So, I’m Looking At Buying An Apartment In Ukraine…

I’ve started the actual research process of buying a place here, mostly for investment, more than anything else, and because I have too much money just sitting around in checking/savings accounts getting absolutely nothing.

I went and saw five places last week, a few in the center, and a few in the suburbs.

It was fascinating, the differences…

While the suburbia apartments were quite nice, they were definitely nowhere near that of the ones in the centers as far as sex appeal. What I mean is this:

In the center, the places have “jazz lounges” and “wine bars” in their bottom floors. The Ukrainian girls giving us tours were absolute smokeshows. And, what’s more…they actually…gave tours.

What I mean is that in the suburbia apartments, they didn’t have any models to show you.

In the center, we could at least see a unit, even though the walls weren’t up, no furniture, etc.

Just goes to show how different things are out here in Eastern Europe. Think about it. If you went and were looking at a massive, massive apartment complex in the States (we’re talking a minimum of 3 buildings each with 25+ floors), they would obviously have a model apartment for you to look at. It would be lunacy not to have it.

Common sense, right?

You use a first or second floor unit as a model, spruce it up real nice, and when all the other apartments are sold, you sell it at a massive discount. You can even move the furniture and decor on to your next building project.

But no, not in Ukraine…

Apparently you can have complexes with over 500 units in them, and yet…no model to show.

Anyways, it’s just the next adventure for me.

And yes, for the record, I have found several I’m very interested in…

What I’m torn about, more than anything, is just what I want it to be. I’m not sure I’m quite ready to move to the suburbs, but I imagine I would be within the next year or so. And “suburbs” are exaggerated, it’s just not the direct center, center. If I want to live in the place, I’d ideally like it to be three bedrooms, and be over 1,000 square feet. If I’m renting it out, it’s easier to rent a two bedroom, obviously.

So, that’s really it – do I want to live in it, or make it purely an investment.

If I’m living in it, I want it to have a river view. If I’m renting it, I don’t care too much.

I’m a bit emotional about it, which I can admit, is a dangerous place to be.

My friend has brought up some good points:

• I could always just lock one of the rooms and use it as personal storage, effectively making it a two bedroom.
• I could always knock out one of the walls, or at least part of one, and make one of the three bedrooms into a massive living room, or one very large room
• Even if I don’t do either of those things, let’s say a 2-bedroom is $70,000, and a 3-bedroom is $100,000…I can rent a 2-bed for probably $700, and the three bed for $750-800.
• At $750/month that’s still a 9% return…which is pretty darn good in the scheme of things.

Time to wrap this puppy up, since I’m just word-vomiting at this pace…

Either way, it’s exciting for me.

And, I admit, I am very fortunate to be in this position. To be able to diversify, to have the money to piggy-up the entire mortgage in one swooping payment, and to have built enough of a life out here that I feel confident I can find a good place that has all of it’s paperwork and documentation in order. Believe it or not, that’s a huge problem in Ukraine…people just starting building buildings on land that isn’t theirs, which leads to all sorts of problems down the road.

None of this would have been possible without having systems in place.

Systems that make money while I’m snoozing, or looking at apartments.

It’s a good place to be, and I’m happy to say that the system is available, but, naturally, for a price.

Here’s the link to read more about it.

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