The check
We request the documents, obtain the register data and check the seller and his family and corporate position. The result is a short opinion: safe to buy, buy with reservations, do not buy.
PRACTICE / 05
Legal services in real estate
We check the property before the money moves, not after registration.
- Property types
- Residential and commercial
- Deliverable
- Short written opinion
- Clients
- Companies and individuals
In real estate almost every problem is visible in advance — in the register extract, in the chain of previous transfers, in the seller's documents, in the consents that are missing. The difficulty is that they are visible only to someone who knows where to look.
We act on residential and commercial transactions for companies and individuals: we check the property, draft the contract around the specific risk and see the matter through to registration of title. And we litigate when a transaction is later attacked.
What we do
- Check the property and the seller: chain of title, encumbrances, attachments, third-party rights, insolvency and succession risks.
- Structure the transaction: payment mechanics, letter of credit or escrow, the moment of handover, the parties' liability.
- Draft and negotiate sale, lease, exchange, investment and preliminary agreements.
- See the transaction through to registration of transfer of title and physical handover of the property.
- Advise on commercial real estate transactions, including portfolio and leasing deals.
- Litigate: recognition of title, challenges to transactions, eviction, recovery under leases, disputes with developers.
- Handle housing disputes: use of premises, moving in, allocation of payments, disputes with the management company.
- Prepare a valuation of the property where one is needed for the transaction, the dispute or tax purposes (jointly with our valuation practice).
Typical situations
- The seller acquired the property recently, is selling in a hurry and is pressing for settlement.
- The flat came to the seller by inheritance and there are heirs you know nothing about.
- You are buying premises from a company showing signs of insolvency — its future trustee may challenge the sale.
- A tenant has left owing rent and the security deposit does not cover half of it.
- The transaction is attacked years later on the basis of a defect of will or a missing spousal consent.
Commercial disputes in Russia are heard by the arbitrazh courts — the state commercial courts, not private arbitration tribunals; disputes involving individuals go to the courts of general jurisdiction.
HOW THE WORK IS ORGANISED
How the work is organised
A contract built around the risk
We draft the contract so that the risks identified are closed off by its terms: payment mechanics, warranties, security, handover procedure.
Signing and registration
We attend the signing and the settlement, file for registration and monitor the transfer of title and handover of the property.
After the transaction
If the deal is attacked, we run the dispute on the back of the same review we carried out before signing.
RESULTS
Cases from this practice
Civil disputes2021
RUB 50,000+advance payment recovered
Advance recovered and contract terminated over a defective advertising structure
The customer paid for the manufacture and installation of an advertising structure but received a result with substantial defects. The contract was terminated, the advance and interest recovered, and the judgment upheld on appeal.
Read the case
Contract disputes2021
RUB 900thousand advance payment recovered
Recovery of an advance payment for equipment never delivered
Company A. paid an advance of RUB 900,000 for a welding machine that was never delivered. We complied with the pre-action procedure, recovered the sum as unjust enrichment with interest and saw the matter through to the money actually being received.
Read the case
M&A and corporate law2024
49,000sq m within the transaction perimeter
M&A support: Amba supermarkets to X5 Group
We advised on X5 Group's acquisition of the Amba supermarket chain in Khabarovsk Territory: long-term lease rights over sites totalling more than 49,000 sq m, and their relaunch under the Pyaterochka brand in Khabarovsk, Komsomolsk-on-Amur and 14 district centres. The territory became the chain's 69th region of operation.
Read the case
QUESTIONS
Frequently asked questions
What does a title check cover?
The chain of transfers, current encumbrances and attachments, third-party rights and registered occupiers, the seller's marital status and spousal consent, succession grounds, the seller's insolvency exposure and, for a legal entity, the signatory's authority and whether the deal is a major transaction.
After how many years can a transaction no longer be challenged?
The general limitation period is one year for voidable transactions and three years for void ones, but it runs from the moment the claimant learned of the breach; in insolvency a separate suspect period of up to three years applies. So the mere passage of time is not in itself a defence.
The seller is going into insolvency. Can we still buy?
Sometimes, but only if the sale is at market value with documented payment and you are prepared to retain proof of it. We assess the risk of challenge before signing and, if it is high, say so plainly.
Do you support the transaction through to registration?
Yes. We draft the contract, attend the signing and settlement, file for registration and monitor the transfer of title and physical handover. The registration timetable is set by Rosreestr.
Do you handle transactions in other regions?
Yes. Documents are accepted electronically and the engagement can be signed remotely. Personal attendance is usually needed only for signing and settlement.
PRACTICE SERVICES
Individual services
01 / SERVICE
Property checks and transaction support
A property deal looks simple until it turns out that the seller has debts, the premises are encumbered, and nobody obtained the spouse's or the participants' consent.
02 / SERVICE
Commercial leases
A lease is signed for years but read carefully only when something goes wrong: indexation, repairs, an early move-out.
03 / SERVICE
Land disputes
A neighbour has moved the fence, the register shows the wrong boundaries, or the local authority refuses to sell you the plot under your building.
04 / SERVICE
Challenging cadastral value
Property tax and rent for public land are calculated from cadastral value, which after each revaluation often exceeds market value.
05 / SERVICE
Unauthorised construction
A building was put up without a permit, departing from the design or on a plot with an unsuitable permitted use, and now the local authority demands demolition while…
06 / SERVICE
Disputes with managing companies and utilities
The managing company charges for services that are not provided, does not fix leaks and ignores complaints.
07 / SERVICE
Flat flooding: recovering damages
Your flat has been flooded from above: the ceiling, floor and furniture are damaged, and the neighbours and the managing company blame each other.
08 / SERVICE
Eviction and deregistration from a residence
A former spouse is still registered in the flat, the previous owner never deregistered after the sale, or a relative lives there without any right and will not leave.
09 / SERVICE
Privatisation of housing
Housing held under a social tenancy can still be privatised, but in practice a refusal by the authority, a lost occupancy warrant, departed occupants or the disputed…
NEXT STEP
Let us look at your situation
The consultation is free when an engagement is signed: we tell you whether the matter has prospects and roughly what running it will cost.