Purchase agreement
Yesterday I went to a lawyer's office on the far west side to sign the purchase agreement for the apartment at Bartningalle 9. It was an area that once had quite large single-family houses and have now become offices. The lawyer was on the second floor. I arrived needlessly early, since I was unsure how long the transit would take, but the seller was there even earlier. By an odd coincidence, he and I are both leaving town soon: he for Namibia, I for India. He is a very decent person who lives in another apartment in the building (he bought this one for his sons some years ago, and they are now gone).
The lawyer came precisely on time and started on time even through the real estate agent was not there (in fact she was downstairs watching for me and eventually phoned to find out where I was). An important point is that the lawyer is not merely a lawyer, but a notary, which carries a whole different significance in continental than in US law. Here a notary does not merely certify a signature, but also acts as a neutral broker who explains the terms of a contract while he literally reads it out loud.
I asked numerous questions during the reading as if to show I was trying to understand the document I was about to sign. I know he mentioned the amount we had agreed upon (that's important) and that there was some complex issue with garden space that had to be mentioned but has no (apparent) importance (hmmm...). He particularly wanted me to understand that the purchase of the apartment was in "as is" condition with no recourse afterwards. he also asked the seller if he had in good faith disclosed any problems, such as water damage that was hiding behind a picture. The seller claimed complete honesty, which I think is true (we'll find out).
In the end I signed, of course, and the seller signed too. I didn't think to ask for a copy, but the seller asked for one at the last minute as we were leaving. That's when we found out that what we signed was essentially just a blank form (it was the last page with out names) and the Notary still had to make changes to the draft before printing out a final version to which he would attach our signatures. Clearly this is nothing more than standard practice, but it does seem to require a lot of trust in the notary.
As regular readers of this blog can see, I have been a bit less consistent in my entries lately, not for lack of interest but simply for lack of time. Next week I will be in India at the International Conference on Digital Libraries. I will report on that when I get back.
The lawyer came precisely on time and started on time even through the real estate agent was not there (in fact she was downstairs watching for me and eventually phoned to find out where I was). An important point is that the lawyer is not merely a lawyer, but a notary, which carries a whole different significance in continental than in US law. Here a notary does not merely certify a signature, but also acts as a neutral broker who explains the terms of a contract while he literally reads it out loud.
I asked numerous questions during the reading as if to show I was trying to understand the document I was about to sign. I know he mentioned the amount we had agreed upon (that's important) and that there was some complex issue with garden space that had to be mentioned but has no (apparent) importance (hmmm...). He particularly wanted me to understand that the purchase of the apartment was in "as is" condition with no recourse afterwards. he also asked the seller if he had in good faith disclosed any problems, such as water damage that was hiding behind a picture. The seller claimed complete honesty, which I think is true (we'll find out).
In the end I signed, of course, and the seller signed too. I didn't think to ask for a copy, but the seller asked for one at the last minute as we were leaving. That's when we found out that what we signed was essentially just a blank form (it was the last page with out names) and the Notary still had to make changes to the draft before printing out a final version to which he would attach our signatures. Clearly this is nothing more than standard practice, but it does seem to require a lot of trust in the notary.
As regular readers of this blog can see, I have been a bit less consistent in my entries lately, not for lack of interest but simply for lack of time. Next week I will be in India at the International Conference on Digital Libraries. I will report on that when I get back.
posted by Michael Seadle at 7:46 PM
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