What expenses does the buyer bear when buying an apartment? Who pays for the purchase and sale agreement for the apartment? The seller or the buyer

Last modified: October 2021

The transfer of ownership in a purchase and sale transaction entails the need to collect, prepare documents and subsequently register. At each stage of the transaction, costs arise on the part of the seller and the buyer. If funds for the purchase are limited, it is especially important to find out in advance what expenses the buyer incurs when purchasing an apartment.

There are several cost items when re-registering an owner, and the specific list depends on the circumstances of the acquisition of real estate and the requirements of the parties to engage a lawyer or notary.

How are expenses distributed when registering the purchase and sale of an apartment?

The law does not establish general rules regarding the issue of who pays for a purchase and sale agreement. There are no specific rules that impose costs on one party or the other. In this case, the legislator is guided by the principle of freedom of contract as a voluntary act of two parties.

The provisions of the law do not even contain situations where persons could not reach an agreement on bearing expenses. It is assumed that the transaction is settled voluntarily in any case.

In practice, business customs have developed that are used in most cases. They are simple, clear and effective. In general, they can be described as follows: “those who need it pay.” In other words, each party must pay for those actions that will ensure the full execution of the sale and purchase.

This does not preclude the possibility of concessions. Counterparties can easily redistribute costs if necessary.

Seller expenses

It is the seller's responsibility to show the property in its best light. The apartment must not be encumbered, must be registered in the prescribed manner, etc. No one will buy illegal real estate “with a catch.” As a result, the seller bears the costs of providing evidence of the legal “purity” of the purchased apartment.

Specific expense items:

• documents from the BTI;
• extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate;
• certificate of registered persons;
• certificate of absence of debts to the tax service and management company.

The seller will need to take a cadastral passport and an explication from the BTI. Their cost depends on the area of ​​the apartment. The average price is 2,500 rubles. An extract from the real estate register itself is free, but for the service you will have to pay a state fee of 750 rubles. Certificates of absence of tax and housing debts are free of charge. But no one has canceled the time costs - the documents still need to be received.

Buyer's expenses

The buyer of the apartment is responsible for paying for all legal support of the transaction. This approach, which has developed in practice, is logical: the party bears the costs of the contract, since it is they who need the apartment.

Expenditure:

• notarial services;
• apartment appraisal;
• certificate of ownership.

The transaction is not subject to mandatory notarization. However, the services of a notary will help officially confirm the conclusion of the contract. The appraisal is at the buyer's expense if he does not agree or doubts the price quoted by the seller.

A certificate of ownership is a document that confirms the transfer of an apartment from the hands of the seller to the power of the buyer. The purchase and sale agreement itself does not need to be registered. It is important to secure the fact of transfer of ownership. This is done by Rosreestr. For registration of property rights, a state fee of 2,000 rubles is charged.

The amount of state duty for an organizational buyer exceeds the base rate for individuals. Companies will have to pay 22,000 rubles.

Basic costs, total amount

1. A real estate company or a free real estate agent will find an apartment among the options offered on the market, help prepare documents for the transaction, and provide support services in departments;
   or, on the contrary, they will show the object to the buyer. On average in Russia the cost will be 50 thousand rubles. (or 5% is added to the original price of the apartment).
2. Drawing up a purchase and sale agreement from a lawyer, on average - 1,500 rubles. on the territory of the Russian Federation.
3. The state duty for the assignment of property rights in Rosreestr is 2000 rubles. These costs are most often borne by the acquirer of property rights - the buyer of the apartment.
4. To certify ownership and the absence of encumbrances on the apartment, an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate in Rosreestr or the MFC is taken; on a regular paper form the amount will be 300 rubles, and on an electronic medium 750 rubles, respectively.
5. It is necessary to obtain a notarized consent of the spouse to sell the property from a notary, for which you need to pay 500 rubles.
6. If a representative of one of the parties will participate in the execution of the purchase and sale transaction, a notarized power of attorney is required - 100 rubles for close relatives and 500 rubles for all individuals.

The total cost will average 55 thousand rubles.

Costs that the buyer may face:

Costs that the seller may face:

Who pays for the contract?

The actual execution of the transaction depends solely on the wishes of the counterparties. Both the buyer and the seller can handle the registration.

