Because a real estate transaction involves a major decision and a significant amount of money, the law requires a neutral professional: the notary. At the notary appointment, you finalize the sale of your property and are simultaneously protected from hasty decisions.
If, after a hopefully not too long search, you've found a buyer for your house, the first hurdle has been cleared. You may have lived in your home for decades, and it was important to you to find nice people to take over. Now it's time to finalize the contract. For the contract for the sale of your property to be legally valid, a notary must notarize the purchase agreement. A neutral professional is meant to protect against hasty decisions, advise the contracting parties, and handle all correspondence with the authorities, such as submitting applications. Therefore, a real estate purchase agreement is only legally binding once the notary has notarized it. The notary usually also drafts the purchase agreement. Service-oriented real estate agents also offer to prepare a draft of the purchase agreement.
What are the duties of a notary?
While it is not the notary's responsibility to verify the creditworthiness or reliability of the contracting parties—a real estate agent may have already done this on your behalf—the notary can ensure that the seller suffers no disadvantages if the buyer defaults. They issue a deed that simultaneously serves as an enforceable title. This allows the seller to initiate enforcement proceedings against the buyer. Furthermore, in such cases, the seller can withdraw from the purchase agreement.
For a quick and smooth process, the notary requires the following documents:
- Purchase price
- Date of handover
- Indication of any defects (if any)
- Land register extract
- Personal Information
Those selling a property privately without a real estate agent will generally need more appointments with the notary. With a real estate expert, only one appointment with the notary is necessary. At this appointment, the notary reads aloud the drafted contract. This is also the last opportunity to make changes. Since a real estate purchase agreement is not always easy to understand, it is advisable to take advantage of the notary's obligation to provide advice and have it explained in detail. There are no additional charges for this.
Upon request, a preliminary meeting can also be held before the actual notarization appointment. During this meeting, a draft contract is prepared and the contract components are discussed with all parties.
Are you unsure about the necessary documents the notary requires or do you have questions about the notarization process? We are happy to help.
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