How much does it cost for a lawyer to draw up a lease or to contribute to the process of buying and selling a property? See everything you need to know about lawyer's fees.
The lawyer's fee for buying/selling a property, drafting a lease (rental agreement) or legal control of a property is one of the most important issues you will have to deal with if you find yourself in such a situation.
Lawyer and real estate: When is a solicitor needed?
The presence of a solicitor when signing a contract to rent or buy a property is particularly important.
In fact, we would say, it is crucial especially in the case of a sale and purchase transaction. Why? Every prospective buyer before signing a contract to purchase a property should take the following small steps of great importance:
- Checking the property at the mortgage office and the land registry (to check titles of the property, if there are any "encumbrances" on the property such as mortgage lien, mortgage, other claims, pending lawsuits, etc.)
- Check with the planning authority (study of the property's building permit for any arbitrary acts, planning violations or excesses) - here, the assistance of an engineer is usually required.
- Payment of tax to the competent tax office (the prospective buyer must pay some taxes in advance to the competent tax office, which are attributable to the property he wants to buy and are determined on the basis of its objective or commercial value - depending on what is written on the contract)
- Drafting of the contract (drafted by a notary, in the presence of the seller, the prospective buyer and the lawyers of the two parties to the sale)
- Registration of the contract at the land registry (the process of purchase and sale and the ownership of the property is officially registered in the register of the buyer and the new owner)
Please note that the other costs for the final signing of the contract for the buyer include:
- attorney's fees,
- payment of the Property Transfer Tax
- notary's fee,
- costs of registration at the Land Registry.
- engineer's fee
- real estate agent's fee
Attorney's fees: What is the amount of the lawyer's fee?
How much is the lawyer's fee? 1 ν. 4194/2013 (Government Gazette A 208/2013 - Code of Lawyers), while specifically for his assistance in the preparation of a legal transaction before a notary (e.g. In the absence of such an agreement and in the event that he is present during the drafting of the contract before the notary, the minimum fee is determined on the basis of the value of the object of the sale and purchase in percentages according to a special table in accordance with the Code of Lawyers, as indicated below in Article 74 of the Code (Law No. 4194 /2013).
The lawyer's fee therefore, depends on the agreement you make with him, but in case he appears before a notary and issues a Warrant from the Bar Association, the minimum legal fee according to the Code of Lawyers, is set according to the following table:
Specifically:
Value of the legal transaction - Percentages
- From 44.001€ to 1.400.000€ 0,5%
- From 1.400.001€ to 3.000.000€ 0,4%
- From 3000.001€ to 6.000.000€ 0,3%
- From 6.000.001€ to 15.000.000€ 0,2%
- From 15.000.001€ to 30.000.000€ 0,1%
- From 30.000.001€ to 60.000.000€ 0,05%
- From 60.000.001€ and above € 0,01%
In addition to the amount of the minimum attorney's fee for each transaction, which is paid in advance to the funds of the Bar Association of the region where the contract is drawn up, the attorney of each contracting party is entitled to request an additional fee, the amount of which is determined by him/her, for his/her presence during the drawing up of the contract. Therefore, in the context of a free agreement, the lawyer may request whatever fee he/she considers that he/she can charge for his/her services (depending on the requirements and difficulties of each case) or request to be paid according to the time he/she has allocated, i.e. a "time charge", which usually amounts to a minimum of 80€/hour.
The buyer's lawyer, before drawing up the notarial deed, checks the title deeds of the property in question at the competent land registry(s), in order to ensure the legal order of the title deeds of the property and the absence of any encumbrances or claims to the property.
The lawyer's fee for this inspection is determined, in the absence of a written or even free agreement, by the Lawyers' Code (no. 73) and amounts, a) if it concerns the verification of property titles and encumbrances and the preparation of the relevant report for the signing of the contract, to half (1/2) of that calculated on the value of the object of the legal transaction, and b) if it concerns the search in the registers of transfers, mortgages or seizures, for the calibration of real estate owned by a third party and its encumbrances, for any other reason, on an hourly basis, depending on the time of work, as specified in Annex I of the Code (80€/hour).
