Documents in a real estate transaction
The seller's real estate agent must obtain all the property's documents and they contain a wealth of information. Information that can be essential to your choice of home.
As a buyer, you need to keep track of all the property's documents. These are often over 100 pages of documents written in a legal language that few people read on a daily basis. There is a lot of information in the purchase documents. Some are important and some are standard texts.
The content is often written in legal language that can seem complicated and convoluted if you're not used to reading such documents. As your buyer advisor, I give you an overview of the deal and protect you from unpleasant surprises, hidden errors and time-consuming consequences of not having the deal reviewed by a professional.
To help you understand the documents, we go through each document individually.
The sales listing
The sales listing is a presentation of the property that the estate agent must prepare for you as a buyer.
The primary purpose of the sales pitch is to make the property attractive to you as a buyer. However, there are a number of requirements for what the sales statement must contain and which the estate agent should ensure that it contains. However, it is not always possible to see through all aspects of the property in the sales report.
According to the legislation, all information in the sales listing must be correct. If they are not, the seller or the seller's estate agent may be held liable for incorrect or misleading information.
Help for buying a house therefore reviews the sales list with you and checks that all the information in it is correct.
The purchase agreement
The purchase agreement is the most central document in any real estate transaction. Help for house purchases offers to make a free and non-binding screening of the purchase agreement before you sign. With this, you are sure that you have the opportunity to get advice on the content of the purchase agreement and all the other documents before the deal is finally binding on you.
Send the purchase agreement to Help to buy a house and I will get back to you within 2 hourswith an analysis of the content.
When both seller and buyer have signed the purchase agreement and approved the agreed trading terms, the deal will be considered binding for the parties.
If a reservation has been made for your buyer's advisor's approval, you can withdraw from the deal without additional costs to you. If you withdraw from the transaction on the basis of help with house purchase advice, our advice is also completely free: That's what we call itno trade - no fee!
You should also be aware that you as a buyer have the right to cancel the transaction within six working days after the agreement has been concluded. It costs 1% of the purchase price in compensation, which is paid to the seller. This right of withdrawal is statutory and cannot be waived. Read more aboutthe rules for the right of withdrawal when buying a home.
The house inspection scheme
The house inspection scheme is designed to protect against unforeseen financial surprises when buying and selling homes.
It is the seller's choice whether the scheme is to be used and it is your choice as the buyer whether you wish to take out insurance against hidden faults and defects in the purchased home. This is what is called a change of ownership insurance.
In order for the transaction to be covered by the house inspection scheme, the seller must ensure that a condition report and an electrical installation report are drawn up. In addition, the seller must present an offer for a change of ownership insurance and offer to pay ½ of the premium on the presented insurance.
When the seller chooses to use the home inspection scheme, the seller is released from his responsibility for hidden faults and defects in the home.
As a buyer, it is your choice whether you want to take out insurance or not. Help for buying a house recommends that all home buyers take out change of ownership insurance if possible. We help you to review the presented insurance and we can, through our experience, advise you whether you should/should obtain a quote from another insurance company. Remember that the real estate agent usually has a financial interest in selling you insurance from an insurance company they work with.
The status report
Onecondition reportis drawn up by an authorized building expert who examines the property from basement to attic. The condition report must be a maximum of 6 months old when you receive it. Otherwise, it is no longer valid.
The condition report is an assessment of the condition of the home and any damage that the building expert can see with his naked eye. The condition report gives you an overview of the condition of the house, but it does not provide any information about the costs of repairing the damage.
Remember to be critical but realistic when reviewing the condition report. There is no point in getting lost in the damage mentioned in the report. You are about to buy your next home, and not just the damage mentioned in the condition report.
You must, of course, read the condition report closely, but I would also recommend asking a specialist about its contents. Buyer advice at Help to buy a house involves a thorough review of the house's reports. What is even more important for you as a buyer is that you also get the content of the reports explained to you by a housing expert.
