Receipt for a deposit for an apartment - features and preparation

It is believed that the largest purchases in everyone’s life are transactions with real estate, cars, and land. The longer the process of carefully selecting the right option, the stronger the desire to quickly conclude an agreement and become the owner of the desired object.

At the same time, the buyer does not always have the entire amount; most often, large purchases are made using credit, borrowed funds. How to reinforce your intention to purchase an apartment or a car, “reserving” the desired item for future purchase? Many people give the seller a deposit, the receipt of which is issued with a receipt. We'll tell you how to do it correctly here.

Deposit or advance?

The meanings of these concepts by the parties to the agreement are often interpreted as interchangeable. However, there is a difference between the terms.

The person selling the apartment takes the deposit from the buyer in the form of an advance payment. The financial amount indicated in the receipt for purchase and sale is included in the final payment.

The transmitted receipt for receiving a deposit when purchasing an apartment has the following features:

it is concluded only in written form and becomes valid upon registration of the purchase and sale agreement;
the document clearly states that the contribution is recognized as a deposit;
the parameters of the real estate, the details of the parties, and the amount of financial resources in the transaction are indicated in the contractual document.

The deposit has the following functions:

security – it is responsible for the fulfillment by both parties of the terms of the transaction;
payment, guaranteeing inclusion of the contribution amount in the full cost;
evidentiary – it indicates the conclusion of an agreement.

If you correctly fill out a deposit when purchasing a home, you will be able to insure yourself against unforeseen circumstances.

What is an advance? The term is explained as partial payment for real estate before the transaction is completed. Its purpose is payment and does not guarantee the completion of the transaction. And if it fails, the owner of the property is obliged to return the money indicated in the receipt to the purchaser.

When the seller receives an advance, the document indicates the actual price, information about housing and details of the parties.

What to consider when drawing up a document

Compliance with the following recommendations will help to guarantee the legal significance of the receipt and reduce the risk of challenging it:

Who writes? The document is drawn up and signed by the person who receives the money (the seller himself or his authorized representative).

If the apartment is jointly owned by several persons, each of them puts a personal signature on the receipt.

If the housing is shared ownership, each co-owner draws up and signs a separate copy indicating the amount proportional to his share. In this case, it is important to ensure that all the papers are not written by one person, which can lead to additional problems in conflict situations.

A minor seller aged 14-18 years has the right to write the text independently, but in the presence of legal representatives, about which a corresponding note is made. On behalf of children under 14 years of age, all documents are prepared by parents.

The receipt has no expiration date. It is transferred for storage to the buyer, therefore it is usually compiled in a single copy. On his own initiative, the seller has the right to write another copy for himself.

When is it compiled? It is not allowed to draw up a document in advance, as well as to indicate false dates (“backdating” or, conversely, the future). The procedure takes place in the presence of all persons interested in the transaction and the actual date of the immediate transfer of money is indicated.
Document form. You can write the text by hand or print out a sample with general information and “gaps”, in the place of which at least personal data and the transferred amount will be entered in your own hand. The presence of handwritten text will allow for a handwriting examination if the matter comes to court proceedings. A fully printed version of the document is acceptable only if it is certified by a notary.
Purpose of transfer of funds. The document indicates that the money transferred is an advance, deposit or pledge for a specific apartment indicating its address. This can be any amount (fixed or as a percentage of the price of the apartment) that suits both parties. The agreed upon version is written in numbers and in words in parentheses. If there is a discrepancy on this part, during a hypothetical trial, only the amount in words will matter.
Error correction. Blots, corrections, and crossing out are not allowed. If the seller made any mistake or inaccuracy during the writing process, a new version should be immediately issued, which will be transferred to the buyer.
Presence of other persons. In addition to the potential seller and buyer, as the main interested parties, for the procedure of transferring money and, accordingly, drawing up a supporting document, you can attract witnesses (two people are enough). The main thing is that these are persons whose legal capacity is beyond doubt (but not close relatives of the parties). Moreover, this option is the most desirable, since the testimony will confirm the very fact of the transfer of funds and its completion on a voluntary basis.

Conditions and guarantees for both parties

The receipt for the transfer of the deposit informs about the guarantees and requirements for the seller and the buyer. For the buyer, it is a guarantee that the owner of the property being sold will sell the apartment to him, and for the seller of residential property, that the buyer will not reject the deal.

When writing a contract, a deposit when purchasing an apartment is taken by those participating in the trading transaction.

