An apartment in Georgia: the full cost before the first rent
In our worked example, a $60,000 apartment needs $80,705 before the first tenant moves in. A full year of rent is 9% of the price and 6.7% of all the money required. The difference is what the listing does not count.
Deal Breakdown · a 5-minute read
The figures below are a worked example. They are not average prices in Batumi or Tbilisi. The example shows what the entry cost is made of. Put your own figures into the calculator at the end of the article.
The price and the full entry cost
The full entry cost is all the money that leaves your account before the first rent arrives. It falls into five groups.
| Item | Worked example | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Apartment price | $60,000 | Per the contract, in shell condition (white frame) |
| Registration | GEL 150 (about $55) | Registration of title at the Public Registry, 4 working days |
| Renovation and finishing | $12,000 | Assumption: depends on the area and the scope of work |
| Furniture and appliances | $6,000 | Assumption: a basic set for letting |
| Connections, lawyer, translation | $1,000 | Assumption: meters, contracts, a power of attorney if you buy from abroad |
| Months without a tenant | $150 | Building fees and utilities for 2 months of tenant search |
| Costs before the first rent | $79,205 | |
| Reserve | $1,500 | Not a cost: the money stays with you in case something breaks |
| Total money required | $80,705 |
The registration fee is taken from the Public Registry website as of 11.10.2026: GEL 150 for 4 working days, GEL 270 for 1 working day, GEL 350 on the day of filing. Everything else in the table is an assumption. Your renovation may cost half as much, or twice as much.
What "white frame" means
Buyers in Georgia often hear three terms: black frame, white frame and green frame. None of them stands for a fixed specification. The contract defines what the developer will actually do: screed, plaster, windows, entrance door, wiring, plumbing. Before you estimate the renovation, read the annex to the contract with the list of works. The largest line after the price depends on it.
How this changes the yield
Take a rent of $450 a month, which is $5,400 a year. For now we deduct no taxes, no empty months and no management.
- Against the price: $5,400 / $60,000 = 9.0%.
- Against the cost of purchase and preparation: $5,400 / $79,205 = 6.8%.
- Against all the capital required, reserve included: $5,400 / $80,705 = 6.7%.
This is gross rent for a full year with a tenant. The first year of this apartment is worse: two months go on finding a tenant, and the renovation comes before that.
A listing usually shows the first figure. Your money works at the third. And the rent still has to cover empty months, building fees, repairs between tenants, the letting fee and tax. We showed how this looks on three real apartments in the article "A Batumi apartment: three real listings".
For comparison: Galt & Taggart puts the rental yield in Batumi at 7.4% for 2025 (8.8% a year earlier). The summary of the report does not say whether this is a gross or a net figure. So you cannot compare it with your result after costs.
Money that is not working
While the renovation is under way and you look for a tenant, the money is already invested and there is no income. In the example this is two months of search, but the renovation itself takes several more months. If the apartment is in a new building, you also wait for the building to be completed. We counted how a six-month delay changes the first year in the article "Installment plans in Batumi".
A cost or money you keep
The reserve is not a cost: it sits in your account and may stay with you. But you have to hold it for this particular apartment, so it is part of the capital the apartment ties up. Hence two figures: the yield against the cost of purchase (6.8%) and the yield against all the capital required (6.7%). The second one is the fairer basis for a decision. Furniture and appliances are a cost, even though you will have to replace them after several years (usually 7 to 10). That is a separate line in the costs of ownership.
What to enter in the calculator
The calculator below is filled in with an apartment price of $60,000, rent of $450, two empty months at each change of tenant and a letting fee per new tenant. It includes the tax on rent and the property tax in Georgia.
A limitation: the first screen of the calculator does not yet have separate fields for renovation, furniture and the reserve. So it does not show the yield against the full entry cost. We counted that in the table above. Do not put the full entry cost into the "Price" field: the calculator derives other lines from the price, the property tax for example, and the answer would be distorted.
- The price in the contract, not the "from" price in the ad.
- Rent based on similar apartments that are actually let, not on the most expensive listings.
- Empty months and a letting fee per new tenant.
What to do before you buy. Get the list of works in the contract from the developer or the seller. Ask two or three contractors for a renovation estimate. Check what similar apartments nearby actually rent for. Only then compare the full entry cost with what the same amount would earn in a bank deposit or bonds.
The calculation below: long-term rental, price $60,000, rent $450 a month, a tenant from day one, and at each change of tenant every 2 years, 2 empty months and a letting fee. The renovation, furniture and the search for the first tenant from this article are not included here: you can add them in the full calculation.
The calculator with this property's figures
The same calculation as on the home page. Change any figure — the answer recounts.
Questions and answers
Are taxes part of the full entry cost? Taxes on purchase depend on the country and the form of the deal; we did not count them in the worked example. The first screen of the calculator includes the tax on rent and the property tax in the property's country. Tax in your country of tax residency is added in the full calculation.
Why not use the average renovation cost for the city? We did not find a verifiable average for Georgia with a scope of work and a date. Until there is one, it is more honest to use an estimate for your own apartment.
Where can I check the registration fee? On the website of the National Agency of Public Registry, linked in the sources. The fee may change, so check it before the deal.
This is a worked example. It is not investment, tax or legal advice. The decision is yours and your advisers'.
REAL ESTATE I YIELD I TAXES · Levelvale
Sources
This is a calculation, not investment, tax or legal advice.
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