The construction expert assesses the individual building parts separately and gives them a grade if he can detect damage. The damage to the property is assessed based on this grading scale:
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Gray house– Less serious damage which has no influence on the function of the building part or the building.
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Yellow house– Serious damage which will cause the function of the building part to fail in the long term. This failure can cause damage to other building parts.
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Red house– Critical damage which has already caused or will cause the function of the building part to fail in the short term. This failure can cause or may have already caused damage to other building parts.
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Black house– Should be investigated more closely, as there are conditions in the part of the building that should be investigated to clarify whether there is damage. It can be a critical or a serious injury. You should therefore clarify the scope and consequences of the possible damage. If you choose to buy the property without having investigated the situation in more detail, you bear the responsibility yourself
the risk.
At the front of the condition report, there is a section with attention points, which is just as important as the damage to the house itself. This section contains a number of concrete points that relate to the type of house the report covers.
The attention points list the general factors you must keep an eye on regarding the house and the materials the house is made of. For example, there is always an indication of the roof's remaining life. This is an important parameter, as it costs a lot of money to change the roof. So if the roof needs to be replaced soon, it should be part of the price negotiation with the seller.
You should also check the following information about the property in the condition report:
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Seller's information about the property. The seller has what is called a "loyal duty of disclosure". This means that the seller must tell about all conditions on the property that he knows or should know about. Therefore, you can become aware of previous damage and its repair by reading the seller's information (at the back of the condition report).
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Are there buildings that have not been approved by the municipality? If this is the case, they should be legalized before you take over the property. Otherwise, it is you as the buyer who takes over the responsibility.
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Are there building parts that the construction expert has not inspected? If the construction expert has not inspected, for example, the roof or crawl space, then it may be that the change of ownership insurance does NOT cover these conditions.
The electrical installation report
Oneelectrical installation reportis prepared by an authorized electrical installer, who also reviews the property's electrical installation. The electrical installation report is valid for 12 months.
The electrical installation report is an assessment of the condition of the electrical installations and any damage that the electrician can detect by checking the house's electrical installation. The electrician grades the faults he finds.
As with the condition report, it is also extremely important to read the electrical installation report closely to discover whether there are illegal electrical installations for which you, as the buyer, assume responsibility.
Pay attention to which parts of the electrical installation the electrician has separated during the review. After all, the review is only a sample - it is not the entire installation that is taken apart and checked.
Remember to also review the section with the seller's information about the property's electrical installations. If there are illegal electrical installations, it can be expensive to get the installations legalised. Information about illegal electrical installations is a good negotiation topic when buying the property.
Change of ownership insurance
Change of ownership insuranceis insurance for the benefit of both buyer and seller. Change of ownership insurance is an insurance that is particularly beneficial when there is a change of ownership for a property. The insurance covers any hidden damage to the home that is neither listed in the condition report, the electrical installation report nor that the buyer has been made aware of at the time of taking over the property.
Some change of ownership insurances contain reservations for coverage of certain building parts. As a home buyer, you must pay particular attention to this, as you risk having taken out a worthless insurance policy if you are not aware of this.
Help for buying a house reviews the contents of the condition report, the electrical installation report and the change of ownership insurance offer with you, so that you are informed about the condition of the house and your legal position when buying the house.
The energy label
It is a legal obligation for the seller of a home to present a valid energy label when selling. Energy labels are valid for 10 years from issue, so check when the energy label on the home you are looking at was issued.
The energy labeling makes buildings' energy consumption visible, just like the signs you see on white goods. The energy label also provides an overview of the energy-related improvements that are worthwhile implementing in the home.
The energy label calculates the home's heating costs, which is an indicator of the building's energy quality. Energy labeling is carried out by an energy consultant, who is usually the one who prepares the condition report.
You must be aware that the calculated heat expenditure from the energy label is listed in the sales statement. Since the consumption is calculated based on a standard, it may differ from what you and your family use. There may also be a difference in what the seller has had in terms of annual consumption on the property. It is completely normal that there are deviations.
