When is money transferred when buying an apartment: before or after registration

It's no secret that for most people a real estate transaction is a very nervous and exciting process. During the preparation of a transaction, tension, as a rule, constantly increases, and its apogee occurs at the moment of transfer of money from the buyer to the seller - the relationship between the parties to the transaction has never been like that before; mutual distrust almost always takes over. What if the buyer gives the money but does not receive the apartment? What if he gets an apartment, but doesn't give the money? In order to minimize these experiences, there are several ways of mutual settlement, which we will tell you about today.

Features of buying an apartment in a new building

The sale of apartments in new buildings is carried out by legal entities. Settlements with them should be made only in non-cash form in any of several ways:

According to Art. 861 Civil Code of the Russian Federation

Transfer from the buyer's account to the seller's account.
Bank letter of credit.
Secure transfer service.
With the participation of the bank in the mortgage.
Safety deposit box (rare).

Important! Typically, money is transferred to developers' current accounts after transactions are registered. But you need to read the terms of the contract. If an agreement on shared participation in construction is drawn up, the seller has the right to receive payment only after registering the DDU with Rosreestr.

This is directly stated in paragraph 1 of Art. 15.5 Federal Law No. 214-FZ “Features of opening, maintaining and closing an escrow account...”

Features of purchasing real estate on the secondary market

If an apartment is purchased on the secondary market, individuals usually participate in the transaction. Less often, the seller is a legal entity:

for example, a real estate agency that bought real estate under a fixed-term program from another person and then decided to sell it at a premium.

If the seller is an individual, any payment methods can be used: both cash and non-cash. If the apartment is purchased from an agency, only non-cash payment options are suitable.

Advance agreement for purchasing an apartment

What is the difference between an advance and a deposit when buying an apartment?

Payment methods and procedure for transferring money to the seller

As mentioned earlier, the parties independently determine the methods and procedure for transferring money. This must be reflected in the contract.

But there are certain risks:

For the buyer, if the seller receives money before registering the transfer of ownership. If Rosreestr refuses registration, and the seller has already spent the funds by that time, it will be problematic to get them back. If the situation cannot be resolved peacefully, you will have to go to court.
For the seller, if the buyer transfers money after registration with Rosreestr. There is a possibility that he will never see the amount for the apartment, and the deal will have to be challenged in court due to the buyer’s failure to fulfill obligations under the contract.

Legal advice: the best option is to make an advance payment through safe deposit boxes. An advance is usually transferred to the seller in the amount of 10-20% of the transaction amount. The rest is transferred after registration upon presentation of documents confirming the transfer of ownership to the buyer.

Bank safe deposit box

First, the buyer needs to rent a safe deposit box, then put money there in the presence of the seller. A bank employee will check the authenticity of the banknotes. Two cells can also be rented: one contains an advance payment, the second contains the balance received after registration.

When opening a cell, an agreement is drawn up indicating the amount and conditions for receiving money, as well as full name. and the seller’s passport details.

Letter of Credit

A letter of credit can be irrevocable or open. In the first case, it means obtaining the permission of the real estate seller; this option is used most often. An open letter of credit does not require approval from the seller.

With a letter of credit, the bank acts as an intermediary. The buyer signs an agreement with him to open an account, then transfers there an amount equal to the cost of the property being purchased. After registering the transaction, the seller contacts the bank to withdraw money, presenting an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate on the transfer of ownership.

From hand to hand

This is the simplest calculation option:

Transfer of advance payment before registration of the transaction, the balance - after.
Transfer at the time of submission of documents for registration. There are risks for the buyer, they are described above.
Transfer of the entire amount after registration of ownership to the buyer. There are risks for the seller.

Note! It is recommended to hand over cash in a quiet and well-lit room. The seller will need time to count the bills. It is advisable to film the process, and after recalculation, take a receipt from him confirming receipt of the amount.

Secure transfer service

The secure payment service works simply:

The buyer transfers the money to a special account opened at the bank.
The bank requests information from Rosreestr about registering the transaction.
If registration is confirmed, the money is transferred to the seller's account.

Many banks have such services. For example, in Sberbank, VTB, Raiffeisenbank.

Bank transfer

This method is similar to transferring money in cash, the only difference being that the buyer independently transfers funds from his account to the seller’s account.

The mechanism is simple:

The parties enter into an agreement. An advance payment is available upon request.
The transaction is registered.
After registration, the balance of the amount goes to the seller by bank transfer.

Payment methods when purchasing an apartment

In the purchase and sale agreement, the parties, by mutual agreement, determine and describe how the transfer of funds will occur. Let's look at the safest methods.

Transferring money through a safe deposit box

A safe deposit box is used when paying in cash.

