ᐅ Review of Detailed Drawings Before Signing the House Purchase Contract

It also simply depends on the notary: My most recent draft purchase agreement was clearly weaker from the buyer’s perspective compared to an earlier one (different notary). In my view, it was only acceptable after adjustments. However, this does not mean that the seller was "disadvantaged," even if their position worsened.

Good morning Hase,

For a moment, I literally held my breath, but this:

Voki1 schrieb:

... especially the legal consequences of the contract to be concluded.

reminded me to take a breath.

Voki1 schrieb:

For this reason, the notary must allow the parties two weeks to review. This time is meant to give inexperienced parties the opportunity to ask questions well BEFORE the appointment and to prevent them from being pressured into signing if the draft contains significant disadvantages.

To put it simply: most notarial contracts related to property purchase are quite boring and consist of the usual dry legal notary language. It should not give the impression that notaries are prematurely acting as assistants to shady sales geniuses!

One thing is (unfortunately) also true: before money starts to change hands and it becomes common for buyers to naturally commission this service, a lot of water still flows down the river.

Best regards, Bauexperte

Good morning, Hase.

Bauexperte schrieb:
reminds me to remember to breathe.

Breathing is the prerequisite for all thinking processes.

Basically, in most cases, the complexity is actually not in the "notarial part" of the purchase contract, but in the attachments. In fact, in the vast majority of cases, the land transfer section is quite dull and not difficult, even when assessing the legal consequences of concluding the contract. The key lies in the attached construction specifications, which very (very) often are included as appendices to the purchase contracts.

The notary is unlikely to comment much on the construction specifications. That is neither their task nor would they usually be competent to do so. In my opinion, this part of the contract must (almost necessarily) be reviewed by an expert (alternatively by Payday). The implications of this attachment are far more extensive than those of a typical land purchase contract.

Everyone has liability insurance and usually also home contents insurance. Construction insurance is also often taken out because a thief might steal a radiator. However, the fact that poor construction work can lead to significant (sometimes existentially threatening) disadvantages is usually conveniently ignored. The costs for expert supervision and proper contract review are often considered unnecessary, even when there is absolutely no personal expertise. These issues are thought to be visible anyway if one is not completely blind, so no external expertise is needed (right, Payday?).

Anyway. Everyone is the architect of their own fortune. This also means responsibility for financial ruin and the loss of all assets.

Hello Volker,

Voki1 schrieb:

Breathing is the prerequisite for all thinking processes.

That's true – I just had some honest time to practice that during the appointment. The lady of the house had so much "expert knowledge" at once (admirable) that at first it was difficult to nearly impossible to bring the conversation into a roughly chronological order.

Voki1 schrieb:

Basically, in most cases, the complexity does not actually lie in the "notary section" of the purchase contract, but in the annexes.

Which – in the case of a pure land purchase – are manageable, as they usually consist of a land register and cadastral extract, maybe a survey report.

Voki1 schrieb:

The construction descriptions are not (and will not be) significantly commented on by the notary. That is neither their task nor are they usually able to do so. In my opinion, this part of the purchase contract must (almost inevitably) be reviewed by an expert (alternatively by Payday). The consequences of this annex are far more significant than those of a normal land purchase contract.

I hardly believe our Payday wants to spend time on that. Regardless, I am sure he is not capable of fully understanding a construction description. Interpretation and reality often differ greatly; especially in my job.

But I realize – we talked past each other, my friend. You are, in my opinion, referring to classic developer contracts handled through a notary, while I am more concerned about involving a notary. And therefore, of course, I gladly agree with you that it is not the task of a notary to review the content of a construction description. The person sitting in front of the notary hopefully has enough sense given by nature to act responsibly on their own – either through appropriate training or by consulting external expertise.

Regards, Bauexperte