Why does the notary have a quality account?

Protection of your money

By law, a civil-law notary is required to maintain one or more trust accounts, also known as escrow accounts or third-party accounts. These accounts hold funds entrusted to the civil-law notary by third parties in connection with the notary's work, resulting in a payment obligation from one party to the other. For example, in the transfer of a property, where cash flows flow between the buyer, bank, and seller. With a trust account, the civil-law notary keeps the funds of clients and third parties separate from their own office assets. This protects the funds of clients and third parties from improper use or bankruptcy. Without this special legal provision, clients who deposited money in the notary's account might lose part of their money if the notary were to become bankrupt.

Because the law imposes these special consequences on the escrow account, this account may only be used for monetary transactions in which the notary is directly involved. This means that the notary has performed work that results in a payment obligation for one contracting party to the other. For example, the buyer's obligation to pay the purchase price. In other cases, the notary may not receive money into their account.

Own account only

When buying or selling real estate, the notary may only disburse funds to the person directly involved in the transaction and entitled to payment. This also applies to mortgages. In the case of a sale, the notary deposits the funds into the seller's own account. In the case of a mortgage, the notary deposits the funds into the mortgagor's (the debtor's) own account. Therefore, funds cannot be transferred at the request of a seller or mortgagor to a bank account not registered in their name. Transfers to a "joint account" to which someone other than the seller/mortgagor is also entitled are permitted.

Exceptions

Several exceptions to the rule are permitted. Deviations from the rule are permitted in cases such as mortgage repayments, real estate agent commissions, payments to the Homeowners' Association, appraisal costs, and, in the case of new-build properties, expired construction deadlines. Repayment of personal loans (e.g., Comfortcard or VISA) and bridging loans by the notary is also permitted, provided a mortgage lender has stipulated this as a condition for granting (new) financing.

Ratio

The notary may not transfer money to the seller in a different proportion than the ownership ratio. For example: A and B own 40 and 60 percent of a house, respectively. They request the notary to transfer half of the sale proceeds to each of them. The notary is not permitted to do so by law, unless A and B have agreed to this payment method in writing as part of a settlement at the end of a marriage or cohabitation. The notary may not, at the seller's request, transfer funds from the sale proceeds as a gift to, for example, the children.

We've filmed this again for you. Not least because this is essentially our notary's only chance, with his acting talent, to make it to the big screen...