Calculation sequence:

The parties enter into an agreement with the bank for the use of the safe deposit box and an additional agreement in which they indicate the amount and conditions for receiving money.
Sign the acceptance certificate.
Pay for banking services...
On the appointed day, the buyer and the seller come to the storage facility, check and count the money. You can do this yourself, using machines for checking and counting money for free, or ask a bank employee for help.
Afterwards the money is left in the cell.
Each participant retains a package of documents.
The buyer receives a key to the locker.
In order to withdraw money from the locker, the seller must present a registered purchase and sale agreement and an extract from the Unified State Register of Registration of the transfer of ownership.
As soon as the seller has taken the money from the cell, he gives a receipt indicating that he received the full amount of money for the sold object.

The receipt must be written in your own hand, legibly, indicating the amount received and full characteristics of the sold object. Date and signature required.

Important! Payment for banking services is carried out by agreement of the parties.

Transferring money through a letter of credit

This method for making non-cash payments is possible if the parties have a savings account in a bank that provides letter of credit services. If you don't have an account, you can open one. The credit institution is responsible for the security of settlements under the transaction.

The calculation procedure is as follows:

The parties sign a purchase and sale agreement.
The buyer deposits funds into the account.
The buyer submits an application for opening a letter of credit, which specifies the terms of the money transfer. Provides the sales contract and seller account details.
After registering the transfer of ownership, the buyer presents documents to the bank.
After checking the documents, money from the buyer’s account is transferred to the seller’s account. The seller can open an account in any bank.
Confirmation of the transfer of funds will be a bank statement about the transaction performed on the account. It is advisable to take a receipt from the seller indicating receipt of money.

Peculiarities:

the parties cannot unilaterally cancel, change the provisions of the letter of credit and refuse the transaction;
if the seller has not fulfilled his part of the contract within the period specified in the letter of credit, the money remains with the buyer.

Important! The type of letter of credit must be irrevocable

Transferring money through a notary

A notary can act as an intermediary in settlements under a purchase and sale agreement. Article 88.1 of the Fundamentals of Legislation on Notaries regulates the procedure for storing and transferring funds. All transactions take place through the notary's deposit account.

Step-by-step instruction:

The parties sign a purchase and sale agreement and an agreement for settlements with a notary.
The notary certifies the contract.
The buyer transfers funds from his account to the notary's deposit account and receives a statement of the transaction.
After receipt of funds, the notary submits documents to register the transaction.
After registering the transfer of ownership, the participants come to the notary, pick up their package of documents and the seller receives money for the sold property. Money can be received in cash or to an account.

In addition to the purchase and sale agreement, buyers will have a bank statement of the transaction performed on the account and a receipt from the seller confirming receipt of money for the sold property.

If the apartment is mortgaged

The purchased apartment may be pledged to the bank under a mortgage or a loan secured by real estate.
There is nothing wrong with this, but the buyer will have to make an advance payment equal to the amount of the outstanding debt to remove the encumbrances. The encumbrance is lifted within three working days. There are two options here:

Pay the cost in full and submit documents for registration. The seller must pay off the mortgage immediately; until then, registration activities will be suspended.
Make an advance payment, wait for the encumbrances to be removed, then contact Rosreestr or the MFC to register the transfer of ownership and pay the remaining cost of the apartment.

Important! You need to carefully check the seller's credit documents and make sure that the advance is actually being made to close the debt to the bank. The buyer has the right to request a certificate of the balance of debt.

How does the purchase and sale of real estate occur? Step-by-step instruction

The greatest risk for the buyer is cash payment, because...
When applying for a mortgage, the bank independently checks the apartment for legal purity. What the whole procedure looks like:

The seller collects documents for the property being sold and presents them to the buyer.
The parties agree on the transaction and payment details.
Before signing the contract, the seller orders an extract from the house register and a certificate of absence of debts for housing and communal services from the MFC. The extract is needed to confirm the absence of registered persons in the living space.
The agreement must be signed in at least three copies; the registrar will need one.
Documents are submitted to Rosreestr; the presence of both parties to the transaction is required.
After 10-12 days, the buyer receives an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, where he is indicated as the new owner.

If the seller needs a statement to receive money, it is given to him and then presented to the bank. When paying in cash, it is important to get a receipt from it.

Contents and sample receipt for receipt of money for an apartment

A receipt is issued to confirm receipt of money by the seller.

Sample receipt

It contains the following information:

FULL NAME. seller, passport series and number, registration address;
address of the apartment being sold;
sum;
wording about payment in full;
date of compilation and signature.

Documentation

To conduct and register a transaction you will need:

Contract of sale.
Extract from the Unified State Register for the seller.
Passports of the parties.
Explication (optional).
Certificate of absence of debts for housing and communal services.
Loan agreement, if the property is pledged (only needed by the buyer, the registrar does not require it).
Receipt for payment of state duty.

