Earthquake, a problem you have to consider when investing in Romania

 

Romania is affected from time to time by minor earthquakes and once in a while by a sever earthquake. The last big one was in 1977, with important life and property loses.

Bucharest, the capital of the country is especially exposed, so a property investor must look for solid buildings when buying there.

Some important things to know:

• After the 1977 earthquake new construction regulations were imposed in order to prevent the collapse of the new buildings. So properties build after this year are considered safer from this point of view.

• Buildings from the 1950 up to 1977 may present a few problems, but are still built quite strong in order to resist a medium-high earthquake.

• What was built before 1950 presents some serious problems. There are high rise apartment blocks that are not solid and resistant right in the Bucharest center, in very expensive locations. In the case of old individual houses usually there are not resistance issues, but a professional check is recommended.

Strong advice: don’t buy apartments build before 1950 if the building was not recently restored in order to resist strong earthquakes. Always be careful when investing in old houses. Professional advice from a civil engineer is strongly recommended.