However, you should save the energy label and read it if you plan to improve or rebuild your new home. The energy consultant has made some calculations that show what can be improved. Some of the improvements cost quite a bit of money, so there can be easy money to save.
The BBR owner announcement
The BBR announcementis a collection of the information about the property that is registered in the Building and Housing Register (abbreviated as BBR) with the municipality.
This information includes the property's year of construction, location, size, technical conditions (whether there is an oil tank, geothermal heating or other) etc. The information is partially obtained from the public registers, but it is also the owner's responsibility that these records are correct.
Help for buying a house pays particular attention to what the public has recorded of data about the property. We often see that the seller has "forgotten" to tell the municipality about the firewood shed, the greenhouse or similar small buildings. There is usually nothing wrong with that.
Illegal building arrangements immediately become more problematic if it concerns the residence. Your buyer advisor will prioritize informing you if this is the case. And together we must plan what to do about it. Remember that your home purchase must be as trouble-free and safe as possible.
Servants
When you buy a home, there may beservitudesis registered on the property. It is not unusual for one or more easements to be registered, but as a buyer you must be aware that you are bound by these easements.
It also pleases regardless of whether the estate agent has explained to you the content of these easements or not. Help for buying a house reads through any easements and reviews them with you before we finally approve the deal.
Easements must be registered on the property for them to be valid. When it comes to rights of way, however, these do not need to be registered. They only need to be recorded on the cadastral map, and are therefore an exception to the rule for easements. That's why Hjælp til hushkøb also always checks the cadastral map online to make sure that there is no hidden road on your property.
Local plans
A local plan aims to control future development in an area or on a single plot of land. The local plan contains provisions for how the area or land can and must be used in the future. When you buy a property, it is the seller's estate agent's responsibility to tell you whether the property in question is covered by a local plan. If you want to find out for yourself what applies to a given property, you can usually find the local plans on the municipality's website.
The local plan applies from the time it is decided and it only regulates future conditions. This means that you, as a buyer of a property, must follow the provisions of the local plan if you want to build new or change existing buildings. This also means that existing buildings can be preserved - regardless of the local plan's new rules.
The local plan can, among other things, determine the following:
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how the buildings/ground/area may be used
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which materials may be used
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appearance of buildings
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location of buildings
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how much can be built on the plot
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how roads and open spaces are to be laid out
In a house trade, it is therefore important to check the contents of the local plan before you buy properties. If you are thinking about building projects or want to build a new house, it is important that you can realize your project.
If you construct a building that contravenes the contents of the local plan, it is your responsibility as a homeowner to legalize the construction or, in the worst case, it is your responsibility to tear it down again.
Local plans can apply in an area or for a plot of land. Regardless of how large an area the local plan applies to, there are always a number of map appendices at the back of the local plan, which it pays to read through. The maps show i.a. which area the local plan applies to, there is also usually a disposition plan which explains how the area may be used. There may also be an illustration sketch that shows an example of how the buildings can be designed so that they comply with the plan.
The lap
The lapis the document that secures rights over an immovable property. The deed is drawn up on the basis of the agreements in the purchase agreement. It is usually the seller's estate agent who prepares the deed and ensures that it is signed by the seller and buyer. If the seller's estate agent is not responsible for the preparation of the deed, Help for House Buying can of course also help with this.
The lap has several functions. Firstly, it ensures that the owner is the only one entitled to the property. Secondly, the deed also ensures that the previous owner's creditors cannot attach to the property. This means you are sure not to hang on to the previous owner's debt in the property.
When the deed is to be registered, a fee must be paidland registration taxto the state. The registration fee is normally paid by the buyer in a real estate transaction. How the cost distribution is in your particular trade is determined in the purchase agreement.
The registration fee is calculated by the estate agent in the section on "cash requirements" in the sales statement. You can also read more about a calculation of the registration tax.
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