In practice, the document is often drawn up by the seller if he is a professional participant in the real estate market. For example, this is an organization that works through realtors. If only citizens participate in the transaction, the agreement is drawn up jointly, without unilateral initiative.

Who has the right to draw up a purchase and sale agreement?

No special permission is required to prepare an apartment purchase and sale agreement. Both the seller and the buyer may be responsible for developing the text of the document. To do this, they do not require specialized legal education. They can use ready-made samples or templates of contracts that are publicly available today.

But if the parties are afraid that independently preparing an agreement carries an increased risk of its cancellation or invalidation, then they can use intermediary services to prepare the text of the agreement.

The following key options for drawing up a purchase and sale agreement can be identified:

1. Through a specialized law firm or a privately practicing lawyer.
2. Through a real estate company.
3. Through MFC. Today, in many MFCs you can not only re-register ownership of real estate, but also order the preparation of an agreement.
4. Through a notary.

Each of these options has its pros and cons. Independent preparation of the contract allows you to minimize the costs of concluding a purchase and sale transaction. At the same time, parties without specialized education may not take into account when preparing a document important legislative changes or civil law requirements that apply to legally significant documents.

With the participation of specialists in the preparation of the contract, it is developed individually, taking into account the specifics of the sale of the apartment and in accordance with the requirements of the law.

Contacting a specialist will require certain expenses. Depending on the region and the level of qualification of the lawyer, preparing a purchase and sale agreement will cost the parties 3-10 thousand rubles. As a last resort, the parties can simply seek advice on the contents of the document from a law firm. Such advisory services are usually paid at the rate of 500-1000 rubles. at one o'clock.

How much will the transaction cost for the seller and the buyer?

Additional options will cost the buyer more than 130,000 rubles and 0.1% of the cost of the apartment for the services of the insurance company, and the total costs will average 184,100 rubles + 0.1% of the cost of the apartment.

The seller will have to pay from 15,000 rubles and 0.1% of the cost of the apartment for an insurance company contract, and if he is interested in the services of various offices or is burdened by certain everyday circumstances. Total expenses will average 17,625 rubles +0.1% of the cost of the apartment.

Anyone planning to buy an apartment may also be interested in how to purchase living space using maternity capital and a mortgage.

The costs when completing a transaction for the purchase and sale of an apartment may become an unpleasant surprise for the parties, but they are entirely aimed at the possibility of a legal, fair and safe procedure for the assignment of rights. From TV screens one could hear every now and then about defrauded investors, careless buyers and grabber sellers. Today, society and the state have taken many measures to make the transaction truly easy for all interested parties.

What expenses are coming?

Some costs are constant, others may arise in certain situations.

State duty

The seller must pay a state fee of 350 rubles for changes that will be made to the Unified State Register (when they are necessary) if there have been changes in his personal data (for example, a change of surname). And the buyer pays a state fee of 2,000 rubles for registering ownership of the purchased property.

Who pays for the contract?

To draw up a purchase and sale agreement, it is advisable to contact a professional lawyer. The price depends on the region. Usually from 2000 to 6000 rubles. The parties themselves decide who pays during the sale for the execution of the contract and other documents, the seller or the buyer, or divide the costs of the transaction among themselves.

Required documents and cost of their preparation

When completing a transaction, in addition to drawing up an agreement, the following actions will be required::

1. obtaining a technical passport for a real estate property – 1.0-15 thousand rubles;
2. registration of a cadastral passport – 2-3 thousand rubles;
3. obtaining a certificate from Rosreestr – 750 rubles.

Fee for preparing the purchase and sale agreement

It is not necessary to pay for drawing up a purchase and sale agreement; the seller and buyer can draw up this document independently. But if the parties want to protect themselves from legal risks, they have the right to order the preparation of an agreement from a law firm. The cost of preparing a preliminary agreement can cost 10-15 thousand rubles, the main one - 30 thousand rubles.
Notarization of sales contracts is not required by law, but is not prohibited. Often, the parties resort to the participation of a notary to give the contract greater legal significance and reduce the risks of its being challenged or annulled in court.

For notary services you will have to pay 0.1-0.4% of the transaction value specified in the contract.

The tariff depends on the presence/absence of family ties between the parties to the transaction and the value of the property.

