Almost always, when buying a home, whether it is a secondary market or an apartment in a newly built house, the buyer makes the final choice before he has the amount to pay in full. At the same time, it does not matter at all whether the required amount of money is in the bank account or the housing will be paid for by credit funds under a mortgage agreement or ordinary loan. There is a logical explanation for this, because who knows how much the apartment you like will cost. No, well, of course, the approximate cost is known, but it’s difficult to predict the exact amount that will need to be paid for the purchase. And what to do in this case, how to assure the seller of his serious intentions? Or another situation, when a car is bought or housing is rented, how to show the owner his firm decision to deal with it?
In this article, we will talk about the deposit when acquiring movable and immovable property, about what the agreement on the deposit of an apartment rent means, all possible pitfalls, ways to protect yourself and not get caught by scammers will be considered.
Deposit: Definition
The very purpose of transferring a certain amount of money from one side of the agreement to the other gives a clear definition of the meaning of the word "deposit" as such. This is a way to show the seller that you have chosen the market (for example, real estate) precisely on his property being sold or leased. It should be understood that the deposit agreements impose certain obligations on both parties, the non-fulfillment of which entails the loss of funds both on the one hand and on the other, depending on the initiator of the break of the agreement.
Deposit or advance
Quite often ordinary people call advance deposit agreements. However, this is completely wrong. An advance as such cannot be regarded as a 100% guarantee that the buyer has found his seller and vice versa. Even with its legal execution, it does not impose any obligations on either side. 
It should be understood that the advance payment upon termination of the agreement is subject to return, and therefore it is an unreliable guarantor, which can only lead to loss of time on both sides.
Obligations of the parties to the agreement
The main feature of the deposit agreement is that its termination in any case for the initiator's party ends with a loss of money. After the buyer gave a certain amount of money as a deposit, he is obliged to purchase an apartment or a car or rent a house offered by the seller. If he does not, then he will lose the entire amount left as a deposit.
The seller also has an obligation to sell or rent his goods only to the buyer who has paid the deposit. If, for some reason, the seller initiates the termination of the agreement, then he will have to give the money transferred to him in double amount. Thus, he compensates for the time spent by the buyer, which he did not look for other options.
But here it is necessary to clearly understand that in order to fulfill these conditions, if the parties do not conclude a subsequent lease or sale, these items must be included in the deposit agreement.
How to protect yourself from scammers
The buyer must be extremely careful not to simply lose their money by giving it to scammers.An agreement on making a deposit can never be signed without checking the documents giving the seller the right to dispose of the property. It should be borne in mind that if he has a spouse (a), then a written certified agreement will be required from him (her) for both sale and lease.
Another point that cannot be ignored is the number of property owners, since there may be several of them and each will need an agreement.
It is worth paying attention to the fact that when drawing up the main contract (lease or sale), an item on the transfer of the deposit must be included in it. In this case, the amount must be indicated both in words and in numbers, and also stipulate that these funds are used to pay the full cost of the property that is acquired or leased. This item will allow the buyer or tenant to be sure that the money transferred as a deposit will not be lost. Therefore, it is better to draw up immediately a deposit and sale or lease agreements. If the owner of the apartment or car refuses to include this item in the contract, it is worth thinking about his good faith.
Deposit when buying a car or apartment
When buying an apartment or a car, if you don’t have the required amount on hand, in order to collect it, it is necessary that the seller holds his property and he needs guarantees that the buyer will not change his mind. It is in this situation that you need a deposit. The process of drawing up a contract, or as it is also called an agreement, is described below. In this case, absolutely no difference, this is an agreement on the deposit of a car or apartment.
Deposit of rental housing
As a rule, when looking for rented housing when considering various options, no one carries with them a decent amount of money, which would be enough to immediately pay for one or two months for the rental. As a guarantee of a subsequent lease, the landlord can leave a deposit, which will later be included in the payment for accommodation.
In turn, by signing this agreement, the tenant will also receive a guarantee from the landlord that he will not hand over his housing to other persons. However, here you also need to be very careful and check all documents of title so that it does not turn out that the person who appears to be the owner has nothing to do with the apartment chosen for rent. Do not trust the words, it is better to make sure personally that someone else does not live in the apartment before renting out. The deposit agreement must be signed after the personal and title documents have been verified. Just as when buying an apartment, you need to make sure that none of the owners and spouses are against the fact that the housing is leased.
Preparation of contract
It is very important to understand that money cannot be transferred just like that. Be sure to conclude a formal contract that would have legal force.
And although the deposit agreements do not require notarization, they must be drawn up in accordance with all the rules. After all, if the seller turns out to be dishonest and you have to assert your rights in a lawsuit, then you must have a legal document in your hands.
Contract Highlights
The deposit agreement is that the buyer agrees to purchase and the seller sells the property, but what key points should be included in the contract?
- Indicate all persons having shares of the property being sold or rented out, their passport details and all who acquire this property. The addresses of all persons should also be indicated.
- Indicate the final value of the property sold and the amount that is transferred as a deposit. They must be written in words and numbers.
- Indicate all the technical characteristics of the property being sold.
- Dates in which the buyer agrees to pay the full amount.
- Separate conditions in which it is possible to stipulate payment of utility bills, furniture and appliances, which will be left in the apartment.
- It should also stipulate the conditions under which termination of the deposit agreement can be made.
Two copies of the contract are made and signed, for each of the parties.
How to deposit
After the agreement on a deposit is fixed on paper, a sample of which is presented in this article, you can proceed to the direct transfer of money. By the way, it can be just a certain percentage of the total cost or a fixed amount. The transfer should be made with witnesses independent in their assessments. Close relatives are not suitable for this purpose, because if you suddenly need to prove the transfer of the deposit in court, they will not be regarded as witnesses, since they will be regarded as an interested party. Therefore, you need to think about how best to protect yourself from a possible loss of money.
Do not be shy to ask the seller to present all title documents, including the contract of foundation, technical and cadastral passports. Also, to check the legal cleanliness of the purchased apartment, you can request an extract from the Unified State Register, which will indicate the number of all transactions with the apartment. You do not have to worry if the apartment does not often transfer from owner to owner. If this fact takes place, then it is worth thinking about continuing the transaction.
Receipt of deposit
The seller, having received the agreed amount of the deposit from the buyer, must personally write to him a receipt for the money, if it is in print, then it must be certified by a notary. However, a document written by one’s own hand has more confidence, since it is impossible to falsify the handwriting thoroughly. In this case, you only need to use a ballpoint pen, gel paste and especially pencil will not work.
It is very important that each owner write a receipt, as the entire deposit will be divided between the owners in accordance with the shares. If part of the housing belongs to a young child, then a parent or guardian must write a receipt instead.
The receipt includes the following:
- Date of preparation;
- full passport details, including place of registration, issuing authority;
- the size of the deposit, it should be recorded both in numbers and in words;
- brief technical specifications.
The receipt must be written in the presence of the buyer, so that there is no doubt that it was drawn up by the seller.
