Houses bought by Russians in Finland stand empty
In the center of Tohmajärvi in southeastern Finland, a two-story house bought by a Russian and abandoned almost immediately after the deal has stood empty for several years. The house was rented out, but after six months it turned out that the owner's obligations to pay for electricity and heating were not met, reports the Finnish portal Yle.
At first, the tenants decided to arrange payment for utilities themselves, but after two years these people also moved out. Neither the tenants nor municipal representatives have been able to contact the building's owner.
This story is not an isolated case. Similar "ghost owners" have left abandoned houses in other areas, primarily in Eastern Finland – in Savonlinna, Enonkoski, and Puumala.
Four years ago, the Finnish Ministry of Justice even received a proposal to draft a bill requiring foreign property owners to have a representative in Finland, but it was not adopted. Now local authorities are again concerned about this issue.
The authorities are not worried that foreigners own property, but that they do not take proper care of it. Russians turn out to be unprepared for local conditions, experts say.
For example, Russian citizens currently cannot open an account in a Finnish bank, and this significantly complicates the procedure for paying for property maintenance: money for housing and utility services is debited from a bank account, and if not paid, services are disconnected.
Often, Russians living in border regions buy property in Finland based on geographic proximity and do not always anticipate the difficulties they will face.
"Then comes the realization that you still need to get a visa every time, stand at the border, and the business profitability is not as high as desired, and there are more attractive regions in this regard. Finland's attractiveness as a place to live declines compared to warm countries that Russians discovered later than this northern neighbor," comments Maxim Raevsky, a board member of the development company Stroyinvesttopaz.
Moreover, the main reason for buying property in Finland is leisure. "About 66.7% of realtors believe that the main reason Russians buy property in Finland is to come for vacation. At the same time, none of the respondents cite moving for permanent residence as the main reason," says Yulia Kozhevnikova, an expert at the foreign real estate broker Tranio.Ru.
Market analysts attribute the low interest in Finland as a place to live to the relatively poor climate, high taxes, and conservative business environment. Because houses in Finland are mainly used as vacation homes, they stand empty for most of the year.
"As a rule, this happens when for these owners the money invested in the houses does not mean so much as to spend time selling them. It could be money that needed to be invested urgently, but over time people found more attractive real estate investment options, and these houses stand as a backup option," says Maxim Raevsky.
According to experts, a similar situation is observed in Latvia, where many Russians buy property simply to get a residence permit. They do not move there immediately but want to have that option in case of a worsening political situation. Some never even show up in the purchased apartments and houses and do not pay for utilities, realtors say.
Russians who face problems in the new market and find no solution prefer to sell property. In June this year, some real estate companies in Finland recorded a withdrawal of Russians from the market, noting that our compatriots began to put their dachas up for sale more often. At that time, Yuri Gnony, CEO of the Finnish real estate company JG House, told Gazeta.Ru that by the beginning of summer, compared to the same period last year, the number of real estate purchases by Russians in Finland had decreased by approximately 15%.
Ekaterina SAKHAROVA.
Gazeta.ru