What do you need to know before transferring an advance payment?

The amount is determined within reasonable limits. A 100% contribution does not ensure the seller's performance to the buyer. And, if the first one refuses the deal, the last one loses both money and apartment.
To secure the purchase and sale of an apartment, the receipt is drawn up in writing and notarized. If one of the participants fails to fulfill the transaction, it is easier for the second to return the double payment through the judicial authorities.
A special approach to drawing up a receipt for the deposit is required if there are several owners of the property being sold. It is necessary to thoroughly check the certificates of registration of shares provided to the buyer, and familiarize yourself with the registration of each owner of his part in the apartment being sold.

According to the rules, a contribution when buying and selling an apartment turns into a guarantee of a transaction without problems.

How is the amount of the deposit determined?

In the absence of a legislative framework on the amount of the advance payment, the amount of the deposit is agreed upon by both parties. They are guided by 2 methods for determining the amount of the contribution:

5% of the cost of the apartment, accepted on the real estate market, but sometimes increased to 12%;
a fixed amount of 50 thousand - 100 thousand rubles.

The inflated advance payment is advantageous for the seller, and he will receive the full amount if the buyer renounces his obligations under the contract.

The seller also risks money in receiving a deposit for the apartment by receipt if he refuses to fulfill the concluded agreement. And the return of the money deposited by the counterpart for him is equal to the double tariff. An increased prepayment will result in a proportionate amount of financial loss.

Legislative norms when making a deposit

Article 380 of the Civil Code (Civil Code) “The concept of a deposit” fully regulates the definition of this concept. Based on this article, the deposit is understood as an amount that is transferred from the buyer to the seller on account of a future transaction and is a guarantor of the fulfillment of future obligations. When transferring the deposit, a preliminary agreement must be concluded. According to the terms of the deposit transfer, if the buyer does not fulfill his obligations, the amount is not refundable.

In addition, there are other legislative acts that regulate the procedure for registering a deposit and transferring the subject of the transaction. Article 454 specifies all the actions of the parties that are recorded in the main sales contract. Article 381 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation clearly defines the liability that occurs when the parties violate their obligations. This includes both obligations under the main sales contract and under the preliminary agreement.

Rules for issuing a receipt for a deposit

The main thing is to correctly draw up a deposit when purchasing an apartment, taking into account the following conditions:

at the time of drawing up, there must be a purchase and sale agreement indicating the type of payment, first as an advance and security deposit and in the final part - as the remaining amount of money;
with several owners, they write a receipt for receipt of money indicating their share of the deposit;
2 dates are required in the form - both the signing of the contract and the delivery of cash, but amendments, additions, and crossing out are unacceptable;
For a minor owner, his parents are required to write a receipt confirming receipt of the deposit, and it is better for the offspring;
the deposit document for a real estate transaction is drawn up in the presence of all interested persons, including the wife/husband of the owner of the property being sold;
the text of the receipt for receiving a deposit for an apartment is written by hand or printed on a printer, but in the hard copy the full name, address, information from the passport, financial value (in words) is entered in one’s own hand with a ballpoint pen;
It is preferable to transfer money for sold residential property when invited (preferably not relatives).

Sample receipt for a deposit for an apartment
The receipt contains both the deposit in total terms and the necessary ones:

passport details of the parties to the agreement, taking into account registration, also if it differs from the address of actual residence;
primary parameters and real price of residential real estate;
signatures of those participating in the purchase and sale.

In the completed receipt, it is permissible to indicate (optional) the payment of a 1% penalty of the contract price if the buyer subsequently does not pay the initial part of the money on the appointed day.

Subject of the agreement

1. Within the scope of this agreement, the Parties undertake to enter into an agreement for the purchase and sale of an apartment located at the address: Kurgan, Lenin Street, building 146, building 6, apartment 77 at a price of 2,000,000 (Two million) rubles 00 kopecks. The following is information about the apartment itself: 2. The apartment is located on the seventeenth floor, consists of two rooms, the area is 50 (Fifty) square meters. After describing the characteristics of the apartment, the amount and terms of the advance are indicated: 3. The Buyer, after signing this agreement, within three calendar days undertakes to transfer to the Seller 150,000 (One hundred fifty thousand) rubles 00 kopecks as an advance. This amount is part of the payment for the price of the apartment. The fact of transfer of money to the Seller is confirmed by a receipt.

