What should be in the contract of purchase of the apartment?

Whether you are buying an apartment in a new building or a home in an old house, it is necessary to conduct a full inspection of the seller and the property.

However, no less attention should be paid to the contract of purchase of the apartment and the terms of such a contract. So what points must be in the contract for the agreement to be secure?

Buying an apartment in a new building.

In the previous article I talked about the schemes of buying an apartment in a new house. However, no matter what method of investing in construction the developer has chosen, your contract must contain certain clauses to guarantee you a safer purchase.

The contract must specify the exact details of the land and your future apartment, in particular its area, building number of the apartment and floor. This will help in the future to defend their rights to the apartment, if the developer decides to sell your apartment to someone else, or give you another apartment. In addition, it is better that the contract contains references to permits on the basis of which the developer will build a house.
Deadlines for commissioning. The contract must specify the deadline for putting the house into operation and transferring the apartment to the buyer. Most developers in their contracts also provide for the possibility of extending the deadlines, so at this point you also need to pay attention. In addition, as practice shows, bona fide developers in their contracts provide for penalties for violation of the terms of delivery of the house. In this way, they show their openness and motivate buyers to buy an apartment from them.
Refund of paid funds. If the developer has violated its obligations, in particular regarding the terms of delivery of the house, the contract in addition to penalties must contain a clause that gives the buyer the right to withdraw from the contract and return the money paid. This paragraph should describe in detail the procedure for termination of the contract and the period during which the developer returns the funds.
Price fixation. In many contracts, developers provide for themselves the opportunity to adjust the contract price if you buy an apartment in installments, or if the area of the apartment will differ from the contract after the technical inventory. However, in some contracts there may be clauses that provide for the possibility to change the price depending on the dollar exchange rate, or prices for construction materials. Such items are quite risky for buyers. To get your apartment in this case have to pay a fairly large amount.
The order of transfer of the apartment and quality characteristics. The contract must specify in what condition and with what technical characteristics the developer will transfer the future apartment. This is the presence of the front door, screed, plaster, communications to the apartment, etc. The contract must specify how the apartment is transferred, how the act of defects is signed and how the developer must eliminate the identified defects.

Let's help to buy real estate safely

Buying an apartment on the secondary market.

Buying an apartment on the secondary market is always a risk, and therefore the choice of seller and analysis of the property must be approached very carefully. We wrote earlier with what hidden risks the buyer of such apartment can face. However, we must not forget that the contract of sale of the apartment must meet not only the interests of the seller but also the buyer.

Apartment features. Very often, the apartment can be redesigned, and redevelopment is not legalized. Therefore, you need to pay attention to the characteristics of the apartment specified in the contract, and the actual characteristics of the apartment.
Transfer of ownership. To avoid risks, real estate sellers often prescribe in contracts a condition according to which the ownership of the apartment passes to the buyer a few days after payment. However, this condition has risks for the buyer, as the buyer may pay and not receive the apartment. Therefore, it is better not to agree to such a condition, but to provide a condition according to which the ownership of the apartment passes at the time of notarization of the contract of sale of the apartment.
Contract price. Often sellers offer to indicate in the contract a smaller amount than will actually be paid, and the rest are offered to pay in cash. This is justified by the amount of taxes and other fees that the seller will have to pay. It is also better not to agree to such a condition, because if the contract of sale is declared invalid, you can return only the amount that you specified in the contract.
Communal. The contract must stipulate that the seller has paid all payments related to the maintenance of the apartment, and all costs for the maintenance of the apartment, which arose before its sale, the seller undertakes to reimburse the buyer.

As you can see, the contracts of sale of the apartment may lack the conditions that guarantee the buyer a secure transaction. Also, there may be pitfalls in the presence of which it is better not to sign the contract.

To be sure that your contract protects your interests, it is better to entrust its analysis to a professional real estate lawyers.