Have your Real Estate Purchase Agreement reviewed

Have your Real Estate Purchase Agreement reviewed: With Recht 24/7 at a fair Fixed Fee

Have you found a buyer for your property? Great, now it’s time to finalize the sale. The real estate purchase contract is the most important basis for this. But be careful! A lot of money is at stake when selling a house or apartment. Even small errors in the contract can cost you dearly as the seller. Reason enough to have the real estate contract checked. We’ll tell you why you should definitely have the purchase contract checked by a lawyer, which points are particularly important during the check and which documents you need for a contract check.

Why you should have a real estate purchase contract checked by a lawyer

In Germany, a real estate purchase agreement only becomes effective once it has been signed by both parties at a notary appointment and then notarized by the notary. This is because changes to the ownership structure can only be applied for in the land register once it has been notarized.

Many buyers and sellers think that the notary will check a real estate purchase contract for fine details. This is a mistake! A notary is fundamentally obliged to remain neutral and is only responsible for the legally correct framework conditions.

This means that a notary does not have to point out clauses in the purchase contract that are disadvantageous to you. You are responsible for ensuring that the real estate purchase contract does not contain any nasty surprises for you. It is not uncommon for the other party to provide the text of the contract – and for it to contain disadvantageous passages or contractual loopholes.

For this reason, you should definitely have the purchase contract for a property checked by a lawyer.

This is the only way to ensure that the purchase contract does not contain any clauses that are unfavorable to you. The following questions are particularly important:

• Are all elements of the sale adequately regulated?
• Have all the necessary permits/documents been obtained?
• What applies in the event of defects in the property? Does the buyer have enforceable liability claims?
• Who pays the fees for the notary, land registry and any necessary official approvals?
• Do you as the seller have to pay a contractual penalty if, for example, you do not meet the agreed handover date?
• Is a handover protocol enclosed with the purchase contract? Is it sufficiently detailed (defects, meter readings)?

Unlike a notary, a lawyer will inform you about disadvantageous contract contents and help you to assert your personal interests in the best possible way. In addition, a lawyer will advise you on your other rights and obligations associated with the sale of the property.

Have the purchase contract for a property checked: These points are particularly important

A real estate purchase contract must contain various mandatory details in order to be legally valid. These include

• Information on the contracting parties (personal data, tax ID)
• Information on the payment modalities (purchase price, payment method and time)
• Information on the property (e.g. location, address, land register district)
• Information from the land register extract (land register encumbrances, land charges)
• Information on the transfer of ownership (time of transfer, rights and obligations arising)

If this information is missing or imprecisely formulated, you may not be able to assert any legal claims later. For this reason alone, you should have a purchase contract for a house checked by a lawyer.

Depending on the real estate purchase agreement, these mandatory contents are supplemented by other individual contractual clauses. Caution is advised here, as these can be both advantageous and disadvantageous for you.

One example of this is the payment terms agreed in the contract. It is essential that the property purchase contract stipulates when the buyer must pay the purchase price and what happens if the buyer does not meet the agreed payment deadlines.

The exclusion of liability is also important. Make sure that your liability as the seller is excluded for defects that are already known to the buyer when the contract is concluded. A lawyer will ensure that this clause is worded in a legally sound manner.

Last but not least: Handing over the keys. If you hand over the key before the purchase price has been paid in full, you are making a one-sided, unsecured advance payment. This is generally not recommended. If the contract has to be rescinded later – for example, because the buyer does not pay the purchase price after all – you will have to initiate a costly and time-consuming eviction action.

If you would still like to agree a handover of keys with the buyer before the purchase price is paid, specific agreements regarding a possible reversal should be set out in the property purchase contract.

Have the purchase agreement checked by a lawyer: What documents are required?

In order to have the purchase contract for a property checked, some information or documents are required. These include

• a draft of the purchase or notarized contract (for more information on the topic of “Notarized contract”, see our article “Real estate purchase contract:
• Checking the notarized contract before the notary appointment”)
• An extract from the land register
• Exposé and building permit (depending on the individual case)
• Parcel map

When buying a condominium, you should

• a notarized declaration of division and the community regulations
• the partition plan and the certificate of completion and
• the collection of resolutions and minutes of the last owners’ meetings

to have ready.

What does it cost to have a real estate purchase contract checked?

The costs for reviewing a real estate purchase contract vary depending on the type of contract and the amount of the purchase price and are usually between 0.4 and 1 percent of the purchase price.

Recht 24/7 offers you a comprehensive contract review of your real estate purchase contract for a fixed price of EUR 219 including VAT. This covers all services and includes any number of follow-up questions. None of your questions should remain unanswered.

We guarantee that we will process your request within 24 hours.

Check your real estate purchase contract online with Recht 24/7: What points does the check cover?

Our lawyers assess the entire contract and its clauses, in particular

• the accuracy of the mandatory information
• Warranty exclusion
• transfer regulations
• the exclusion of liability
• the registration of a priority notice
• Securing the financing
• the declaration of division

After the review, you will receive your purchase contract back with comments. Based on these comments, we will point out disadvantageous contract contents and suggest better wording in your favor.

Have your real estate purchase agreement checked: The most important points in brief