Generations Coming Together

Explaining a Notary Signing to a Confused Seller

We had such a lovely signing at the notary yesterday. It was notable in many ways but I think it helps to explain something that many people find weird when they turn up at the Notary’s office to sign for their property.

Why are there so many people there?

Let’s look in detail at why so many people were there and what were their roles. Before we start though what is your guess for how many people were in the room at any one time because I suspect it differs from what you expected?

We’ll start with the most important person…

The Official (1: Not Pictured)

You thought I was going to say the notary first didn’t you? Well no. The most important person is the Notary’s official as this is the person agents, lawyers and notary depend on to have everything ready and written correctly into the deed to be signed. Before we go to the notary we are in contact with the Official regularly to make sure they have all of the paperwork required, all of the details of both buyers and sellers, whether the buyers and sellers are tax resident, any mortgage deetails with the bank and a whole lot more. Allied to this are any special conditions in the deed. Yesterday for example, an issue came up at the last moment and as buyer’s agents we advised a retention of 5k until a couple of things were finished up in the property.

The Notary (1)

Of course when all of the work is done the notary then swans into the room, reads the deed (And any mortgage deed), makes sure everyone is clear about the conditions and responsibilities of each party for their payments and witnesses the signing and hand over of keys and payments.

The Sellers (3)

Yesterday we had three sellers and for a change it was three generations of the same family. The Matriarch, 93 years old and sharp as a tack, the daughter around 60 years old who was the one asking about why so many people were there and finally, the son, around 30, who had modernised and updated the property for his grandma before the sale through his building and investment company. The property had been the Grandmother’s and on the death of her husband the inheritance meant that the rest of the family owned a part of it and that explains why they were all there for the signing.

The Buyers (3)

In this case there were three buyers there even though the real buyer was in the USA tucked up in bed. He had named a lawyer as his Power of Attorney for signing and the lawyer’s secretary had arranged everything with the Notary’s official from the buyer’s side. The buyer’s partner was also there to make sure that he knew what was happening at all times by taking and sending pictures of what was happening via Whatsapps that he would see on waking up.

The Selling Agents (2: One pictured)

The seller’s agent was there, in this case a friend of the son who was selling. He had been given the property to market and therefore not only had he been looking for a direct buyer but also looking to work with buyer’s agents like us because we could potentially have clients that could be interested in the property. Obviously we did. By marketing the property in this way he helped internationalise the buyer pool for his client. His boss was also there and I’m assuming he was there to make sure they got paid by the sellers ;-)

The Gestor (1)

The bank sent a representative for the buyer to once more sign off on all of the paperwork for the mortgage, as if they haven’t already done this twice previously. They make sure to get these signatures before witnessing the purchase and then giving the Ok for the transfer to be made to the seller’s account. Just one account in this case which was unusual with three sellers as all were named participants on the account.

The Mortgage Broker (1)

The mortgage broker was there to make sure the conditions of the mortgage offered were the same as those signed for and, unusually, to actually make that phone call to the bank to release the funds. The mortgage broker doesn’t usually attend signings or make that call but this one does because of the excellent relationship she has with the banks they work with.

Buyer’s Agent (2: One Half Pictured)

Jess, who works with us at VP, was there as the buyer was her client who she had found the property for, negotiated the conditions of the sale with, taken through all the steps to get to the notary and had also done an inspection before the signing to make sure everything was still in place, light fittings, inventory etc… She was accompanied by… erm… yours truly. I was there because I generally go to all of the signings to help with organisation, explanations and general chit chat as we sit around waiting to sign. Yes, that’s my job here. I don’t really need to be there if everyone has done their jobs well but it’s important to have a good relationship with the most important person, the Notary’s Official, the notary themselves and all of the parties involved in order to smooth processes and get “preferential treatment” when we need something done.

Totals

In this signing therefore there were 14 people involved and in the room at any one time. That’s a lot of people and the 60 year old mum wanted an explanation so I told her why everyone from our side was there. However, there was something she didn’t know and, luckily, I didn’t either because I am likely to have blurted it out. I only found this out today.

She hadn’t wanted to use an agent so her son hadn’t told her they were using one (He was paying his friend to market the property and make a quicker sale) When she asked the question about who everyone was I think she suspected something was off as she said something about having sold places in Germany and Spain before (She was Spanish) and had never seen so many people at a signing. She had often done signings with just herself and the buyer/seller. I’m gonna say the son had a few questions to answer after they left the notary but hey, that’s not my problem.

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