In most cases, a notary is not needed for real estate transactions. The law defines only a few situations where you can’t go anywhere without his signature and seal. The notary’s tasks are to make the transaction safe and ensure legal purity. In what cases should you definitely contact a notary in order to avoid problems and not lose your rights to the purchased apartment, read the material.
Property in common shared ownership
For the seller: your share in the apartment or the entire home without certification of the transaction by a notary. The owners of the remaining shares must react somehow: refuse the priority purchase or agree to the sale. All shareholders must appear before the notary to sign the consent. The rule also applies to donations of shares. An exception is if all shares in the apartment are sold simultaneously through one purchase and sale agreement. In this case, a notary will not be needed.
For the buyer: Buyers who are married will have to deal with a notary. Spouses automatically become the owners of joint property by law. The purchase and sale document will partially have elements of a marriage contract, and it requires notarization.
What documents to request from the apartment owner
Passport
You can check the validity of your passport in a special service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Make sure that the passport data matches the data in the title documents.
Also check out the Marital Status page. Compare the date of purchase of the apartment with the dates of marriage. If the property was purchased during marriage, ask the owner for the notarized consent of the spouse. This is worth doing only if the owner bought the apartment. If the property was given to him, he privatized it or received it as an inheritance, the spouse cannot lay claim to it.
Certificate from drug and mental health clinic
You should order such a certificate if:
- the owner is an elderly man,
- you suspect that the owner may have mental problems,
- you suspect that the owner may have an alcohol or drug addiction.
A certificate from a drug dispensary will confirm that at the time of its issuance the owner was not registered with a narcologist. And a certificate from a mental health clinic - that the owner was not registered as a psychiatrist.
In some cases, even such certificates may not be enough. To protect the buyer, invite a psychiatrist to the transaction. If the former owners or their relatives decide to challenge the transaction in court, the doctor’s opinion will confirm that the seller signed the documents in his right mind and judgment.
Where to order: at the state mental and drug dispensary
Who can receive: owner.
Certificate of registration
The document will write who, when and for what reasons was registered and checked out of the apartment from the moment the house was put into operation. Check whether any of the former residents were legally discharged, for example, when they joined the army or before being sent to prison. So, after returning, they have the right to register back, even if the owner of the property has changed.
Where to order: on the State Services portal.
Who can receive: the owner or anyone registered in the apartment.
Certificate of maternity capital balance
Maternity capital began to be issued on January 1, 2007. If the owner has children born after this date, check when the apartment was purchased. If the transaction took place after the birth of the child, check whether maternity capital was used. To confirm his words, the owner of the property can order a special certificate. It will indicate the amount of the payment and its balance.
When using maternity capital, the child must be allocated a share in the purchased property. But selling an apartment to one of the owners of which there is a child is more difficult - for this you will need permission from guardianship. Also, such a transaction must be certified by a notary.
Where to order: at the Pension Fund or on the State Services portal.
Who can receive: owner of maternity capital.
The owner of the share or apartment is a minor
A trip to the notary is inevitable if the entire apartment or part of it belongs to a child . And it doesn’t matter whether these square meters were given to him as a gift, inherited, or whether he received a share in the purchase of housing using maternal capital. The notary is obliged to check whether the rights of the child will be respected during the sale. And at the same time, the law requires that the seller also obtain permission from the guardianship and trusteeship authorities.
Checklist for checking the legal purity of the transaction
Owner verification
| Check what | How to check | What to do in case of risk |
| Is the passport valid | In the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs | Refuse the deal |
| Is it involved in bankruptcy proceedings? | On Fedresurs | Refuse the deal or buy an apartment after it is put up for auction |
| Are there any outstanding debts? | In the FSSP database | If you have a large debt, it is better to refuse the deal |
| Has he been involved in trials or been convicted of fraud? | In the file cabinet of the portal “My Arbitrator” and State Automated System “Justice” | If the owner or his company is involved in a money dispute, look at the amount the plaintiff is seeking. If it is too big, it is better to refuse the deal. It is also worth doing if the owner was previously convicted of fraud |
| Is he on the list of extremists and terrorists? | In the list of Rosfinmonitorig | Refuse the deal |
| Was the home purchased during marriage? | In the passport on the “Marital status” page and title documents | Prepare the notarized consent of the spouse for the transaction. If the spouses divorced, ask for a court decision or consent on the division of property, according to which the apartment went to the seller. The right to sell can also be proven using a marriage contract. |
| Are there minor owners? | In an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the property | Ask the owners to obtain permission to sell from the guardianship authorities |
| Was maternity capital used when purchasing? | In the certificate of capital balance | If the payment was used, check whether the share was allocated to the child. If the child is one of the owners, obtain permission to sell from the guardianship authorities |
| Is there drug addiction? | Certificate from drug dispensary | Refuse the deal |
| Are there mental illnesses? | Certificate from a mental health center | Invite a psychiatrist to a deal |
| Is the power of attorney valid? | In the register of powers of attorney of the Notary Chamber | Refuse the deal |
Apartment inspection
| Check what | How to check | What to do in case of risk |
| Who is selling: owner or trustee | In an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the main characteristics and rights or about the property | Ask for a power of attorney from the owner |
| Are there any encumbrances or restrictions? | In an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the property | Depends on the type of encumbrance. For example, you can buy an apartment with a mortgage |
| Are there any arrests? | In an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate about the property | Refuse the deal |
| How often have owners changed over the past few years? | In the extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate on the transfer of rights to the object | Refuse from the deal if the apartment has been resold more than three times in the last year |
| Are there any tenants discharged by law? | In the registration certificate | Ask the owner to show the new registration of these residents or refuse the deal |
Automate the verification of the legal purity of a transaction using the Expert Verification service. He will collect all the information about the property, the seller and the buyer from various sources and prepare a summary report.