The listed conditions are the most important component of this type of transaction. Transferring the advance amount is possible in other ways. This is discussed by the parties and specified in the contract. The most reliable way is to transfer money to a notary office. The contract also stipulates other conditions, such as:

information about persons registered in the apartment;
rights, duties and responsibilities of the parties;
information that the seller is the owner of the alienated property;
force majeure circumstances.

Basic rules for transferring money

Today in the real estate purchase and sale market, sellers prefer to receive part of the money before registration. And those who buy housing do not refuse to make a partial payment for the purchased apartment. The rules that provide for payment for the deposit only according to the receipt will help to secure the transfer of finances.

It includes: information from the passports of the parties involved, the amount of money handed over, the expected date of signing the purchase and sale agreement, the date of acceptance of the receipt, the signature of the person who received part of the money. As a precaution, if the signatures of 2 witnesses are added to the receipt, they will certify the transfer of finances.

Payment of the agreed deposit is also possible through a safe deposit box. The buyer of residential real estate will invest an advance payment amount into it, which will be verified by both the seller of the apartment and the bank employee. The final transfer of money for the apartment will occur after the transaction documentation has been received by the banking structure. If the conclusion of the contract fails, all money will be returned to the buyer.

Responsibility of the parties

This section includes a list of circumstances in the event of which the Counterparties bear financial liability. The clauses of the agreement on the responsibility of the parties are as follows:

— in case of failure to fulfill obligations under the advance payment agreement, namely refusal, violation, or impossibility of the Seller to fulfill obligations, the amount of the advance payment is returned to the buyer within 1 (one) calendar day from the moment of discovery of the fact of failure to fulfill obligations. Also, the seller, if such a fact is discovered, undertakes to pay a penalty in the amount of 25,000 (Twenty-five) thousand rubles 00 kopecks (a different amount of the penalty may be prescribed). - if the agreement on the purchase and sale of an apartment is not concluded at the time of validity of this agreement due to the fault of the Buyer, the advance amount paid will not be returned to him. - if situations arise that result in the impossibility of fulfilling obligations under this agreement, in which the parties are not responsible, as well as situations related to facts that may affect the Buyer’s loss of ownership of the property he is purchasing, the Parties have the right not to enter into an agreement, and the advance amount is returned to the Buyer in full. The above situations that may affect the loss or restriction of property rights may include: - if in relation to this property, in the process of making any transactions related to it, violations of the law were committed; - if third parties retain the rights to use the apartment; — detection of significant facts that may have a detrimental effect on the signing of the contract.

It is important to indicate in the document that the value of the property is unchanged. The final provisions of this transaction indicate the conditions for the procedure for its implementation, namely:

the payment procedure is indicated;
the form of this agreement for the purchase and sale of an apartment;
To sign the document, the presence of all owners of this property is required;
indicates the procedure for submitting a package of documents for state registration of the transfer of ownership rights to the purchased apartment. Such actions can be carried out independently, with the involvement of a notary, or through an organization that specializes in such issues.

Under what circumstances can a deal be cancelled?

Cases of refusal by the seller to transfer the apartment to the buyer for payment:

the former owner did not leave the apartment within the specified time and did not give the keys to the new owner;
Unforeseen circumstances emerged in the form of an unexpectedly appearing heir to an apartment that had already been sold. After the successor applies to the judicial authority and if the latter makes a positive decision, the contract of purchase and sale of housing is canceled.

Due to the fault of the future owner, the transaction is canceled if he does not agree to pay for the acquisition of residential real estate.

There is also the possibility of the transaction being declared invalid. This happens due to :

violations of laws by the transaction;
incapacity or mental impairment of one of the parties involved;
drawing up a contractual agreement with the threat of violence, deception, collusion, etc.;
the sham nature of the transaction, which indicates its creation without legal influence.

Early contact with residential real estate specialists will help you avoid negative consequences.

Fraud protection rules

Tips on how to complete transactions with the purchase and sale of apartments will help you with ways to deceive home buyers.

Documentation must be drawn up only with the participation of those buying and selling housing.
Indicate in the documents the actual cost of purchasing the apartment.
Carefully check the discharge records of previously registered residents.
Ignore negotiations regarding the speed of concluding a deal.

Transfer money to the seller when completing documentation for the purchase and sale of residential real estate in front of witnesses (friends, relatives, acquaintances).

Today, title insurance is considered an effective protection against fraud when making a transaction. And you need to insure your apartment at the time of purchasing a home.

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