S. resident community is pretty
small but tends to be made up of people who have quite a commitment to the
place."

Ms. Hawke added: "Buying here is quite different from back home too. One
great thing is, you can do it all via a notary, without all the lawyers you
need back in the States."

There are no restrictions on Americans' buying houses or apartments. Land
purchases, however, must be done through a company registered in Romania,
although foreigners are allowed to own such companies. "Setting one up is a
no-brainer," Mr. Raftopol said. "It's very quick and at about 300 euros
($426), pretty cheap."

Transactions can be complex. When Ms. Hawke bought her apartment, she
explained, she was asked for 113,000 euros ($160,460) in cash. "I didn't
feel so great carrying that around town in a bag, though," she said, "so
eventually I persuaded them that we could all just go to the bank and watch
the wire transfer go through."

Finding a place also can require unconventional methods.

"Word of mouth is the best way," Ms. Hawke said. "I bought a little place
out in the countryside recently and, to get that, I first asked a guy in a
local shop, who took me to the local priest, who took me to the mayor, and
while I was there a guy came by wanting to buy some wine off the mayor and
said he had a place for sale. It's not quite that extreme in Bucharest, but
it always helps to network."

Another issue to be aware of is restitution, Mr. Raftopol said. He explained
that in 1946, private owners were stripped of their property by the
Communists' nationalization process, and that after 1989, those owners were
shut out when current residents were allowed to buy their homes. Problems
sometimes cropped up later, when the original owners were allowed to claim
restitution.

"It's a good idea to hire a local lawyer to do a full title search to find
out if there are any restitution issues on the place you want to buy," Mr.
Raftopol said. "They should also look to see if the property is earthquake
proof." Bucharest is in an earthquake zone, and buildings are graded
according to their ability to withstand tremors.

Restoring a property also can be a challenge, as Romanian workers have been
heading to other European Union countries in search of higher wages,
creating a shortage of skilled workers. Yet "all the big home-improvement
stores are here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The materials cost what they would in
the U.S., but the labor is much less." The restoration of his apartment cost
20 to 25 percent less than what it would have in America, he said.

Bucharest has appeal but it is definitely for someone who likes a challenge.
"It is a city still figuring out what it wants to be," Mr. Raftopol said.
"It's not the sort of place you come because everything is already fixed up
and done; you come here because it's not like that. Instead, the potential
is still there for it to become something else - something really
different."

/



  #2  
Old October 4th, 2007, 08:08 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
Runge4
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 268
Default Warning viruses !


"Gregory Morrow" a écrit dans le
message de ...
Here ya go, DFM...:


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/gr...bucharest.html


By JON GORVETT
Published: October 3, 2007
BUCHAREST


Romanian Rewards

"The streets may sometimes be chaotic and the sidewalks crowded, but to
some
of the New Yorkers who live in Romania's capital, it can also be one of
the
most rewarding cities in Europe.

Leslie Hawke, mother of Ethan Hawke, the actor, is one such resident. She
moved here seven years ago and now lives in a rooftop apartment on the
city'
s main street, Calea Victoria.

"It's Bucharest's Fifth Avenue," she said, looking down from her
45-square-meter (485-square-foot) terrace, which curves around her
apartment. "It has all the major department stores and museums, palaces
and
squares."

Spreading out below her apartment is the eclectic jumble of downtown. And
across the rooftops are the onion domes of a Russian church rising above
19th-century French-style apartment buildings. This is Europe's
sixth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million.

Ms. Hawke's 1930s-era apartment has 95 square meters (over 1,000 square
feet) of living space, with a large living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and
a
bathroom, and is just a few minutes' walk from her office. She works for
Ovidiu Rom, a nongovernmental organization that uses education programs to
support families and children, a job that spun out of the Peace Corps
volunteer work she did when she first arrived in the country.

"One of the really great things about Bucharest is the sense of
proximity,"
she said. "Here, everything is still going on in the city center. I almost
never have to go to a social or work event by car."

That suits Anthony Raftopol, too. "As someone who grew up in the Big
Apple,"
he said, "I am absolutely fine with the metro and the buses."

Mr. Raftopol works for Salans, a law firm. He moved here when it opened a
local office in the 1990s. He bought a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment in
the city center near Cismigiu Park, where he and his partner, Shawn
Hargon,
now take their 13-month-old daughter, Zoe.

Mr. Raftopol's parents were Romanians who fled the Communist regime in
1968.
Although the family ended up in New York, he was born in a refugee camp in
Austria - where, he said, an exiled Hungarian countess used to help take
care of him.

