Once both parties have reached an agreement about the sale of a property, you can proceed to signing the contract. This process involves several steps.
When you’ve reached an agreement about the price and other conditions, you will first have to sign a promissory dead (koopakte). This contains all the details of the sale and a few conditional paragraphs. If these paragraphs are not fulfilled, then the deal can still be broken off without serious consequences.
Note that there is a period of 3 days after the signing in which the buyer can withdraw from the deal without having to pay a penalty (even if the conditional paragraphs do not apply).
The conditional paragraphs usually contain information about the mortgage and the structural survey. If the buyer is not able to get a mortgage then it’s possible that the sale doesn’t happen and the buyer does not have to pay a fine for terminating the deal. If the structural survey shows that there will be a great amount of costs related to the renovation, then the deal can also be terminated.
If all conditions are met, both parties proceed to the signing of the actual purchase contract, which ensures the conveyance of the property. This contract is usually drafted by the estate agent or a notary.
The contract should be signed by the buyer, the seller and a notary and should not differ from the original promissory deal.
To finish the conveyance, the notary goes to the land registry and public registry with a copy of the contract to register it. After registration, the purchase is complete and the property belongs to its new owner.
The notary is also responsible for the proper settlement of the payment and all additional costs.