They gave four months to carry out transactions on their own
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law allowing citizens-mortgagors to independently sell property pledged under a mortgage. The document is posted on the portal of legal acts and will come into force 90 days after publication. According to experts, the novelty will be useful to borrowers who have the opportunity to sell mortgaged real estate at a higher price.
The document granted the right to a citizen who took out a mortgage for purposes unrelated to business to sell the mortgaged property on their own. The right to such sale is granted regardless of the size of the loan taken. It is interesting that the first reading of the bill stipulated that this amount should not exceed 15 million rubles.
To carry out a transaction, you must submit an application for independent implementation to the bank. Within 10 working days after this, the mortgagee must agree on its procedure and determine the minimum price of the property sold in this way. The law prohibits such sales below this price.
The money for the transaction will be credited to a special bank account. The difference between the amount of debt on the loan and the sale price is returned to the seller minus expenses incurred by the bank.
Citizens are given four months to independently sell a residential building, apartment or apartment. During this time, you need to have time to carry out state registration of the transfer of ownership and fully repay the borrowed funds. The period can be extended, but the contract must include a condition on the new minimum sale price of the property.
The law provides for a number of restrictions. Thus, individuals are prohibited from selling mortgaged property if, before filing an application for independent sale, a claim was filed to foreclose on it or it is the subject of previous and subsequent mortgages. In addition, independent sale is prohibited if: the property is pledged to several mortgagees; judicial or extrajudicial bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the pledgor, or bankruptcy proceedings have been initiated against the pledgee; the mortgagor re-submitted an application for the independent sale of property that he had previously failed to sell on time or, having submitted an application, then refused to sell.
As State Duma Deputy Speaker Irina Yarovaya reported, an analysis of law enforcement practice shows that currently a citizen whose property is pledged to a bank can only sell it through a public sale or auction, and in practice this property is sold at a low price. According to the deputy, the law is aimed at creating a clear legal procedure for cases when a citizen who decides to refuse a mortgage applies to the bank.
As Maxim Osadchy, head of the analytical department of BKF Bank, noted, the reasons for the appearance of the law are clear — numerous complaints from borrowers about reduced sales prices. “However, I have not heard of any bank refusing to sell it independently. Even without this law, no one prevents a borrower from selling a home on his own,” — the analyst added. He believes that the novelty will be more useful to citizens, since the bank is less interested than the borrower in obtaining the highest possible price. “Moreover, the sale is handled by a clerk who has little interest in its outcome. Or, even worse, interested in selling cheaper to someone who will share,” — added the analyst.
But bankers, in his opinion, are unlikely to be pleased with the changes, because the loan repayment period is delayed: “If one party to the agreement is given additional rights, then at the expense of the deterioration of the situation of the second party.” The bank will be forced to check the execution of the transaction. Otherwise, an inexperienced or malicious client may arrange a transaction in such a way that it turns out to be illegal. “The bank will not release an apartment for a deal without legal expertise. Accordingly, the bank will bear the costs of this legal examination. It is clear that banks will be interested in “winding up” these costs,” — Osadchy concluded.