💡 In order to be informed about the fees, which according to the law are determined by agreement between the client and the lawyer either in a specific amount or as a percentage of the amount of money the client will receive, we recommend that you contact directly the respective lawyer or law firm.
Contract without a lawyer: Is it possible?
To clarify that as of 01/01/2014 the presence of a lawyer when drafting and signing a property transfer contract is optional for all parties. However, it is useful to have a lawyer by your side to advise you and help you feel more confident and secure.
Property legal check (before purchase): what are the costs?
A legal property check and, in particular, a title check is a necessary procedure that takes place before a property is purchased and is carried out exclusively by a Lawyer.
Specifically, the Lawyer checks at the Land Registry and the Land Registry the legal status of the property, going back at least twenty (20) years (the time of the extraordinary usufruct), and it is preferable to investigate up to more than 20 years before in order to avoid any doubt.
💡 It is also checked if there is a discrepancy between the Mortgage Registry and the Land Registry.
Notary's fee: What percentage does it amount to?
According to the amending provisions of October 2015, for drawing up deeds whose subject matter is valued in money, the notary receives a fixed fee of twenty (20) euros and a pro rata fee, calculated on the basis of the total value declared in the deed or the highest value determined by the competent authority, provisionally or definitively.
In particular, the percentage of this fee, depending on the value of the subject of the transaction, shall be determined as follows:
- Up to 120.000,00€ → 0,80% (Amendment no. 72386 - Government Gazette B 2170 - 09.10.2015)
- From 120.000,01€ to 380.000,00€ → 0,70% → 0,70%.
- From 380.000,01€ to 2.000.000,00€ → 0,65%
- From 2.000.000,01€ to 5.000.000,00€ → 0,55%
- From 5.000.000,000,01€ to 8.000.000,00€ → 0,50%
- From 8.000.000.000,01€ to 10.000.000,00€ → 0,40%
- From 10.000.000.000,01€ to 12.000.000,00€ → 0,30%
- From 12.000.000.000,01€ to 20.000.000,00€ → 0,25%
- From 20.000.000.000,01€ and above → 0,10%
For the amount of contracts exceeding the value of 20.000.000,000,01 €, it is allowed, by written agreement between the notary and the person giving the order to draw up the contract, to agree on a fee lower than 0.10%.
In addition, we should not fail to mention that:
1. For each additional sheet of the notarial acts, for which the pro rata fee is determined according to the above scales, five euros (5.00).
2. For each sheet of copies of the same notarial acts as above, if these copies are issued immediately upon the drawing up of the act, four euros (4.00).
The fees and royalties for the issue of such copies shall be indicated on the original deed, together with the other royalties as specified above. In the deed the notary fees shall be borne by the purchaser and the amount shall be shown on the deed.
Lawyer's fees when drawing up a lease. Is it recommended to hire a lawyer for the drafting of the lease?
The drafting of a lease contract, which is usually a private agreement, unlike the notarial deed of transfer of real estate, which is legally required to be drawn up by a notary, contains important terms that significantly affect the relations between the parties, both for the present (e.g. payment of security deposit, use of the lease, etc.) and for the future (e.g. future rent increases). Tenancy agreements can relate to both residential and commercial leases, which usually contain even more stringent or onerous conditions.
Clearly, hiring a lawyer is not mandatory, but because these are very important agreements, affecting the lives, financial situation of the parties or even the fate of a business (e.g. particularly high or regularly increasing rent in times of crisis may affect the growth of the business itself) or because a tenant may even be evicted following legal proceedings due to a misunderstanding of the terms of the lease, it is recommended that the parties, before signing any private lease agreement, perhaps
And in this case the lawyer's fee depends on a free agreement with his client (client) and of course has to do with the hours spent in negotiations, contract drafting, amendments and of course particular difficulty of each case. It is advisable, however, to determine the fee, even if only approximately, from the beginning of the assignment of a case to the lawyer.
VAT 24% should be added to the above prices.
💡 If a professional real estate agent or real estate agency contributes to the process of buying and selling or renting a property, remember that here too there is an amount as a broker's fee.
So don't forget that if you are thinking of buying, selling or renting a property, you are likely to need the help of a lawyer (or notary), even if only for guidance-security. Therefore, do not fail to consider the amount of their fees.
Spitogatos team
