Dear Dr

At present, if you look at any up-to-date website which promotes the developers price, and not an inflated price, a 3 bedroom 3 bath duplex in an affulant area of Bucherest such as Tunari (S1)(located about 20 minutes from the centre) is currently available for around €237,000. 3 bed 3 bath townhouses are available at €356,000 in the same location. Both offplan. Another area worth looking at is Baneasa, a fast growing suburb with many plans.

Rent is easily worked out, you can safely expect between 11 - 13% net (15% gross), working it out on the lower outcome you can expect:

3b3b Duplex @ €237,000 @ 11%= €26,070 p/a

3b3b Townhouse @ €356,00 @ 11%= €39,160 p/a

consider an 18-24month construction + three year rental at the above yield, the reason i say to expect this rental for the first three years is because:

1) As more properties are built, the 40000 unit shortfall will begin to narrow, and although the supply vs demand will not have been reached yet, year 4 and beyond will show you a healthy , but slightly lower return.

Hence the reason I reccommend this as a 5 to 7 year investment.

The buying process for a UK National is straight forward:

typically a reservation fee is required, ie €3000, as you´d expect, this takes the property off the market for 30 days.

Within 30 days, a deposit is required, again you can typically expect a 30% deposit, ie in the case of the 3b3b duplex = €72000 (rounded-up), at this point a preliminary contract is signed. (NOTE, make sure the transactions takes place with a Lawyer, preferably with the finds going to an escrow account).

Upon completion the remaining 70% is due. this can either be cash or (now) with a Romanian Mortgage. You can expect up to 75% LTV (Music to your ears Im sure), up to 25 years (age 75) with interest rates at around 6.5 -7% ´capital repayment at the moment. of course with the LTV mortgage, wait until nearer completion, which will give you one benefit, but will also allow the mortgage system to mature, and with any joy lower Interest rates.

by the way, should you go for the 5 year plan, ie 18 - 24 month construction and 3 years Rental + Capital growth, you can get an interest-only Mortgage.

on top of all of this, remember VAT (16%) is incorporated in the price, and Legal, Stamp duty, land registry and notary costs are around 5 -7 %.

Hope that helps you out Doctor, any other questions? if not, good luck with the investment.