How is money transferred through a safe deposit box when buying an apartment?

The purchase of real estate is one of the most significant acquisitions in the life of any citizen, therefore the issue of ensuring security during the transfer of funds between the buyer and seller is quite relevant.

Many participants in a purchase and sale transaction resort to the services of financial institutions: how money is transferred through a safe deposit box when buying an apartment, in order to ensure maximum security at the time of payment for the property.

How does money transfer happen when buying an apartment?

There are several options for the possible transfer of cash when purchasing new real estate:

In cash, after the procedure of registration of all documents for ownership.
Cash. Until all documents are completed at Companies House.
Using a safe deposit box.

Of course, options No. 1 and No. 2 are used by irresponsible citizens, since they do not guarantee sufficient security. Just imagine for a moment that the apartment costs 3.5 million rubles. If 5,000 ruble bills are used to pay the seller, then the bundle will be quite substantial. It is clear that the parties to the transaction can come to an agreement to hold a meeting on the agreed territory, but who will guarantee that the buyer will get to the appointed place without any problems with an impressive amount? And who can know in advance what kind of person the seller is and whether he will tell dishonest people about when and where the buyer should give him the money? No one is sure of each other’s crystal honesty at the time of a real estate transaction. And the risk, believe me, is very high in our time. And it’s quite easy to lose the accumulated money that people sometimes spend their entire lives collecting.

If you have decided on this option for transferring money, and are not afraid of the risks associated with it, then you can only hope for the integrity of the other party and do not forget about the following precautions:

You need to take one of your trusted friends or several relatives to the meeting.
The place for the meeting must be chosen so that the threat at the time of transfer of the sum of money is minimal.
Request in advance from the seller that he draw up a receipt stating that a certain amount of money has been received by him. The document can be drawn up in any form, but it must contain the full personal data of the parties to the transaction, their passport data, the transferred amount of money in words and the phrase that there are no claims.

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How does money transfer through a safe deposit box take place?

Considering in detail how money is transferred through a safe deposit box when buying an apartment, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that many experts argue that transferring funds through a safe deposit box (safe deposit box in a bank) is the safest way.

By contacting a bank, citizens can use the following types of storage of funds:

Individual safe storage. Its essence lies in the fact that a citizen enters into an agreement with a financial institution and a person who will collect the funds. In this case, no additional conditions are subject to discussion.
Responsible safe storage. If you choose this option, then first of all you will need to conclude an agreement with the bank, and then an additional agreement. The last document will indicate the citizen who has the right to withdraw funds from the cell.

According to the general rule, payments to the bank for the use of a safe deposit box fall on the shoulders of the person who purchases the property. The development of events during settlement may be as follows: the buyer and seller make an appointment at the bank, check and recalculate the funds, but the seller will collect them after the transaction is completed at a time convenient for him.

You can rent a safe deposit box for a period of 30 days to 2 months, and you can pay for its use by the day (for the period for which it was needed) or monthly. The approximate cost of one safe deposit box ranges from 1200 to 2600 rubles per month.

The bank also provides clients with a service to check the authenticity and quantity of banknotes before placing them in a rented safe deposit box, and this service is often used by transaction participants.

How the money is transferred:

Some time (several days or the day before) before the sale and purchase transaction is completed, a specific amount of money is placed in the cell;
A real estate purchase and sale agreement is concluded;
After completing all the necessary papers, the seller comes to the bank and takes away the money that belongs to him.

When the buyer signs an agreement with the bank, he indicates in it the details of the citizen to whom he transfers the right to withdraw funds from the bank safe deposit box. In particular, they write down his full name, passport details and a list of documents that he must provide before collecting the money.

Can a bank open a safe deposit box?

Yes, the bank has the right to open the cell on its own if the contract has expired and after a certain time specified in the contract, the client has not contacted the financial institution, explains lawyer Lyudmila Olneva .

Question answer

Why can't you throw away checks and receipts from the bank? “At the same time, the seized valuables continue to be stored in the bank’s safe, and the client can get them back after paying the debt for the bank’s services. The cell will also be opened if it is a source of toxic or unpleasant odors, noise or radiation. In the event of the death of the owner of the cell, it will be opened to describe the contents and open an inheritance case. Law enforcement agencies can only gain access to the contents of the safe by court order. In addition, the safe may be seized if it is the subject of a dispute,” says the expert.

