How to reduce notary fees when buying real estate?

If you go through a real estate agency to find your property, be aware that notary fees are calculated on the sale price of the property, and not on the services requested to find this property. It is therefore possible to exclude agency fees from the sale price before calculating notary fees.

Do not hesitate to discuss with your real estate agent to learn more about the type of mandate he has: sales mandate or search mandate. If the agency fees are the responsibility of the buyer, the amount of the notary fees will be calculated on the net selling price, and will therefore be less important. To lower notary fees, it is therefore better to favor mandates with agency fees at the expense of the buyer.

All the interior equipment constituting the furniture (equipped kitchen, bathroom, appliances, garden shed, etc.) can be separated from the acquisition of the house or apartment. Notary fees only concern the purchase of the property (and not the furniture), so you are entitled to request the dissociation of the sale price of the equipment from the amount of the property. To do this, you must draw up with the seller the list of furniture and equipment furnishing the dwelling, evaluate its value (a second-hand price, based if possible on invoices and the period of purchase or renovation), using a coefficient of obsolescence if necessary, and subtract this amount from the sale price.

The notary will then calculate his fees on a lower acquisition amount. Often, you can deduct up to 2% or 3% of the value of the property, and the deduction cannot exceed 5% of the price of the property. Beyond that, you risk a tax audit.

Attention also: banks can not lend on the amount of furniture, only on the amount of real estate. So make sure that the amount of equipment is not too high, so as not to weaken the obtaining of your loan.