10 Essential Documents To Verify Before Purchasing A Property

Posted on Jan 28 2017 - 4:52pm by Editorial Staff

When you’re purchasing a property, it can get pretty complicated very fast. That’s why it’s crucial that you prepare yourself with the essential education before you get started in making this purchase. No matter where you’re purchasing your property, you must have the following documents properly verified before moving forward.

So, the next time you’re looking to find a villa for sale on the French Riviera, keep these documents in mind so you can keep all of your ducks in a row.

Sale Deed

First of all, the most important document on this list is the sale deed. This is the document that acts as the proof of sale and the final transfer of ownership from the owner to the buyer. Pretty much everything else needs to be settled before a sales deed can be officially signed and registered.

Mother Deed

Next up, we have the mother deed. This is a document that traces the ownership of the property back to its original owners. Every new owner will be added to this mother document, so it’s crucial to have as part of the transaction. In case the mother deed has a missing registry or something is incorrect, this should be fixed as soon as possible.

Building Approval Plan

The construction of a building is illegal without having a building approval plan in hand. Of course, this will vary from case to case because the property you are buying not having construction projects happening on it. However, if there is a building being constructed on the property you are buying, a building approval plan must be present when the transaction takes place.

Commencement Certificate

This document is issued by the local authorities after they properly inspect the site you are purchasing. If you are doing a construction project on the site, this certificate is basically the rubber stamp that says the local authorities have given the project the green light.

Conversion Certificate

If you are buying a piece of agricultural land and transferring it into non-agricultural land, then there must be a conversion certificate in hand for that to be legal. For example, if you buy up a large piece of farmland, but want to make that into a residential area, this needs to be approved via a conversion certificate.

Occupancy Certificate

This certificate is required by the local authorities for any building that is happening on the property to ensure that it meets local standards. It’s obtained once construction has been finalized and the building is ready for business.

Betterment Charges Receipt

Basically, betterment charges are fees paid to the local authorities as improvement fees or development charges. A receipt for this transaction should be on hand before the sale is finalized and the ownership of the property has been transferred.

Power of Attorney

A Power of Attorney (or POA) is a basic legal procedure that transfers the rights of the owner over to another person. This is a requirement whenever the transfer of the property is happening from the buyer to the seller. Or if the owner wants someone else to do the transaction, he or she can use POA to give their rights to someone else.

Latest Tax Paid Receipt

This is crucial for the buying of the property. You need to ensure that you have the latest receipts for the taxes paid on the property on hand before finalizing the sale. This basically shows that the property is up-to-date on all the taxes that need to be paid to be in good financial standing.

Completion Certificate

The completion certificate is issued by the city authorities that notes that the building being constructed is in accordance with things like height limits, distance from main roads, etc.

And there you have it! All of the documents you need to have in hand before a sale is finalized on a property are listed above. Be sure to get these before you make that big purchase.

Photo by stevepb, CC0 1.0

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Editorial Staff at I2Mag is a team of subject experts.