Advantages of using a safe deposit box when transferring money for apartment purchase and sale transactions

Let's look at the benefits of using a safe deposit box:

All manipulations with an impressive amount of money are carried out in a bank where a high level of security is ensured: there are surveillance cameras and armed guards. In addition, if a bank goes bankrupt or is deprived of its license, declared bankrupt, and accounts are frozen, such actions do not apply to funds that are in a safe deposit box. The reason is that this money is not the bank's own funds.
When a buyer rents a safe deposit box and puts a sum of money into it, he gets rid of one serious problem. If for some reason the parties change their minds about concluding a purchase and sale transaction, then the buyer does not need to worry about the money, since he will be able to withdraw it from the safe deposit box at any time.
The seller will also be calm. After signing the purchase and sale agreement and registering it with Rosreestr, he gets access to the bank’s safe deposit box and can withdraw funds from there at any time. There is no specific date when he must collect the amount, so no one knows when this will happen, which also provides additional security and eliminates robbery on the day when he has an impressive amount of money in his hands. In addition, the seller, without leaving the bank, can “throw” this money into a deposit account, and until he needs it, receive income from this amount.
Another advantage is that an arbitrarily large amount can be stored in a safe deposit box, and there are no restrictions. In addition, if you need to extend the rental period, this can be done without problems at any time.

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Nuances if the apartment is purchased with a mortgage

If you buy an apartment with a mortgage, the bank transfers money to the seller by bank transfer only after registering the sale and purchase transaction. All these calculations occur in two stages. Buyers transfer money to sellers (down payment) through a safe deposit box (cash) or letter of credit (non-cash). The bank transfers the rest to the seller’s account some time after the transaction is registered, usually within 1 to 3 days.

Why is it better to use a safe deposit box or letter of credit when getting a mortgage? Because everything can be done in one bank, where the mortgage loan is issued. Most banks give discounts to their “mortgage holders” for using a safe deposit box or letter of credit. For example, with VTB, for a mortgage, a letter of credit costs 2,000 rubles instead of 9,000.

If you have questions, you can consult for free. To do this, you can use the form below, the online consultant window and telephone numbers (24 hours a day, seven days a week): 8 Moscow and region; 8 St. Petersburg and region; all regions of the Russian Federation.

Disadvantages of renting a safe deposit box when transferring funds under a purchase and sale agreement

There are some disadvantages to using a safe deposit box in a bank, which those who are soon buying or selling real estate also need to know:

When you sign a lease agreement for a safe deposit box for a specific period, it will not indicate anywhere the amount that will be stored there. For this reason, if a dispute arises regarding the transfer of funds, the decision in the case will not be based on proof of this fact in the judicial authorities.
Bank officials will not be able to verify the authenticity of the documents that will be provided to them to gain access to the bank safe deposit box. It is clear that the seller’s data will be double-checked and a comparison will be made with the passport data of the document presented personally by the seller. But the lease agreement for a safe deposit box may contain a line stating that the financial institution does not bear any responsibility for the authenticity of the documents that must be provided to obtain the necessary access to the stored money.

Taking a closer look at how money is transferred through a safe deposit box when purchasing an apartment, it becomes obvious that the advantages of using this particular scheme predominate. However, this does not mean that there are no negative aspects in this case. If this option for transferring money also does not suit you, then there is an alternative - a money transfer, which is called a letter of credit. If we compare it with a bank cell, then it loses in that it requires large cash outlays. It will take longer to issue a letter of credit.

Using a bank safe deposit box is a kind of non-cash payment, and therefore the real estate seller will be calmer if he is invited to the procedure of recalculating, checking and “stacking” funds in the bank safe deposit box.

Additional arrangements

The lease agreement specifies standard conditions that may not suit one or the other party to the transaction or both participants in the purchase/sale of real estate. To smooth out the rough edges, you can conclude an additional agreement, which can stipulate the following nuances:

a time period is designated for the seller, after which he can withdraw the amount or documents from the cell;
the key to the mini-box remains with the buyer until he receives a receipt from his counterpart for receipt of funds for housing, but this condition can be adjusted - by a written agreement to anticipate the production of documents proving the fact of discharge of residents who previously lived on the square meters being sold (although it is also possible to sell an apartment with a registered person);
For obvious reasons, the buyer and the seller want to own the key: you can specify in additional conditions a clause in which this valuable item is stored in the depository of a financial institution (however, not all banks provide such an option) and is issued to one or another party to the transaction in accordance with the lease agreement;
In additional agreements, you can specify the conditions for shared access to the mini-storage.

The last point is relevant in force majeure situations. For example, when for one reason or another the transaction is canceled, the buyer can withdraw money from the cell without waiting for the expiration of the agreed terms, but in the presence of the seller.