Real Estate Sales: What Is the Notary's Role in Real Estate?
Our real estate agency in Paris's 16th arrondissement, CENTURY 21 Auteuil Immobilier explains the role that a notary plays in your plan to buy or sell your property.
What is the role of a notary?
Appointed by the government, a notary is a ministerial officer with public authority. His primary role is to ensure the legality and validity of the legal transactions in which he participates through authentic instruments. By virtue of his profession, he is bound by ethical rules and must fulfill certain obligations for which he has taken an oath before a court.
The notary plays both an administrative and legal role. A notarial deed becomes official and authentic only after the notary has signed it. In the case of a real estate sale, the notary’s signature on the deed of sale makes it legally binding and ensures its authenticity. The real estate sector is a significant part of a notary’s practice.
In the field of business law, notaries are often involved in the formation and dissolution of companies, the drafting of sales and lease agreements, and mergers and acquisitions.
What is the notary's role in a real estate sale:
The notary plays a crucial role in real estate sales and is responsible throughout the transaction, which takes place in two stages: the preliminary sales agreement or sales contract, which can also be done executed as a private document at a real estate agency, and the notarized deed of sale:
- Verification of the documents provided for the drafting the preliminary agreement or the promise : The notary verifies that all documents required for the real estate transaction are complete. These include, in particular, the title deed, the zoning certificate, the cadastral map, the required property inspections, etc.
- Verification of ownership: The notary verifies that the seller is indeed the owner of the property and that the property is not subject to any legal proceedings. The notary establishes the property’s ownership history going back 30 years.
- Drafting the Deed of Sale: The notary drafts the deed of sale, which specifies the terms of the real estate transaction (price, payment terms, date of transfer of ownership, etc.). The notary ensures that it complies with applicable law.
In particular, it must include all necessary information about the property, the parties involved, and the terms of sale. - Legal advice: The notary advises the parties on the legal aspects of the sale, particularly with regard to taxes, notary fees, any obligations of the parties, etc.
- Funds Management: The notary receives the funds paid by the buyer and holds them until the final deed of sale is signed. The notary also ensures that all taxes and fees are paid.
- Signing the Deed of Sale: The notary arranges for the signing of the deed of sale and verifies the identities of the parties before they sign it. The notary then provides a copy of the notarized deed of sale to each party.
The notary’s role in a real estate sale is therefore to ensure the transaction is secure for the parties involved and to guarantee its legality and validity.
What is the notary's role in a real estate purchase:
The notary plays an important role in a real estate purchase. The notary becomes involved from the very beginning of the transaction, verifying the legal status of the building in which the property is located and ensuring that the seller is indeed the owner of the property being sold. The notary drafts the preliminary sales agreement and the deed of sale and ensures their accuracy, including all required information and verifying that the contract’s clauses comply with applicable laws, thereby making the deed of sale official and authentic.
In a real estate purchase, the notary serves as the legal guarantor at every stage of the sale, ensuring that all procedures comply with the law and that the interests of the parties involved are protected.
The notary is also responsible for managing the funds involved in the transaction, collecting payment from the buyer, and ensuring that the funds are properly distributed among the parties involved. In particular, the notary must ensure that all administrative formalities related to the real estate transaction are completed, such as registering the deed of sale with the land registry office.
