A notary is a specialist authorized by the state to certify various legal actions of citizens. For example, we moved to the capital, and a friend back home was asked to sell an apartment or apartment. In order for him to conclude a deal on your behalf, you need to write him a power of attorney and have it certified by a notary.
If desired, you can certify any transaction with a notary, even if this is not required by law - transactions through a notary are completed faster, as a rule, by 6 days, when compared with the time frame for submitting documents to the MFC.
The notary takes money for the work - usually a fixed amount for the work plus a fee. The duty, in most cases, unless otherwise provided by law, is 0.5% of the value of the property, but not more than 20,000 rubles. The cost of the work depends on the region and the office itself - it is better to check with a notary in your city.
We tell you when you need a notary in real estate transactions - with apartments or apartments.
Transactions by power of attorney for the sale of real estate
Unlike simple transactions that do not require registration with government agencies, it is impossible to sell real estate using a regular written power of attorney. The document must be drawn up and certified by a notary.
The owner of an apartment or apartment can revoke the power of attorney at any time, but it is not necessary to hand over a paper copy of the document. Because of this, there is a risk of fraud - the buyer sees that the person has a power of attorney, concludes a deal and gives the money. The seller disappears, and the transaction is not registered with Rosreestr due to an invalid power of attorney.
You can avoid such situations like this:
- never give money to the seller in advance and in cash - only after registration and better using a letter of credit or a safe deposit box.
- check the power of attorney for relevance through the online service of the Federal Notary Chamber on the day of the transaction.
Read more about such transactions in our article “Transactions with a power of attorney. How to check that everything is clean.”
The online service has a search by power of attorney number or a list of all canceled powers of attorney
Features of the service
The provisions of Law No. 338-FZ require, from February 1, 2021, notaries who have certified an agreement on the right to real estate that is subject to state registration to send documents for registration to Rosreestr, unless the parties have agreed on other steps. Until this moment, such a service was also provided, but it was considered as a separate notarial procedure, which was paid in accordance with the accepted tariff. Now the submission of documents for state registration is carried out by a notary in electronic form and is free for participants in the transaction. The same applies to the procedure for issuing a certificate of inheritance at the request of the surviving spouse. Data on such a transaction is submitted by a notary to Rosreestr in electronic or paper form within 24 hours, unless the parties provide for other deadlines.
Spouse's consent to sell real estate
Property acquired during a marriage is often considered community property. Therefore, if you decide to purchase such an apartment, be sure to make sure that the seller’s spouse is not against such a deal.
According to the law, this can be done with the help of a document that is certified by a notary - that is, the spouse must go to the office and draw up a “consent”, confirming in the latter his permission to sell the property. This document is attached to the purchase and sale agreement and submitted to Rosreestr for registration of the transaction.
Moreover, it is necessary to obtain consent, even if the seller has already divorced - the key here is that he acquired the property during the marriage.
Read more about such transactions in our article “What is a spouse’s consent to sell an apartment and why should a buyer check it.”
Seal away from home
Corresponding amendments have been made to the Fundamentals of the legislation of the Russian Federation on notaries. Now, for example, when buying a summer cottage in Orekhovo-Zuevo near Moscow, you don’t have to go there. You can certify a transaction from any notary in the Moscow region, if it is convenient for the people themselves. Experts have long said that territorial binding, when the apartment and the notary must be nearby, is a thing of the past. Modern technologies make it possible to resolve issues at a distance, and much more reliably.
It is possible that the adopted law is only the first step towards introducing a broader principle of extraterritoriality. Ideally, even regional boundaries may not be boundaries for a notary.
A common everyday situation: parents are old, children who left their father’s home a long time ago took them to another region. And now the parents want to dispose of the property that remains there. And in each such case, notaries must refuse to register a transaction with property from another region. Naturally, this creates additional difficulties. Until now there was no way out. Now, largely thanks to the development of the Unified Notary Information System and the establishment of interdepartmental interaction, it has become possible to more easily resolve issues, at least for those who have moved from city to city within the region. Or - from village to city.
In the Fundamentals of Notary Legislation there is a norm obliging (soon, as soon as the law comes into force, it will be possible to talk about this norm in the past tense) a notary to certify a transaction at the location of the real estate.
These rules apply to notary certification of transactions for the alienation of property. While the provision was in effect, notaries could not act otherwise.
So the adopted law makes life much easier for citizens. “We are gradually moving to extraterritorial notarial certification, as is the case in European countries,” Konstantin Korsik, president of the Federal Notary Chamber of the Russian Federation, told RG. — In France, you can come to a notary in Paris and certify the purchase and sale agreement for a transaction on the Cote d'Azur. This is par for the course. You go to the notary you know and trust. Therefore, we are moving forward in the interests of our citizens, creating and developing our information systems.”
Of course, experts say, the main principle in this matter remains the reliable protection of citizens from fraud and violation of their rights, and this is precisely what a notary is called upon to do. Where the interaction between the notary and state registers, for example, the Federal Tax Service, has come a long way, the notary offers citizens the most modern services.
Now you can contact the notary you trust
A special issue is wills. There will be no complete extraterritoriality here. The Civil Code sets out a strict rule, and, according to experts, it complies with all international standards: the place of opening of the inheritance is the last place of residence of the testator. And to open an inheritance, you need to come to the notary at the last place of residence of the deceased.
