You will find here a summary of the procedures to follow in order to conclude the sale in the best conditions.
Best practices :
Highlight your property: buying a property is usually decided within the first 90 seconds of a visit. So it’s vital that visitors are seduced at first sight. Here are a few simple tips:
- Avoid over-decorating, which may not be to your visitors’ taste.
- Give priority to lighting, and avoid overcrowding to allow potential buyers to project themselves.
- A few freshly cut flowers will add life and warmth to your property.
- Let your agent schedule visits at the time of day when your property is at its best.
- Keep pets away and try not to be present when your home is visited.
Legal requirements :
Note: when a Swiss or foreign person wishes to sell a property to a Swiss buyer, the transaction can be carried out without delay and without any authorization being required. On the other hand, the sale of real estate to a non-Swiss citizen is subject to the “Lex Friedrich” law, which aims to limit the acquisition of apartments and other non-commercial real estate in Switzerland by non-resident foreigners. Each canton has an annual authorization quota for sales to foreigners. Authorization must be obtained from the cantonal authorities and the Federal Department of Justice and Police, through a notary. These quotas are sometimes exhausted during the course of the year, in which case it is necessary to wait for the allocation of additional quotas or for the release of the following year’s quota, which can delay the conclusion of the sale by as much.
Sales procedure :
Once the buyer has confirmed his willingness to purchase, an official notary will act on behalf of both buyer and seller. He will complete the necessary documents for the legal acquisition and protect the interests of both parties. The procedure is as follows:
- Fill in a Civil Status Form.
- Fill in a Power of Attorney form which stipulates: the seller’s name and full address, the location of the plot and/or the name of the chalet, the number of the apartment, preferably its size and the floor on which it is located, the number of the garage space (if required), details of the sale price and the total sale price.
- Please enclose a copy of each vendor’s passport or identity document, duly signed.
These documents are usually completed and sent to the notary by our services. Only when all these documents have been received can the notary proceed with the signing of a Deed of Sale or Conditional Forward Sale, and the filing of a purchase authorization application for foreigners.
No application can be made until the conditional deed of sale has been signed. Once the application has been submitted, it will take 2 to 3 months to obtain the purchase authorization (or even longer if the annual quota is exhausted). Once the authorization has been issued by the relevant cantonal department and ratified by the federal authority, the notary can proceed with signing the transfer requisition document in the Land Register on the basis of the conditional sale.
Financial aspects :
Price :
The sale price of the apartment will be paid into the notary’s client funds account in a Swiss bank.
Balance of current taxes and charges :
In the case of sales by foreigners, the notary must ensure that all taxes have been paid up to the date of transfer. In principle, even if taxes have been paid regularly, there is always a balance. If the notary fails to pay these taxes on behalf of the seller, the property cannot be transferred and the sale price will remain blocked in the notary’s bank account.
Likewise, the notary will settle any tourist tax, communal charges and condominium charges, to ensure that they are not transferred to the buyer’s account.
Notary fees :
In principle, all notary fees are payable by the buyer. However, a separate invoice will be drawn up for any powers of attorney, notarization of signatures on behalf of the seller, and for the above-mentioned settlement, at the seller’s expense.
Balance of sale :
The balance of the sale price will be transferred to an account in the seller’s name, whose details he will have given to the notary.
Payment will be made as soon as the seller has approved the final invoice.