In  reference  to  cash  that  should  not  be  a  major  problem  as  a  man  &  wife  could  both  carry  $9999  and  purchase  a  flat  or  dacha.  An  amount  in  excess  of  $20,000  would  likely  be  directed to  an  offshore  account  as  the  seller  would  not  want  that  kind  of  money  in  a  local  bank  anyhow.  Certainly  in  a  city  as  huge as  Moscow  you  could  get  almost  any  amount  on  your credit  card,  that  is   complete  bull  that  the  money  would  not  be  on  hand  as  the  economy  is  like  completely  dollarised  and  cash  based  to  boot.

The  best  vehicle  for  foreign  ownership  is  an  offshore  company  which  almost  all  well -  heeled  Russians  already  have  and  most  experienced ex-pats..  There are  several  benefits  to  this  type  of  ownership  one  being  privacy  as  you  can  remain  anonymous  and  best  is  that  when  you  sell  you  sell  a  company  rather  than  real  property  avoiding  capital  gains  tax  (one  of  the  few  they  collect).

A  certain  amount  of trust  is  necessary  and  each  investment  is  fraught  with  risk  as there  is  no  title  insurance  and  a  sketchy  title  registration  process.  There  are  certain  tricks  though  to  back  up  purchases   such  as  also  leasing  the  same  property  for  99  years  for  $1  a  month  as  a  backup  and  the  old  saying  possesion  is  9/10  the  law  is  doubly  true  here.    

There  are  many  other  factors  but it  is  most  important  to  have  an  honest  seller  more  than  a  great  deal  and also  a  good  advokat  who  does  just  real  estate.

The contract is little more than toaletni bumaga but the supporting documents must be good and most importantly the seller's character references.

Cars, flats, land, bought with cash.

Good news is $20,000 fur coats, jewelry, $2500 suits, can be bought with credit cards.

Right now - it is my understanding that foreign ownership of real property is legal. It follows that - if a foreign citizen can own property, then a permanent citizen residing abroad (green card holder) is also legally capable of owning (or keeping title to) property.

The transaction itself is more than a little dicey.

First is the cash issue. $10,000 is the legal limit that can be taken out of the US unless you specifically declare it. Interestingly, I also understand that the new US currency is equipped with an embedded strip that allows officials to detect the amount of currency (new currency only) you are carrying. I am not sure what the provisions are for carrying more than $10,000 - but it is, at minimum, a bureaucratic step that most of us would probably rather avoid.

Similarly, you are legally allowed to carry no more than $10,000 into Ukraine - if it is in cash currency. You can, however, legally carry as much as $50,000 in US-issued traveler's cheques.

Next is the issue of Ukrainian records. Usually both parties to the transaction have a vested interest in declaring the value of the transaction to be smaller (less money) than is actually negotiated (less taxes/fees to the government). While sensible on the surface, more than a few people have gotten caught up in disagreements and problems that occur *after* the negotiation and after the official papers are filed. Perhaps it is a ploy to get more money from the buyer - or perhaps it is a simple case of "seller's remorse" - or who knows, but it is often a problem.

Then, of course, there is the whole question of political instability. For many of us, the attraction to buy property in Crimea or Odesa is the beautiful location, or the ability to retire there (someday) at a fraction of the cost of doing so here - all with only spending pennies on the dollar for a comparable property here in the US. HOWEVER, it was not that long ago that people feared they would lose their property if they were to be found by the government to no longer permanently reside in Ukraine - and for good reason.

It is a bit of a gamble. You must be prepared to circumnavigate some pretty uncertain waters to make the transaction in the first place - and then to have some confidence in the future of the nation both economically and politically.

Having said all that - I would love to own some property on the Black Sea coast of Crimea - as well as a summer cottage in Karpaty. Just haven't been able to get past some of the obstacles to make that happen.

- Dan

I'll be quite interested in how things progress for you. If we continue to exchange information as we learn, maybe we can avoid some of the pitfalls that others have encountered.

Best of luck to you.

- Dan

 First you must realize that there are many new laws and what we understand as being law today can be different next month (example: Russia is now offering to sell foreigners certain land). Now with saying that this is what I discovered as we are looking into buying some property in Odessa.

 A foreign man and his Ukraine wife we can buy property in Ukraine.

 The woman will maintain 51% of the property. In case there is a divorce later down the road the Ukraine court will award the man some of the material possessions but the land and flat will ALWAYS go to the woman.