The Timeline for Buying Property in Romania from Israel: Eight Stages, What the Law Fixes and What Depends on You

You can buy a home in Romania without living there and without flying in for every stage. What you need is to know in advance the order, which deadlines the legislature has fixed, and which depend on the banks, the authorities and your own documents. That way you will also not be pushed into signing under the pressure of a deadline someone else has set.

1What is the order of a remote transaction, at a glance?

The durations marked "estimate" are not binding and depend on external factors. The stages regulated by law are explained below.

2What do you prepare even before choosing a property?

Three things take the most time from abroad, so you start with them:

• An independent lawyer. The notary is neutral and the developer's lawyer represents the developer. You need someone who works only for you.
• A source-of-funds file. Under Law 129/2019 on the prevention of money laundering, banks and notaries in Romania must check where the money came from.
• Documents from Israel: passports, personal status documents where required, apostille and certified translations.

In parallel, you apply for a NIF (Număr de Identificare Fiscală, a tax identification number) as a non-resident who has no Romanian personal number. You file form 030 with the tax authority ANAF, with a copy of your passport and a document explaining why the number is required, for example the purchase of a property. According to ANAF's guidance, you can file directly or through an attorney-in-fact, and documents in a foreign language require a certified translation into Romanian.

3What does the law provide regarding reserving a unit from a developer?

In an off-plan purchase, the rules of Article 422 of the Code of Spatial Planning, Urbanism and Construction (Law 169/2026), in force since 25 August 2026, apply:

• A reservation agreement lasts 60 days at most; after it, a preliminary contract is signed before a notary or a sale contract is signed.
• The reservation fee is set off against the price and may not exceed 5% of it; otherwise the reservation agreement is void.
• If the preliminary contract is not signed within the 60 days solely through the developer's fault, the developer refunds the reservation fee in full within 30 days.

This time window is used for the legal check: a land book extract, the building permit and the draft contract.

4When is the preliminary contract signed, and what happens to it immediately afterwards?

For a future unit, the preliminary contract (antecontract) is signed only before a notary, and only after the building permit has been registered in the land book and an extract has been opened for the future unit (Article 422(7)). The notary must request its registration on the day of signing or at the latest on the next working day (Article 422(8)), and from that moment anyone who checks the land book sees your contract. For a resale apartment or a finished house, a notary for the preliminary contract is not mandatory, but it is recommended.

5How are the payments and the mortgage handled?

Payment from abroad is a bank transfer from an account in your name. Leave a few days' margin, because large international transfers may be held for checks. In an off-plan purchase, the advance payments go into a separate account of the developer, dedicated to the project (Article 422(10)), and spending from it is permitted with the approval of the site supervisor: up to 25% of the price for the structural frame, and after its completion up to 20% for the building systems.

If you take a mortgage: a Romanian bank usually finances up to 70%, the bank has the property appraised, and the mortgage contract itself is a notarial contract (Article 2378 of the Civil Code) that is usually signed at the same meeting as the final contract.

6What happens at the final contract and at registration?

1. Form: a contract that transfers ownership of real property must be made by notarial document (Article 1244 of the Civil Code). Without a final contract, ownership does not pass.
2. Order in an off-plan project: acceptance of the works on completion of construction with permanent, functioning utility connections, then the final contract, and only then handover of the home (Article 422(5)(k)).
3. Freezing the extract: before signing, the notary orders an extract for authentication; as long as it is valid, the registry office does not register any other operation on the property (Law 7/1996, Article 35(3)).
4. Language: the document is in Romanian. If you do not understand Romanian, an interpreter or translator authorised by the Romanian Ministry of Justice takes part and signs together with the notary (Law 36/1995, Article 82(2)).
5. Registration: the notary files the application on the day of signing or on the next working day (Law 7/1996, Article 35(1)). The office processes it within the time limit set by ANCPI, and you receive an extract in which you are registered as owners.

7How do you sign when you cannot attend?

Under the Notaries Law, the original is signed before the notary by the parties or by those representing them (Law 36/1995, Article 98(2)). Whoever does not attend appoints an attorney-in-fact:

• The power of attorney must be notarial (Article 2013(2) of the Civil Code) and express for the purchase, sale or mortgage (Article 2016).
• From Israel an apostille is sufficient: the 1961 Apostille Convention has been in force in Israel since 1978 and in Romania since 2001.
• The notary checks the national register RNNEPR, and if the power of attorney has been revoked, he or she does not proceed (Law 36/1995, Article 91(2)).
• Without an end date, the power of attorney expires three years after it was given (Article 2015).

With a good power of attorney you do not have to come to Romania at any stage. Nevertheless, it is worth coming at least once before the preliminary contract to see the property, the area and the people. A common combination: the preliminary contract through a power of attorney, and the final contract and receipt of the keys in person.

8What delays a purchase from abroad, and how do you avoid it?

9What to do before setting a signing date, and how we accompany you

A purchase from abroad is an orderly sequence of stages, most of which are done from home. We build a personal timetable with the client, prepare the power of attorney and the list of documents, and coordinate with lawyers and notaries licensed in Romania, who carry out the signing and registration under local law.

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The information in this guide is general in nature and does not constitute legal or tax advice on any specific transaction. Every transaction is assessed on its own facts.