Most searches begin with the price per square metre. It works as a filter, but it is a poor basis for a financial decision. Two apartments of the same size and asking price can require very different amounts of cash: one may arrive furnished and under an operating management agreement; the other may be delivered in white frame, without a kitchen, lighting, textiles or a reliable rental launch date.
A sound calculation has four parts: the property price, transaction costs, the cost of making the unit usable and the first year of ownership. Keeping them separate shows which figures are statutory, which are contractual, and which are still estimates.
01 · Budget architecture
Four budgets rather than one
The entry budget is the property price plus transaction and preparation costs. The first-year ownership budget belongs on a separate line. All amounts in this article are shown in US dollars. Statutory payments set in lari are converted at the NBG official rate for 24 September 2026: USD 1 = GEL 2.6229. A commercial bank’s execution rate may differ.
02 · Public Registry
Registration is inexpensive and predictable
The official part of the transaction is one of the easiest to price. Georgia’s National Agency of Public Registry publishes fixed fees for registering a change in title. The following rates were in force when this article was checked.
Expedited registration buys time; it does not create a stronger title. The roughly $76 difference between the ordinary and same-day services is immaterial beside the purchase price. A current extract before any non-refundable payment, followed by a final check at registration, matters far more.
03 · Legal structure
Set the legal structure before reserving
A reservation deposit is not necessarily an extra cost if it is credited to the purchase price. It becomes a loss when the reservation agreement makes it non-refundable before due diligence is complete. The order of operations therefore matters more than the registration fee.
There is no honest single “average” fee for legal work. Reviewing one completed unit, advising on an off-plan purchase and running a full buy-side mandate with sourcing are different services. One Tbilisi firm, for example, publishes a price of 2.5% plus VAT, with an approximately $2,860 minimum, for comprehensive acquisition support. That package covers substantially more than a contract review. Written scopes are the only useful basis for comparison.
- Obtain a current registry extract and identify the exact cadastral unit, owner, mortgages, seizures and other restrictions.
- Review the seller’s title, construction status, permits, commissioning documents and the match between the physical and registered area.
- Fix the price, settlement currency, payment schedule, delivery condition and an exhaustive list of inclusions.
- Define delay remedies, defect correction, reservation refunds and the point at which operating costs pass to the buyer.
- For a remote purchase, budget in advance for a notarised power of attorney, apostille or legalisation, translation and delivery of originals.
04 · Banking and FX
The quoted currency may not be the payment currency
Batumi property prices are commonly advertised in US dollars, while a particular contract may require settlement in Georgian lari after converting the dollar obligation at the rate defined in the contract. The official rate itself is indicative; commercial banks apply their own exchange and transfer terms. “Banking and FX” therefore belongs in the budget before signing, not after the invoice arrives.
For every instalment, establish four points: the obligation currency, the date on which the rate is fixed, the rate source and the transfer fee. An instalment plan also requires a comparison with the cash price, any embedded premium, late-payment penalties and a possible final balloon payment. Instalments change the timing of cash flows; they do not automatically constitute free finance.
05 · Readiness
Delivery condition drives the real budget
Black frame, white frame, turnkey and furnished are not universal specifications. Even within Batumi, the scope behind each label varies. Bellevue Residence, for example, distinguishes black box, white box, turnkey and turnkey furnished as separate conditions. The contract therefore needs a technical appendix covering materials, building services, sanitary ware, kitchen, appliances and furniture—not merely a marketing label.
Published contractor offers illustrate the range. STROYCOM lists Batumi packages at USD 99 per square metre for white frame, Standard from USD 190 and Premium from USD 249, with higher tiers above that. Level Up publishes full-cycle guide prices from approximately $305/m² for rent-ready and $496/m² for standard after converting the published tariffs, with premium work higher. These are provider quotations, not market averages, and the scopes are not interchangeable.
This is where a budget can move by tens of thousands. The schedule should include design, electrical and plumbing works, cooling, kitchen, appliances, wardrobes, lighting, curtains, tableware, linen, delivery, installation and final cleaning. A rental launch also requires photography, consumables and time for snagging.
06 · Worked example
A 45 m² apartment worked example
Assume the buyer selects a 45 m² white-frame apartment. The table below is not a quotation for a specific unit. It shows how to build a decision budget without presenting unknown costs as facts.
The exercise makes two points. Registration barely affects the choice of apartment. Bringing a white-frame unit to operating condition, by contrast, may represent $13,700–22,300 before bespoke upgrades. A more expensive apartment that is genuinely complete can therefore require less entry capital.
07 · Operating costs
Service charge and rental management are different costs
A building service charge pays for the property itself: security, cleaning and lighting of common areas, lifts, façade and parts of the technical infrastructure. Solis Residence publishes USD 1 per square metre per month; Bellevue Residence publishes $2 per square metre per month, payable in the contract currency. These are two project examples, not a Batumi-wide range. Buyers should confirm when billing begins, what can be indexed, whether tax is added, and whether parking or amenities are billed separately.
Rental management is a separate service. RAUNF publishes a 20% share of short-term rental revenue; its long-term model includes a one-month placement fee plus 10% monthly management. BAM presents models from 15% to 30%, depending on rental format. The decisive question is the fee base: gross booking revenue or the amount left after platform fees, cleaning, linen, consumables, minor repairs, check-ins and reporting.
An investment calculation should reduce annual revenue by vacancy and discounts, then deduct platform and management commissions, cleaning, building charges, owner-paid utilities, maintenance reserves and tax. Gross booking revenue is not a return.
08 · Ownership and disposal
Taxes after completion
Georgia’s Tax Code applies a 5% rate to an individual who lets residential space for residential purposes without deducting expenses. Short-stay, hotel-style or business structures may require different registration or treatment, so the intended operating model should be confirmed with a Georgian tax adviser before launch.
Property tax depends on family income and market value. Where the preceding year’s family income does not exceed approximately $15,250, taxable property other than land is generally exempt. For income up to approximately $38,125, the Code sets a 0.05–0.2% band on market value; at approximately $38,125 or more, the band is 0.8–1%. An individual’s return is due by 1 November and payment by 15 November. The owner’s status and family-income composition can affect the result.
On disposal, the tax base is the positive difference—the gain—not the full sale price. The general rate on the gain from selling a residential apartment or house is 5%. A sale after more than two years of ownership is exempt from income tax. Purchase documents and evidence of capital expenditure should be retained from day one.
09 · Decision method
Comparing two apartments on equal terms
- Bring both offers to the same readiness point—for example, fully furnished and available to let the next day.
- Keep the working budget in USD; where the contract requires GEL settlement, convert each dated payment at the contractually defined rate and add bank charges.
- Treat the reservation as part of the price only when the agreement expressly credits it.
- Request a schedule of finishes and ignore unsubstantiated marketing labels.
- For rentals, calculate net cash flow after all commissions, vacancy, service, repairs and tax.
- Hold a contingency for unexpected works and launch delays, sized to the unit’s condition and the quality of the available records.
The conclusionIn a Batumi purchase, state registration is the least expensive part. The largest budgeting errors usually arise from an undefined delivery condition, the settlement currency and an overstated view of net rental income after management and operating costs.
Before signing
Checklist before signing
This article is general information and does not replace legal, tax or banking advice for a particular buyer or transaction.