But here, too, the notary introduces a certain extraterritorial system within the regions in order to make life easier for citizens. Previously, there was a division into sections. Let’s say the city of Volgograd, a million people, was divided into 30 sections. And from each site people had to come to a specific notary. And now you can go to any notary in the city, which is one notarial district, and open an inheritance case, since all data is opened in a single information database created by the notary.
Subscribe to the main RG news on Telegram
telegram.me/rgrunews
Selling a share - when to contact a notary
Until July 31, 2021, all share transactions had to be registered with a notary. Afterwards the situation was simplified due to the changes introduced by Art. 5 Federal Law No. 76 dated 05/01/2019.
Now shares in an apartment can be sold or donated by immediately registering the agreement with Rosreestr, subject to three conditions:
- all owners are adults;
- contract one;
- All shares in an apartment are sold at once, that is, the entire property.
It doesn’t matter whether the deal is for cash or a mortgage. In other cases, a notary is needed.
Example
The apartment belongs to three brothers in equal shares. Each of them is an adult and capable. They decided to sell their home - they sign one contract, the apartment goes to another family entirely. A notary is not needed.
Alternative example #1.
One of the three brothers changed his mind and decided not to sell his share. Now, in order to sell an apartment, you will have to go to a notary - the property is not sold as a whole.
Alternative example #2.
The brothers are selling their apartment, but they found two buyers at once - each wants to buy half of the apartment. This is also possible, but it will be a transaction with different shares and different contracts, so a notary is needed.
Transactions with minors
Any purchase or sale of real estate with citizens under 18 years of age requires certification of the contract by a notary.
Please note that if a child is under 14 years of age, a parent must act on his behalf. When a child is between 14 and 18 years old, he can enter into a transaction himself, but with the written permission of his parents.
If you are buying an apartment that is partially owned by a minor, make sure that the guardianship authorities have approved the transaction. And only after that agree to the purchase and go to the notary.
A child can become a partial owner of an apartment without buying it - for example, if the property was purchased with the help of maternal capital, the minor must be allocated shares. If this happens, such an apartment is sold only through a notary.
Read more - “How to buy an apartment that is partially owned by a minor.”
Rent agreement
An annuity is an opportunity to buy real estate in installments for the obligation to support an elderly person. Most often, such agreements are concluded not just for a monthly cash payment, but for a specific list of responsibilities. For example, you can agree with an elderly neighbor that you will supply her with a certain amount of food every month, hire a cleaning service and pay a specific amount of money, and for this, after her death, the apartment will go to you.
If such an agreement is not certified by a notary, it will be considered “void” - that is, after the elderly person passes away, you will not receive an apartment.
Will
When you buy a property, be sure to find out how it came to be from the sellers. If they received it under a will, make sure that such document was certified by a notary. If the procedure for drawing up is violated, it can be challenged - for example, other heirs will appear and prove through the court that the deceased wrote the will under pressure.
There are several exceptions when a will can be considered legal without notarization. For example, abroad this is done at the consulate, in a nursing home or in a hospital for treatment - the head physician or director, in prison - the head of the colony.
Assignment of the right of claim
If you acquire the right to claim an apartment in a new building, the transaction must be registered in the same form as the share participation agreement. If the first transaction required the participation of a notary, then the second, and then subsequent ones, must also be certified.
Example
The parents bought an apartment for their child in a new building, then decided to move and sell the property, although the house had not yet been completed.
When you buy the right to claim this apartment, the transaction will have to be registered with a notary, because the transaction with the developer was also notarized.
Service cost
Notary Yuldasheva T.V. checks the legitimacy of real estate transactions in Moscow and certifies them in accordance with the requirements of Russian legislation.
The cost of services related to certification of real estate transactions includes:
- state duty for performing notarial acts, the amount of which is 0.5% of the contract amount, but cannot be more than 20 thousand rubles;
- covering costs associated with legal and technical work. This amount is determined by the general meeting of the notary chamber of a particular region in accordance with the recommendations of the Federal Chamber.
A similar system for determining the cost of services is mandatory in all regions. The tariffs established in the notary office of Yuldasheva T.V. are presented in a special table on the website. You can find out how much it costs to certify your contract by dialing one of the office’s contact telephone numbers.
Briefly - when a notary is needed in real estate transactions
- Check for the presence of a notarized consent of the spouse if the property was purchased during marriage. Even if the person is already divorced.
- The owner of the apartment or apartment cannot come to the transaction, is he selling through an intermediary, through a power of attorney? Make sure it is certified and not canceled through the online service.
- If a share in an apartment is being sold, the transaction must be certified.
- A notary is needed in transactions with minors and incapacitated people.
- If you enter into an annuity agreement, register it with a notary office, otherwise it will be declared illegal and canceled.
- When you purchase an apartment inherited from sellers, check the will - it must be certified.
- If you buy the right to claim, the transaction must be certified if the first transaction was legally registered with a notary.
Certificate upon request
There are a number of situations when the participation of a notary in a transaction is not mandatory, but desirable for all parties. Thus, even when concluding an ordinary purchase and sale agreement in traditional written form, there is always the possibility that the participants will subsequently be forced to go to court to protect their rights. The fact is that when drawing up a document independently, the parties very often lose sight of circumstances that subsequently lead to a violation of their rights and can serve as a basis for declaring the transaction invalid. An experienced notary will help you draw up a contract correctly and carry out all legally significant checks in accordance with legal requirements. And if the case does go to court, the participant will not have to prove the circumstances certified by a notary at the hearing.