State duty

For re-registration of ownership of an apartment, a fee of 2,000 rubles is paid.

Disadvantages when paying through a depository box

At first glance, this calculation scheme looks quite simple and safe, but it still has a number of disadvantages and dangers that are worth paying attention to.

Firstly, a situation often occurs when the registration of an apartment is suspended to correct inaccuracies or errors in the submitted documents, which increases the time it takes for the seller to receive the document he needs to open the locker - an extract from the Unified State Register. At the same time, the time is inexorably approaching when the buyer can open the cell again and withdraw the money. In this case, you have to contact the bank again and change the terms of access. To prevent this from happening, it is recommended to immediately rent a cell for a longer time, counting on a possible suspension of registration, however, the buyer is not always ready for such a delay, because in case of problems with registration and making a decision to refuse the purchase, he will have to wait almost until the very end of the rental period, to get your money back.

Secondly, the seller can suspend the registration of the transaction, falsify an extract from the Unified State Register and gain access to the money. Of course, this happens extremely rarely and is 100% a criminal offense, but nevertheless, it is a completely possible situation. The fact is that an extract from the Unified State Register does not have any means of protection; it is an ordinary printout with a blue seal, which is not particularly difficult to produce, and is checked by an ordinary bank manager. Of course, later the buyer will be able to hold the seller accountable, return the money, or complete the transfer of ownership of the apartment, but all this may take additional time and nerves.

The third option is the possible theft of money from the cell. This is also extremely rare, but don't think that many bank heist films are based on pure fiction. By default, the bank does not bear any responsibility for the contents of the cell, so if, upon opening it, the seller finds only emptiness, the bank representative may well report that there was nothing there - after all, only the parties to the transaction were present when putting money into the cell and prove that they are valid It was impossible to put money in it. To avoid such a situation, you should order a content inventory service from the bank in advance. However, it is worth remembering that just as not all banks are ready to draw up such a document, not all sellers are ready to fix the amount of the amount received in any official document (especially when a calculation is made with an understatement of the cost of the apartment in the contract).

Lawyer's answers to frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a deposit and an advance?

The advance payment is made as confirmation of the intention to buy an apartment. If the buyer refuses the transaction, he can return it. The deposit is not returned to the buyer, but if the seller refuses the contract, it is returned to the buyer in double amount.

How to pay the seller if the apartment is purchased with a mortgage?

The payment method depends on the specific bank. Sometimes the advance payment is made by the buyer himself, and the rest is transferred to the seller by the bank. A letter of credit, safe deposit box or secure payment service may be used.

Is it possible to pay for an apartment in foreign currency?

Yes, but the contract indicates the cost in rubles at the exchange rate at the time of signing.

Who controls the calculations if a realtor is involved in the transaction?

A realtor can represent the interests of the seller or buyer. His responsibilities depend on the terms of the contract with him, but usually realtors accompany transactions from viewing the apartment to registering ownership.

Can Rosreestr refuse registration if the advance payment has already been transferred to the seller?

Yes. The presence of encumbrances may serve as a basis for refusal of registration. Also, problems often arise when selling real estate to minors or incapacitated people, especially if permission from the guardianship authority has not been obtained. The advance payment must be returned to the buyer.

2nd method: payments via letter of credit

Globally, a letter of credit account is exactly the same as a safe deposit box, only virtual. And the methods for opening it are approximately the same as in the case of a physical safe deposit box, the only difference is that the seller or buyer, after providing the documents, does not go down to any storage facility, but simply wait for the bank to transfer the money according to the details they previously specified.

However, this method has several significant advantages compared to a safe deposit box: the bank will never be able to declare that the account was empty and there is nothing to transfer from it. In addition, bank employees will count and check all banknotes for authenticity free of charge if the buyer deposits them in cash.

As for the downsides, a letter of credit can also be opened if the seller provides a fake Unified State Register, but it is much easier to track this point and respond correctly to it. Money transfers for large amounts usually take several days, so the buyer has the opportunity to notify the bank if a problem is detected and try to stop the transaction.

Another disadvantage of settlements through a letter of credit is the possibility of revoking the bank’s license. In this case, all funds in the accounts will be frozen and the seller will have to join the general queue along with other bank creditors. If there are not enough funds in the accounts for payments, you may never see your money again, because... funds on letters of credit are not subject to mandatory deposit insurance.

To avoid these problems, it is best to choose exclusively large banks for settlements on a purchase and sale transaction, the likelihood of their licenses being revoked is extremely low, and the staff is the most competent and more careful in checking the documents provided to them.