The purchase and sale of housing takes place by proxy
It happens that the seller or buyer cannot personally participate in the purchase and sale of square meters. Then a power of attorney is issued for someone from the circle of acquaintances. And this document must have a notarized form. Without a notary's certificate, registration of real estate transactions by power of attorney is prohibited - Rosreestr will not accept the package of documents.
Which government databases should I look for information about the owner?
Data Bank of the Federal Bailiff Service
In the database you can see whether the owner has unpaid debts and for what amount. Large debts can result in the seller being declared bankrupt. In this case, all transactions for the previous year may be considered invalid. This period can be increased to three years if it is proven that the transaction was carried out to deliberately harm creditors.
File of court cases
Cases of different courts are stored on different portals. Thus, arbitration cases can be found in the file cabinet of the “My Arbitrator” portal. And the files of courts of general jurisdiction, justices of the peace, as well as the Supreme Court are stored in the State Automated System “Justice”.
Some regions of the country may have their own databases of court decisions. For example, the Moscow City Court has such a database. Information about court cases from regional databases is not duplicated into the all-Russian database. If your subject has its own base, you need to study that too.
Check whether the owner is participating in the courts as a defendant. Also note if he has been convicted of fraud before.
Unified Federal Register of Bankruptcy Information
Fedresurs publishes information about companies and individuals undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. Bankrupts cannot dispose of their property on their own; an insolvency administrator does this for them. If you find the seller or his company on the bankrupt list, refuse the deal or wait until the property is put up for auction.
List of individuals and organizations involved in extremism or terrorism
Rosfinmonitoring constantly updates lists of terrorists and extremists. It is worth looking for both the seller and the buyer in the list. If a real estate agency helps a person or company on the list buy property, it will have to pay a fine. And the buyer may face criminal liability for financing terrorism.
Register of powers of attorney of the Federal Notary Chamber
In this database you can check the validity of the power of attorney of the seller’s representative. To check, you need to indicate the document number, date of issue, as well as the details of the notary, consular officer or local government official.
Credit Bureau
A certificate from the bureau will allow you to estimate the amount of credit debts of the seller. Perhaps, due to his debts, he will undergo bankruptcy proceedings and the deal will be cancelled.
Automate the verification of the legal purity of a transaction using the Expert Verification service. He will collect all the information about the property, the seller and the buyer from various sources and prepare a summary report.
The apartment is sold or transferred under a rental agreement
A rental agreement is an agreement in which the owner gives away a home for a small lump sum, monthly payments, a lifetime dependency, or simply care for himself. Older people usually take this step. They sign an agreement that the apartment will go to whoever pays them money or takes care of them after their death. Previously, you won’t be able to take your home; a burden will be placed on it.
The rent agreement is registered with a notary. Moreover, the owner of the apartment must appear at the notary office himself to confirm that he is voluntarily ready to sign the papers.
Mortgage funds are involved in the transaction
A notary is required for investigations involving a mortgage only if shared ownership is involved. This can happen in several cases:
- You have decided to refinance your mortgage loan , and for this you need to draw up a separate mortgage agreement. It will have to be endorsed by a notary if the apartment is shared ownership (for example, divided between family members).
- You want to take out a mortgage loan, but they require collateral. You can mortgage your existing housing. And if this home has several owners, then the mortgage agreement is sent to a notary.
- You are going to buy out the last share in your apartment and become its sole owner. There is no free money, you will have to take out a mortgage. In this case, the entire apartment will need to be pledged. The subject of the purchase and sale is a share, therefore the mortgage agreement requires notarization.
