Bill of Sale of Land in Subdivision

Verified 07 June 2023 - Directorate for Legal and Administrative Information (Prime Minister)

You're about to buy land in a subdivision and you're going to sign a authentic instrument sale in front of a notary?

We take stock of the content of the act, its form and its signature.

The notary checks the legal status of the seller, the buyer and the property.

Legal status of persons

Before drafting the bill of sale, the notary must check the following points:

  • Identity of the 2 parts, by requesting a birth certificate and a supporting document including a photo and the signature (national identity card or passport for example)
  • Capacity of the 2 parties to sign the deed (a minor or a protected major must be assisted or represented by an authorized person who will sign the document with or on behalf of him)
  • Compliance of power of attorney given to a third party by the buyer or seller absent on the day of signature of the deed

It shall also ensure that the buyer's loan.

Legal status of the property

The notary check in particular the next points :

  • Mortgage Statement to attest to the seller's right to property and his ability to dispose freely of the goods and to know the mortgage registrations
  • City planning Rules city planning certificate applicable (request from a
  • Cadastral location
  • Right of pre-emption the Business for Land Management and Rural Settlement (Safer) for Agricultural Land
  • Right of pre-emption of local and regional authorities (urban, commercial, right of pre-emption of sensitive natural areas)
  • Right of pre-emption of joint-partners when there is division
  • Seller's ownership origin

The bill of sale shall contain the following information:

  • Contact Information from seller (called) subwoofer) and the buyer
  • Plan of bounding of the land subdivision compulsory
  • Detailed description of the land derived from the bounding plane
  • Sales price and payment methods (with or without the help of a mortgage)
  • Amount of fees of the seller or supplier and those who must pay them
Documents submitted by the developer to the purchaser

The following documents shall be submitted when the promise of sale. If there has been no promise, they shall be annexed to the bill of sale:

In principle, the bill of sale must be signed after the completion of the public facilities (roads, water, electricity, gas...).

The bill of sale can be signed before the completion of this equipment in the following 2 cases:

  • Public works deferred by a permit from the City Hall
  • Guarantee of completion of works obtained by the developer from a bank, a financial institution or a business of mutual guarantee which undertakes to advance or pay for him the sums necessary for the completion of the works

L'authentic instrument is signed by the seller and the buyer before a notary. When one of the 2 cannot be present, he can be represented by entrusting a third party with a power of attorney private signature.

The representation of the absent person is indicated in the bill of sale.

The bill of sale shall be signed in paper or electronic form. In all cases, the notary reads the bill of sale aloud before the buyer and the seller sign it.

Act on paper

The notary shall be required to include the following information on the document:

  • Date in all letters and place where the act was performed
  • Name and place of establishment of the notary receiving the document
  • Names, forenames and domicile of the parties and of all the signatories to the agreement
  • Numbering of each page and total number indicated at the end of the act
  • Mention that the document has been read by the parties or that it has been read to them
  • The number of blanks crossed out, and the words and numbers crossed out
  • Names and homes of witnesses

The document must be written without overloading, line spacing, or addition.

The documents annexed to the deed must be signed by the notary.

If the parties declare that they do not know or cannot sign, the document must state that fact.

The quality of the paper must offer any guarantee of preservation. The text and the signatures and initials must be indelible.

The notary who wrote the deed keeps one original called the minute. It is kept in the archives of the notarial study for 75 years, then transferred to the public archives.

FYI  

On the day of the signature of the deed, the notary gives the buyer a proof of ownership.

Act in electronic form

The bill of sale can be signed electronically, we are talking about a electronic authentic instrument (EFA).

The notary shall be required to include the following information on the document:

  • Date in all letters and place where the act was performed
  • Name and place of establishment of the notary receiving the document
  • Names, forenames and domicile of the parties and of all the signatories to the act
  • Names and homes of witnesses
  • Mention that the document has been read by the parties or that it has been read to them

The document must be written without overloading, line spacing, or addition.

During the appointment at the notary's office, the act and its annexes are read on a large screen.

The parties sign the deed on a tablet with an electronic stylus.

The notary affixes his signature and seal with a computer key that certifies the signature and makes it inviolable.

The date and place of the signatures are automatically validated and the act can no longer be modified.

The notary uses an information processing system approved by the Supreme Council of the notary (CSN). It guarantees the integrity and confidentiality of the content of the dematerialized act.

The EFA shall be sent to the central electronic minutier of notaries of France (MICEN) where the document, its annexes and the signatures of all parties are kept.

During the appointment at the notary's office, the act and its annexes are read on a large screen.

The parties sign the deed on a tablet with an electronic stylus.

The notary affixes his signature and seal with a computer key that certifies the signature and makes it inviolable.

The date and place of the signatures are automatically validated, and the act can no longer be modified.

FYI  

On the day of the signature of the deed, the notary gives the buyer a proof of ownership.

He can deliver a copy of a dematerialized act in paper or electronic form. He shall include the date, his secure electronic signature and the image of his seal.

Dematerialized copies may be transmitted by electronic means by the notary under conditions guaranteeing the integrity of the document, the confidentiality of the transmission, the identity of the sender and of the recipient.

Please note

The seller and the buyer can choose the same notary or each have their own.

On the day of the signature of the deed of sale, the buyer must pay the full price of the sale and the notary's fees.

The selling price is paid by wire transfer if it is greater than or equal to €3,000.

The notary issues a receipt to the buyer. It transfers the amount of the transaction to the seller after the registration of the deed with the land advertising service.

In principle, the transfer period does not exceed 1 month.

If there are funds remaining to the buyer's credit after registration, the notary sends him a check or a transfer with the detailed statement of fees and fees.

If not, he shall request the additional provision before sending him his title.

Please note

If a promise of sale has been signed, a capital allowance has been paid by the buyer. It is paid in return for the seller's commitment to sell his real estate exclusively to the designated purchaser. This fixed asset allowance is deducted from the sale price.

The notarial fees are at the expense of the buyer. The seller and the buyer can decide otherwise.

These fees consist of:

  • Fees and taxes collected by the notary and remitted to the public treasury (registration fee, land advertising tax or value added tax)
  • Remuneration of the notary (drafting of the bill of sale, consultations, expertise...)
  • Costs incurred on behalf of the seller and the buyer (e.g. cadastre extract)

The amount of notarized fees remains the same when the seller and the buyer each have their notary. The costs are then shared between the 2 notaries.

The amount of these costs can be estimated using a simulator:

Calculate the amount of the costs of acquiring a property

The buyer becomes the owner of the land when the bill of sale is signed. This transfer of ownership becomes enforceable to third parties after publication of the act in land advertising service.

The notary must ensure the land advertising by recording the deed of sale in the real estate file of the land advertising service on which the land depends.

Who shall I contact

Please note

in the departments of Haut-Rhin, of Lower Rhine and the Moselle, the deed is published in the land register.

After registration at the land advertising service, the notary notify copy of the deed of ownership to the buyer by hand or by letter RAR: titleContent or by a Commissioner of Justice.

This copy, bearing the stamps of the tax authorities, shall constitute the title to property.

The time limit for receiving this copy is generallyapproximately 6 months after the signature of the bill of sale.

Who can help me?

Find who can answer your questions in your region

FAQ

Fact sheets by life event