These costs can be distributed between the seller and the buyer in equal shares. Although the buyer has a great interest in the competent legal execution of the transaction.

Realtor services

The practice has developed in such a way that the buyer, as a rule, pays for all services related to the execution of the transaction. But, starting around 2021, the situation has changed somewhat. Activity in the real estate market fell, and housing began to sell poorly. Advanced realtors have begun to take advantage of this. They began to take money from sellers to find buyers. Now there are different options:

• Payment for specialist services is traditionally made by the buyer;
• money is collected from the seller;
• The costs of paying for the realtor's services are borne by both parties to the contract.

You can learn more about how much realtor services cost and what is included in their services in this article.

Thus, answering the question of who pays for the purchase and sale agreement, we can say that much depends on the agreements of the parties. In this case, there are costs that are borne only by the seller or only by the buyer , depending on what rules are established by current legislation.

Additional services

In addition to the services listed above, others may be required.
The cost of notarization of the contract will be 0.5% of the amount specified in it . This tariff is specified in the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Article 333.24). The limits are also defined: not less than 3,000, but not more than 20,000 rubles. This price is determined if the purchase and sale agreement must be certified.

If the parties, of their own free will, decided to have the agreement certified by a notary, then, according to the Fundamentals of Notaries (Article 22.1, paragraph 1), a certain percentage is taken depending on the situation:

• if the parties are close relatives, then in a transaction up to 1 million rubles. certification will cost 3,000 rubles;
• when the transaction amount is from 1 to 10 million rubles. – 7000 rub. + 0.2% of the amount exceeding 1 million rubles;
• for an amount over 10 million rubles. you will have to pay 25,000 rubles. + 0.1% of the amount exceeding 10 million rubles. (but not more than 100 thousand rubles).

The law does not establish who pays for the notary's services during the sale . Most often, the costs of the transaction are borne by the seller, because as a result, it is he who receives the money, i.e. is a beneficiary. But the parties to the transaction have the right to resolve this issue at their own discretion.

If it is necessary to provide the consent of the husband or wife for the sale of real estate, this document is also subject to notarization. The cost of the service is about 1.5 thousand rubles. The costs are borne by the seller, because He is the one who needs this paper.

If one of the parties acts through a third party, then a notarized power of attorney is required, the preparation and certification of which costs 500 rubles.

The transaction can be carried out using the services of a realtor . He will help you choose the appropriate option and advise you in the process of collecting and drawing up documents. The standard tariff in this case is from 2% to 5% of the property value.

Checking the object for legal purity. You can do this yourself or trust a professional. The cost of his services is determined by the housing parameters and the complexity of the procedure and starts from 5,000 rubles. The buyer pays for the service.

When making payments through a safe deposit box, you will have to pay its rent , which is usually one month. Typically, these costs, amounting to an average of 3-5 thousand rubles, are borne by the buyer. And the seller can pay for checking the authenticity of the banknotes.

When purchasing a home with the help of a mortgage, the buyer is responsible for a number of associated costs. In such a situation, it is necessary to evaluate the object, which costs 4-5 thousand rubles. It will also be necessary to insure the property, since it will be pledged to the bank until the end of loan payments. In most cases, a health and life insurance policy is also issued. In general, insurance services cost 0.5% -1.5% of the cost of the apartment.

Buying an apartment with a mortgage

All we have to do is consider what additional costs when purchasing an apartment with a mortgage may fall on the shoulders of the real estate buyer.

In addition to paying for the home loan itself, the buyer will also face other expenses:

• bank commission for issuing funds;
• payment for the apartment assessment report;
• insurance of collateral property.

Banks usually offer their own home appraisers, whose terms of service bank clients have to agree to . In addition to insuring collateral, the bank may ask the client to insure his life or disability.

Although these types of insurance are voluntary, the client’s refusal may result in an increase in the interest rate on the mortgage. To reduce your mortgage costs, a buyer should use the services of a mortgage broker.

The mortgage broker is well acquainted with the conditions of all banks operating in the market . For a fee, he will be able to select the most favorable mortgage conditions for the buyer. With the participation of a mortgage broker in the transaction, the buyer's chances of obtaining a mortgage increase significantly.