As both a buyer and a real estate lawyer, he has seen the market evolve.
"Prices have exploded here," he said. "The economy has been growing fast,
yet the supply of apartments just hasn't kept up with demand. We estimate
they need about 300,000 new units at the moment, and so far this year
there
are plans to build just 30,000. At that rate, the boom in prices should
continue for a decade."

Because of the shortage, prices are comparable with those in Vienna and
Berlin.

"Residential property in new developments in the suburbs goes for around
1,500 euros a square meter these days," or $198 a square foot, said
another
real estate specialist, Brian Jardine, an American who works here for Wolf
Theiss, an Austrian law firm. He said that 100- to 150-square-meter
(1,100-
to 1,500-square-foot) apartments downtown sell for around 300,000 euros
($426,000). "That's five or six times what it was five years ago," he
said.

With high potential yields, Bucharest has become an increasingly popular
place for foreigners to invest, and now that Romania is a member of the
European Union, the number of those investments is likely to grow.

"Many individuals from places such as Germany, the U.K. and Austria are
already here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The U.S. resident community is pretty
small but tends to be made up of people who have quite a commitment to the
place."

Ms. Hawke added: "Buying here is quite different from back home too. One
great thing is, you can do it all via a notary, without all the lawyers
you
need back in the States."

There are no restrictions on Americans' buying houses or apartments. Land
purchases, however, must be done through a company registered in Romania,
although foreigners are allowed to own such companies. "Setting one up is
a
no-brainer," Mr. Raftopol said. "It's very quick and at about 300 euros
($426), pretty cheap."

Transactions can be complex. When Ms. Hawke bought her apartment, she
explained, she was asked for 113,000 euros ($160,460) in cash. "I didn't
feel so great carrying that around town in a bag, though," she said, "so
eventually I persuaded them that we could all just go to the bank and
watch
the wire transfer go through."

Finding a place also can require unconventional methods.

"Word of mouth is the best way," Ms. Hawke said. "I bought a little place
out in the countryside recently and, to get that, I first asked a guy in a
local shop, who took me to the local priest, who took me to the mayor, and
while I was there a guy came by wanting to buy some wine off the mayor and
said he had a place for sale. It's not quite that extreme in Bucharest,
but
it always helps to network."

Another issue to be aware of is restitution, Mr. Raftopol said. He
explained
that in 1946, private owners were stripped of their property by the
Communists' nationalization process, and that after 1989, those owners
were
shut out when current residents were allowed to buy their homes. Problems
sometimes cropped up later, when the original owners were allowed to claim
restitution.

"It's a good idea to hire a local lawyer to do a full title search to find
out if there are any restitution issues on the place you want to buy," Mr.
Raftopol said. "They should also look to see if the property is earthquake
proof." Bucharest is in an earthquake zone, and buildings are graded
according to their ability to withstand tremors.

Restoring a property also can be a challenge, as Romanian workers have
been
heading to other European Union countries in search of higher wages,
creating a shortage of skilled workers. Yet "all the big home-improvement
stores are here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The materials cost what they would
in
the U.S., but the labor is much less." The restoration of his apartment
cost
20 to 25 percent less than what it would have in America, he said.

Bucharest has appeal but it is definitely for someone who likes a
challenge.
"It is a city still figuring out what it wants to be," Mr. Raftopol said.
"It's not the sort of place you come because everything is already fixed
up
and done; you come here because it's not like that. Instead, the potential
is still there for it to become something else - something really
different."

/




  #3  
Old October 4th, 2007, 08:42 PM posted to rec.travel.europe
WorstGreatWestern
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 43
Default In Bucharest, A Flourishing Housing Market...

On 4 Oct, 10:02, "Gregory Morrow"
wrote:
Here ya go, DFM...:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/03/gr...ions/03gh-buch...

By JON GORVETT
Published: October 3, 2007
BUCHAREST

Romanian Rewards

"The streets may sometimes be chaotic and the sidewalks crowded, but to some
of the New Yorkers who live in Romania's capital, it can also be one of the
most rewarding cities in Europe.

Leslie Hawke, mother of Ethan Hawke, the actor, is one such resident. She
moved here seven years ago and now lives in a rooftop apartment on the city'
s main street, Calea Victoria.

"It's Bucharest's Fifth Avenue," she said, looking down from her
45-square-meter (485-square-foot) terrace, which curves around her
apartment. "It has all the major department stores and museums, palaces and
squares."

Spreading out below her apartment is the eclectic jumble of downtown. And
across the rooftops are the onion domes of a Russian church rising above
19th-century French-style apartment buildings. This is Europe's
sixth-largest city, with a population of 1.9 million.

