This is Kevin Stillmock, editor of Romania Report.  A popular question I often hear from readers is "if I buy an investment apartment in Bucharest, will I really be able to rent it out with a good return rate?" Take it from me, having been a Bucharest renter for some time -- yes, you can.   I'll never forget looking for a 1 bedroom apartment in a desirable area of Bucharest. As a foreign citizen, I was a part of the statistic of the atypical rental market of Bucharest.  Foreign businessmen make up the largest portion of renters in the local market, followed by Romanians who are not from Bucharest but have come for work or that are wealthy and looking to relocate temporarily to the big city.  Because the market is not a true renters market, the prices are inflated. Companies with big budgets meet apartment owners demand for exaggerated rent. Why don't they just buy? I was told by the owner of a large local grocery store chain "because we are in the food product business not real estate." That's why they are content to pay 3,000 Euro average per middle level executive for monthly rent of a furnished apartment in a top district.

I was hard-pressed to find something in Bucharest reasonable under 700 Euro a month. For something truly nice, I would have to add a digit.  Bucharest is not a place for cheap living -- it is a place for profitable investing.   Take a look at some of the offers currently on the market and keep in mind that apartments in new buildings versus rennovated apartments in unrennovated buildings (the norm) do and will have the highest demand.

In order to ensure that my results were as genuine as possible, I conducted my search in Romanian and selected listings in the Romanian language.

Read my article "New York Minute" to learn why you should avoid the "guaranteed rent" trap. With a propenderance of agencies ready to represent your apartment and sufficient demand, you should run not walk..away from signing any contract for so-called guaranteed rent. Most apartments are rented on a contract for at least one year.

The short term rental market in Bucharest is well developed. Dozens of companies operate which offer accomodation on a daily or weekly basis. It is not uncommon during coventions to not be able to find avaliability despite the large number of concurrents on the market. Due to Bucharest's high-priced hotel market (with prices often higher then in Paris or Chicago) short-term apartment rental has become a very popular alternative. Take a look: