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More and more Russians are buying apartments in Estonia - without intending to live there. Owning property in the EU makes it easier for them to obtain a no-borders Schengen visa. Owning real estate in Estonia is no guarantee that they'll get a visa, but it greatly increases their chances. And that makes it easier to take a shopping trip to Paris, for example. Many Estonians are less than enthusiastic about their new, never-seen neighbors. Some of the new owners don't even close the windows in the winter. Others see no reason to pay their bills, leaving neighbors to deal with the consequences.