According to TheMarker, 24 Israeli buyers in Germany found they were registered as owners of about 1% of a hotel building, with no defined apartment. The company denies it.
According to the Imobiliare.ro index, asking prices for new apartments in Bucharest fell by about 29% in 2009. Those with leverage were hit hardest.
Law 207/2025 caps a reservation at 5% of the price and 60 days, and all payments go into a dedicated project account.
An unregistered unit, an account not in the contract, a private agreement, an excessive deposit, an income guarantee, a controlling partner, the other side's lawyer and time pressure.
An extract from ANCPI, the ONRC trade register, the courts portal and the insolvency bulletin. All official, public sources.
Red flags in property abroad: the short answer
Most failures by Israelis in property abroad did not come from choosing a bad country. They came from a transaction in which the buyer did not receive a registered, defined right in the property, or paid money that was not protected. The red flags repeat themselves: a unit not registered in your name, payment to an account not stated in the contract, a private agreement instead of an authenticated deed, a local partner who controls everything, and pressure to sign quickly. All of them can be checked before you transfer a single euro.
I am a developer, and I am writing about the risks in the market where I build. That is not a contradiction. A buyer who knows what to check is the buyer I find easiest to work with, because they understand what they are getting.
Three cases, three lessons
| Case | What happened | The lesson |
|---|---|---|
| Romania, 2008–2009 | Asking prices for new apartments in Bucharest fell by about 29% in 2009 | A price is not a promise |
| Romania, land partnerships | Calcalist described in 2013 Israelis who invested in partnerships where the official registration did not match what they paid | What is registered is what you have |
| Romania, the Nordis affair | Off-plan apartments were sold to more than one buyer under agreements that were never registered | A private agreement does not protect you |
| Germany, 2026 | According to TheMarker, 24 Israeli buyers found they were registered as owners of about 1% of a hotel building, with no defined apartment | Buy a unit, not a "share" |
Romania 2008: when the market itself turns
Until 2008, prices in Bucharest climbed fast, and many buyers assumed it would continue. According to the Imobiliare.ro index, in 2009 asking prices for new apartments in Bucharest fell by about 29%, and in the six largest cities prices at the end of 2009 were more than 40% below the peak of March 2008.
The lesson here is not "don't buy". The lesson is that those who bought with high leverage, without the ability to hold for the long term, were hit hardest. On whether something similar could happen again, we wrote in the article on the risk of a 2008-style crisis.
Romania: the partnership that was not registered
In 2013, Calcalist (in Hebrew) published an investigation into deals in which Israelis entered partnerships in land and projects in Romania. In one of the cases described, an investor paid €102,000 for 5% of a plot, while the official documents showed an investment of only €52,000. In other cases, a local partner gradually took control of the property or loaded it with debt.
The common denominator: the money moved, but the right was not registered the way the buyer understood it. In property, what is not registered in the land register or the trade register is not really yours.
Nordis: the apartment sold twice
The big affair of recent years in Romania was that of the Nordis group, where buyers signed private agreements for off-plan apartments, the agreements were not registered, and the same apartment was sold to more than one person. We told the full story in the article on the apartment sold twice.
The response was Law 207/2025, which came into force in December 2025. Under the law, reservation fees are capped at 5% of the price and a period of up to 60 days, advance payments are capped at 25% until the structure is complete and 20% until the building systems are complete, and all payments go into a dedicated bank account for the project. The preliminary contract is signed before a notary, and only after the building permit has been entered in the land register.
Germany 2026: "you bought an apartment", you got a percentage
On 2 October 2026, TheMarker (in Hebrew) published a report on 24 Israeli buyers who bought, by their account, holiday apartments in a hotel building in the Black Forest area. According to the report, each of them discovered they had been registered as owners of shares in the building, around 1%, with no specific apartment. The buyers have filed a lawsuit, and the company that sold the units rejects the claims.
In property, what is not registered in the land register or the trade register is not really yours.
I am not judging the case. But the question it raises applies to every country: what exactly will be registered in my name, and where can I see it with my own eyes?
The 8 red flags, and how to check each one
- No defined, registered unit. "A share in the project", "a percentage of the building", "an investment unit". Check that you have a property page in the land register, or at least a preliminary registration of the unit. How to read an extract, in the guide to the land register extract in Romania.
- The payment account is not in the contract. When buying from a developer in Romania, the money should go into the project's dedicated account. "New" account details by email are an immediate stop.
- A private agreement instead of a notarial contract. "We'll sign a heads of terms now and do the notary later". After Law 207/2025, this should not happen.
- A deposit above the permitted level. More than 5% at the reservation stage in Romania is a breach of the law, not a "benefit".
- An income guarantee from the seller. When the person selling to you also "guarantees" rent, you depend on their ability to pay, not on the property.
- A local partner who holds all the keys. A company where someone else is the sole director, the bank account is under their control, and you are "partners" on paper.
- The other side's lawyer. A lawyer whom the seller recommends and pays is not your lawyer.
- Time pressure. "Two units left, we need an answer by tomorrow". A good deal will wait a week for a legal check.
What you check yourself, without asking the seller
Several checks can be done on your own, free or at low cost:
- The land register: a land register extract from the National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI), showing owners, charges and notes.
- The trade register: details of the developer's company, directors and shareholders in the trade register (ONRC).
- Court cases: a search by company name on the courts portal.
- Insolvency: insolvency proceedings are published in the official bulletin (Buletinul Procedurilor de Insolvență), run by ONRC.
The questions you do ask the developer, and what a good answer sounds like, are in the article on the questions to ask before signing. And the full legal check is in the guide to the check before signing.
I will mention it once: in our own project in Balotești, too, ask to see the notarial preliminary contract, the dedicated account the payments go into, and the registration of the contract in the land register. It is worth doing exactly the same checks with any developer.
Frequently asked questions
What is the most important red flag in property abroad?
A transaction at the end of which no defined unit will be registered in your name. A percentage of a building, a share in a company or an "investment unit" is not an apartment. Check in the land register what exactly will be registered, and when.
Does Law 207/2025 protect me from an affair like Nordis?
The law closes the main loopholes: a preliminary contract before a notary, registration against the unit, caps on advance payments and a dedicated account. But it only works when you check that the developer actually complies with it, and ask to see the documents.
Is it allowed to buy property in Romania through a partnership with a local?
It is allowed, but it is a structure that needs a double check: who the director is, who signs on the bank account, and what is registered in the trade register. The cases described in Calcalist in 2013 arose precisely from a gap between what the investors understood and what was registered.
How do I check a developer in Romania without relying on what they say?
Get an extract from ANCPI, check the company in the ONRC trade register, search for cases on the courts portal, and check the insolvency bulletin. All of these are official, public sources.
Is a rental guarantee from the seller always a red flag?
Not always, but it shifts the risk from the state of the property to the seller's ability to keep the promise. If they stop paying, you are left with a contract against them. Check what happens to your property in that scenario.
The bottom line
The stories from Romania and Germany are different, but the questions are the same: what will be registered in my name, where the money goes, who represents me, and what happens if something goes wrong. Those who answer them in writing, before the first payment, close off most of the risks.
If you are looking at a transaction in Romania, ours or any other developer's, book a 30-minute call with me. We will go through the eight flags together, the contract, and what to ask to see before you transfer money.
Moti Azulay, Compass Group Romania
Sources and data: Imobiliare.ro price index · Calcalist, investigation into property deals in Romania (5.2.2013) (in Hebrew) · TheMarker, the Israeli buyers in the Black Forest (2.10.2026) (in Hebrew) · Law 207/2025, Romanian legislation portal · Capital.ro, the Nordis law comes into force · National Agency for Cadastre and Land Registration (ANCPI) · Romanian trade register (ONRC) · Romanian courts portal.
This article is for general information only and is not legal, tax or financial advice. The description of the cases is based on press reports. The German case involves buyers' claims that the company denies, and no judicial finding has been made.
Now you know more.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult local professionals before any transaction.