We must not forget that the buyer of an apartment will have to pay property tax on his new property.

Buying an apartment in a new building or on the secondary market is always a large expense, which, as a rule, goes beyond the payments expected by the buyer.

Some of the expenses are borne by the real estate seller, but still the lion's share of payments will have to be made by the buyer, who has a greater set of risks in this transaction.

Savings on the purchase of an apartment for the buyer may result in the loss of housing and money if the agreement is declared invalid.

When should the parties discuss the nuances?

As people say, everything needs to be resolved “on the shore.” There are several reasons for this:

1. If a third party is preparing for the transaction, then he must know from whom exactly to demand payment. Who can become such a helper? Professional lawyer, notary, realtor.
2. If the purchase and sale agreement is literate, then it should contain a clause on the distribution of costs between the parties. This is necessary so that, if anything happens, it is possible to recover from one of the parties the amount of funds paid to the person who helped formalize the transaction. For example: all the documents were prepared by a lawyer, and the buyer paid, after the papers were signed and the services were paid, it turned out that that the seller is incompetent. In this case, the buyer may declare the transaction invalid and demand the return of not only the cost of the property, but also the money paid to the lawyer. This can be easily done, but only if the papers indicate who exactly bore the costs under the contract.

Thus, the parties to the transaction must resolve issues regarding payment for the contract before its preparation and signing. At the same time, it is also necessary to decide how payments will take place between the participants in the process: in cash “from hand to hand”, by wire transfer, using a safe deposit box.

Who pays the agency?

Most often, the buyer himself turns to the agent to find a suitable apartment, in which case he is told about the range of services; a receipt or agency agreement is drawn up indicating the price. But it happens that a company adds up the cost of its services and the cost of the property.

It may happen that the client does not even know that he is paying for the work of a realtor. Many agencies do not charge a fee at all from the seller , even if they advertise his apartment in their sources, especially if the apartment is regarded as a profitable property. The reason again is that the entire cost of the cost will be covered by the buyer.

But in the case when clients order transaction support, assistance with drawing up an agreement, or specify additional services, the seller can also be provided with an invoice.

Cost of document preparation

The price is determined taking into account several factors:

• status of the person preparing the paperwork;
• property value;
• contract form.

Simple written form

Current legislation, in particular the Federal Law “On State Registration of Real Estate” of 2015, provides that a transaction for the purchase and sale of an apartment can be concluded in simple written form, provided that the housing has one adult and capable owner.

The paperwork can be completed by:

1. One of the sides. Now there are quite a lot of instructions on this matter on the Internet, there are sample documents. You can simply download one of them and fill it out yourself. There is a danger of choosing an outdated or illiterate sample, the use of which can hide a number of risks and lead to financial losses. If the seller or buyer is legally competent, and the law allows, in a particular case, the transaction to be completed in simple written form, then everything must be done independently. You will be able to save some good money.
2. Realtor. As a rule, people in this category have an established price list. Typically, they charge 1% of the value of the property. But a lower limit for the cost of services is also set. In the regions it is approximately 5 thousand rubles. In the capital it is much higher.
3. Professional lawyer. This could be a lawyer or just a person with a higher education in his specialty. The price of the transaction can be any. The specialist and his client usually individually agree on the amount of remuneration.

It turns out that there is no fixed cost for services if the contract is drawn up in simple written form. With the notary form, things are somewhat different.

Notary paper

According to Art. 333.24 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation, a notary has the right to take 0.5% of the cost of real estate for registration of a transaction. The price appearing in cadastral documents is taken into account. It is from this value that, by the way, the property tax is now taken. Considering the fact that an apartment can cost 500 thousand, or maybe 20 million, the legislator established:

• The minimum amount paid to the notary cannot be less than 300 rubles.
• Maximum – no more than 20 thousand rubles.

The requirement of the law is quite clear: in one case the notary may receive too little, in another – too much. The legislator does not allow this. If the Tax Code of the Russian Federation did not have such a restriction, then a notary would only need to help sell one piece of real estate worth several million dollars a year, and not work for the remaining 364 days.

Each notary has the right to demand payment for legal and technical services. Their cost is determined by the Notary Chamber of the region. On average, UPTH cost from 2 to 6-7 thousand rubles.