If you're buying property in Moscow, like in most cities, location, size, and type of property will dictate the price and what you can afford. Apartments in Moscow city centre come at a premium price. Although, there are many areas beyond the downtown, which are also quite pricy, in wealthy and desired districts near the Garden Ring. These areas are leafy suburbs with more outdoor spaces, larger properties, and with good transport links.

Just like the rental market, Khamovniki, Presnya, and Tverskaya street areas will always be a good investment.
For those moving to Russia with families, Kuntsevo/Krylatskoye district on the west is perfect, with good access to the International School of Moscow and it is considered the greenest area in the city. Leninsky prospect to the south is also a popular residential area for expats as there are several excellent international and national schools.

You better use a real estate broker or a lawyer with Russian real estate experience to represent your interests during the transaction.

They will provide the most complete and current information on all properties on the market and assist with carrying out due diligence on a property and organising a safe transaction.

1) Consultation on the real estate market and works with your requirements. Explains the legal procedure of buying an apartment in your case.

2) Selects and shows objects based on the requirements of location, size, cost, and other criteria.

3) Checks title documents to the property, including references on permanent or temporary registration of people in the property.

4) Negotiates all the essential conditions for the sale with the owner of the property, including the terms of transfer of the property under the transfer agreement.

5) Draws up an advance agreement, where indicates all the conditions, including the final cost of the property and the period until which the sale-purchase agreement will be concluded.

6) Sets the date of the sale-purchase agreement conclusion and conducts the transaction.

7) Accompanies you in the actual transfer of the property.

As a foreign buyer, you will need to prepare the following documents:
- passport with apostille and notarized translation, including all seals.
- migration card.
- one document from the list: residency, temporary residency, work visa, valid visa. If none of these documents is available, then keep in mind that you must comply with the period of temporary stay in the territory of the Russian Federation, depending on your citizenship.

Notarization of a sale-purchase isn't required by law. Notary fees vary depending on the sale price of the property, ranging from 0.7% for more expensive properties to 1.5% for less expensive ones.

For that, you will need consent to buy a property from your spouse with apostille and notarized translation or prenuptial agreement.

An agreement between buyer and seller can be drawn up in Russian, if preferred, two agreements one in Russian and another agreed language.

Money transaction for a property between a foreign citizen and citizen of the Russian Federation, even if it is carried out in Russian roubles, is a currency transaction. Currency transactions are carried out only through banks authorized by the Central Bank of the Russian Federation. You are obliged to carry out all the transactions for the deal strictly in a non-cash form.

An account for the operation can be opened only in those banks that have a license to carry out foreign exchange transactions. This can be clarified at the bank itself, or you can look at the bank's license on your own. If the license is general, then currency transactions are included in it. It must be a special account - for non-citizens of the Russian Federation.

The buyer and the seller submit documents together, independently or through a representative by power of attorney. To apply for registration in a general way, the agent prepares the following documents or assists in their preparation:

- sales contracts in the number of copies equal to the number of participants in the transaction, plus an additional copy for the registering authority.
- document on the presence or absence of people registered in the property.
- permission of other persons or government authorities to conduct the transaction, if it is required under the law of the Russian Federation (for example, the consent of the owner's spouse for the sale or permission of the guardianship authorities in a transaction with minor owners).
- originals of powers of attorney, if submission for government registration is carried out by representatives by power of attorney.

For government registration of the transfer of ownership of the object, it is necessary to pay a government fee in the amount of 2,000 roubles for individuals and 22,000 roubles for businesses. The term for government registration of the transfer of ownership of the property is from 5 to 9 business days, depending on the form of the contract.

You and the seller sign an agreement of transfer, according to which you become not only the new owner of the property but also the resident of the property.

You, as a new owner, apply to the management company that supplies utilities and provides documents confirming the ownership of the property: an alienation agreement and reference from the Unified State Register of Real Estate.