When moving or returning from emigration, people inevitably look for a new home. While some choose to rent, others wish to acquire property as quickly as possible, which raises many questions.
Indrė Jankauskaitė-Činčė, project coordinator at Migration Information Center Renkuosi Lietuvą (I Choose Lithuania), shares advice on what people should know about buying a home.
State support
The state provides support for young Lithuanian families that wish to buy or rent a home (more information here). There is also an incentive for those who buy a home in the country’s regions (more information here).
However, only those who have declared their place of residence in Lithuania can benefit from state support, Jankauskaitė-Činčė stresses.
Buying a home
Renkuosi Lietuvą outlines the main steps to take when buying a home in Lithuania. People must first assess their financial possibilities and find out how much they can afford to borrow. Banks and credit unions provide loans for housing.
The second step is to look at the available properties. The main websites where people can find advertisements for houses and flats for rent or sale are aruodas.lt, domoplius.lt, and skelbiu.lt.
Once people find their dream home, they sign a preliminary contract with the seller, followed by a notarial contract. Finally, they must register their new property with the State Register Centre.
Getting a loan
According to Jankauskaitė-Činčė, when banks consider whether to grant a loan, they look at the person’s income, age, marital status, the nature of one's employment contract, and the value of the property that one wants to purchase.
“If you work abroad, you may have to pay a higher down payment or repay the loan in a shorter period of time,” Jankauskaitė-Činčė says.
She points out that since July 2017, when the new law on real estate-related credit came into force, most Lithuanian commercial banks no longer lend to customers who earn their income in a currency other than the euro or who live outside the euro area.
“In this case, we recommend contacting credit unions that usually grant loans if the person’s income is not in euros,” Jankauskaitė-Činčė said.
According to her, banks are also reluctant to lend to people who have not worked in Lithuania for at least six months, no matter the size of the mortgage in question.
“We receive a lot of inquiries about this because returnees do not necessarily find the job they want quickly, and with inflation as high as it is at the moment, savings earned and accumulated abroad quickly depreciate, while property prices continue to rise,” Jankauskaitė-Činčė said.
“In any case, we always advise returnees to consult several different credit institutions that will be able to provide them with suggestions after assessing their situation,” she added.
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