Ms. Hawke's 1930s-era apartment has 95 square meters (over 1,000 square
feet) of living space, with a large living room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a
bathroom, and is just a few minutes' walk from her office. She works for
Ovidiu Rom, a nongovernmental organization that uses education programs to
support families and children, a job that spun out of the Peace Corps
volunteer work she did when she first arrived in the country.

"One of the really great things about Bucharest is the sense of proximity,"
she said. "Here, everything is still going on in the city center. I almost
never have to go to a social or work event by car."

That suits Anthony Raftopol, too. "As someone who grew up in the Big Apple,"
he said, "I am absolutely fine with the metro and the buses."

Mr. Raftopol works for Salans, a law firm. He moved here when it opened a
local office in the 1990s. He bought a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment in
the city center near Cismigiu Park, where he and his partner, Shawn Hargon,
now take their 13-month-old daughter, Zoe.

Mr. Raftopol's parents were Romanians who fled the Communist regime in 1968.
Although the family ended up in New York, he was born in a refugee camp in
Austria - where, he said, an exiled Hungarian countess used to help take
care of him.

As both a buyer and a real estate lawyer, he has seen the market evolve.
"Prices have exploded here," he said. "The economy has been growing fast,
yet the supply of apartments just hasn't kept up with demand. We estimate
they need about 300,000 new units at the moment, and so far this year there
are plans to build just 30,000. At that rate, the boom in prices should
continue for a decade."

Because of the shortage, prices are comparable with those in Vienna and
Berlin.

"Residential property in new developments in the suburbs goes for around
1,500 euros a square meter these days," or $198 a square foot, said another
real estate specialist, Brian Jardine, an American who works here for Wolf
Theiss, an Austrian law firm. He said that 100- to 150-square-meter (1,100-
to 1,500-square-foot) apartments downtown sell for around 300,000 euros
($426,000). "That's five or six times what it was five years ago," he said.

With high potential yields, Bucharest has become an increasingly popular
place for foreigners to invest, and now that Romania is a member of the
European Union, the number of those investments is likely to grow.

"Many individuals from places such as Germany, the U.K. and Austria are
already here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The U.S. resident community is pretty
small but tends to be made up of people who have quite a commitment to the
place."

Ms. Hawke added: "Buying here is quite different from back home too. One
great thing is, you can do it all via a notary, without all the lawyers you
need back in the States."

There are no restrictions on Americans' buying houses or apartments. Land
purchases, however, must be done through a company registered in Romania,
although foreigners are allowed to own such companies. "Setting one up is a
no-brainer," Mr. Raftopol said. "It's very quick and at about 300 euros
($426), pretty cheap."

Transactions can be complex. When Ms. Hawke bought her apartment, she
explained, she was asked for 113,000 euros ($160,460) in cash. "I didn't
feel so great carrying that around town in a bag, though," she said, "so
eventually I persuaded them that we could all just go to the bank and watch
the wire transfer go through."

Finding a place also can require unconventional methods.

"Word of mouth is the best way," Ms. Hawke said. "I bought a little place
out in the countryside recently and, to get that, I first asked a guy in a
local shop, who took me to the local priest, who took me to the mayor, and
while I was there a guy came by wanting to buy some wine off the mayor and
said he had a place for sale. It's not quite that extreme in Bucharest, but
it always helps to network."

Another issue to be aware of is restitution, Mr. Raftopol said. He explained
that in 1946, private owners were stripped of their property by the
Communists' nationalization process, and that after 1989, those owners were
shut out when current residents were allowed to buy their homes. Problems
sometimes cropped up later, when the original owners were allowed to claim
restitution.

"It's a good idea to hire a local lawyer to do a full title search to find
out if there are any restitution issues on the place you want to buy," Mr.
Raftopol said. "They should also look to see if the property is earthquake
proof." Bucharest is in an earthquake zone, and buildings are graded
according to their ability to withstand tremors.

Restoring a property also can be a challenge, as Romanian workers have been
heading to other European Union countries in search of higher wages,
creating a shortage of skilled workers. Yet "all the big home-improvement
stores are here," Mr. Raftopol said. "The materials cost what they would in
the U.S., but the labor is much less." The restoration of his apartment cost
20 to 25 percent less than what it would have in America, he said.

Bucharest has appeal but it is definitely for someone who likes a challenge.
"It is a city still figuring out what it wants to be," Mr. Raftopol said.
"It's not the sort of place you come because everything is already fixed up
and done; you come here because it's not like that. Instead, the potential
is still there for it to become something else - something really
different."

/


Mr. Raftopol works for Salans, a law firm. ....
....snip...
"It's a good idea to hire a local lawyer to do a full title search to
find
out if there are any restitution issues on the place you want to buy,"
Mr.
Raftopol said.

 




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