“The fee is strictly set and notaries must respect it. Compared to those of real estate agents, notary fees are low. For example, at a Sk2 million real estate value, the notary fee is Sk10,000 (EUR332) of which the notary pays a 19% tax in the total of Sk1,900 (EUR63) to the state”, the NK president Miroslav Duriš said. “The notary is held responsible for his actions under strict sanctions. Real estate agencies follow the market, earn commissions of tens of thousands of crowns, but they don’t guarantee the citizens any compensation in the case of fraud”, Duriš added.
According to the proposed amendment to the Civil Code, real estate transfers written up by notaries should not be more expensive, believes Trpišová. On the contrary, the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic has proposed to cut the fees down. However, the most important fact for the citizen is that someone — being the notaries and attorneys — is truly responsible for the transfer in the whole extent of their possessions.
“Unless contracts of real estate transfers have clear rules, they can be drafted by anyone. There would be no market regulation and a crisis similar to the one in the USA could arise,” Trpišová warns.