Who should keep the key to the safe deposit box?

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Published: 08/11/2016

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Any real estate transaction poses a certain risk for both interested parties - the seller and the buyer of an apartment or house.

The purchaser of housing becomes its owner not from the moment of signing the purchase and sale agreement and its notarization, but from the moment of state registration of this transaction. The registration process takes on average two to four weeks.

The seller may have certain doubts about the buyer’s solvency, but he will not be able to verify the financial position of the second party involved in the transaction until he becomes the full owner. There are also frequent cases of fraud when the buyer completely disappears from the city without paying the seller.

To avoid such unpleasant moments, you need to use the services of a bank and transfer funds through the cell. This is one of the most reliable ways to pay for an apartment. The money invested in the cell (and often millions of rubles) serves as a guarantee that the parties will fulfill all obligations.

• What is a cell?
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Which Russian banks offer services?
• What should you pay attention to?

Ways to store money in a bank

Banks offer their clients two types of safe money storage:

• individual. The funds are kept in a safe deposit box on the basis of an individual agreement. It is concluded between the credit institution and the seller of real estate;
• responsible. Carried out on the basis of an agreement and an additional document. It contains the details of the person who will be able to withdraw the amount from the depository after the transaction.

There is a general rule according to which the bank makes all payments to the person who purchases the real estate. Money in the cell can be pledged by both parties to the transaction. But only the real estate seller collects funds.

What is a safe deposit box in Sberbank?

Safe deposit boxes are ordinary metal safes. The size of the box provided depends on the client's needs. They are located in a specially designated place. Typically, such places are basements with several armored doors and an alarm system.

As expected, the bank maintains confidentiality, so the keys to the safe are kept only by the owner and a representative of the bank, and access to them by third parties is limited.

The bank's security service imposes strict requirements on persons who wish to enter the premises where the safe deposit boxes are located. These rules apply not only to landlords, but also to bank employees. The latter must have a special permit and present it upon request.

As for clients, they can access their cells an unlimited number of times. But at each visit, the client is required to present a document proving his identity and sign in a special logbook.

The process of making a transaction through a safe deposit box

• Reservation of a safe deposit box. You should reserve a place in the depository a couple of days before the transaction is completed. Remember that banks have a limited number of cells. Therefore, find her best in advance.
• Place an amount in a cell. There are two possible options:

1. cash. The money is counted, checked for authenticity (if necessary) and placed in a cell;
2. money in a bank account. Funds are ordered 2-3 days before the transaction. They must then be collected from the cashier and placed in a locker. In this case, there is no need to additionally pay for recalculation and authentication.

• Conclusion of a tripartite lease agreement. It will indicate the conditions for withdrawing money from the safe deposit box.
• Placing cash in the box. The seller and buyer, accompanied by a bank employee, go to the depository and place the bills in the safe deposit box.
• Drawing up a purchase and sale agreement. After this, the transaction is registered in Rosreestr.
• Withdrawal of banknotes from the depository. The former owner of real estate comes to the bank with his copy of the agreement after registering with Rosreestr, submits the documents for verification to employees of the credit institution and, if everything is in order, gains access to the depository. The key to the box may be in the custody of the bank or the buyer of the property.

Dangers of a safe deposit box

Let's say that you are the buyer of an apartment. You agreed with the seller that he has the right to open the locker himself without you and take the entire amount from it upon presentation of documents on registration of ownership rights to you as the buyer of the apartment.

Further, the transaction went smoothly and without problems, everything was registered, in the end the seller, of course, quickly takes the money from the cell and everyone seems to be happy. But in this situation there is an important detail - a receipt from the seller stating that he received payment in full from the buyer.

The point of the situation is that the buyer has a certain period of time when the seller has received the money, but the buyer does not have a receipt. Some will ask, what is the problem here?

How to rent a safe deposit box?

If you decide to rent an individual safe in a bank for personal use or to complete a real estate purchase and sale transaction, you need to take the following steps:

1. Go to the official website of the bank of your choice and determine the location of an office convenient for you that provides this type of service.
   

   Not all offices provide the service of renting an individual safe deposit box. Don't forget to check that your geolocation settings are correct.

2. You must come to the selected office with a passport or other suitable document and draw up a rental agreement.
   

   If you rent a safe for a purchase and sale transaction, all interested people must appear and have a passport with them. Why is a tripartite lease agreement concluded?

3. Now you must select the cell type and its size. In the case of using a safe deposit box for a transaction, the safe is rented for a short period of time (1 – 2 months).
   

   If there is a need to extend, the rental of the safe will be extended. It is better to conclude a contract for IHD with the possibility of extension. Otherwise you will have to go to the bank again.

4. After completing all the formalities, the bank gives you the key to your rented safe deposit box, the second key remains with the credit institution. In addition to the key, you may be provided with an electronic pass to allow access to the storage facility.
5. Depending on the type of agreement, the procedure for opening a cell can be done in two ways:
   If an agreement has been concluded with the bank to store valuables in a safe deposit box, then the employee uses the key to open the safe and takes/puts what you need there.
6. Otherwise, when the rental includes personal use of the locker, an employee will take you to the storage facility and leave you alone with the locker.

For any type of contract, the employee must open and close the box with his own key.

Cost of a cell in Sberbank for a month

According to the tariffs, the bank does not have uniform prices for renting cells per month. The price differs according to:

1. With territorial characteristics. Each region has its own pricing system;
2. From the number of rental days;
3. From the size of the safe;
4. Depending on what group of clients the person applying belongs to, etc.

The table provides Sberbank tariffs for the cost of renting a cell per month for Moscow.

As can be seen from the table, the price per cell increases depending on its size, and decreases based on how many days the lease agreement is concluded with the bank.

Cell rental agreement

In order to rent a safe deposit box you will need to sign a lease agreement. The agreement will be signed by both an authorized representative of the bank and the parties - the Seller and the Buyer. If several apartments are involved in the transaction, then such transactions, which are called alternative, can be carried out with the rental of several cells. In any case, a qualified specialist will help you to correctly spell out the conditions for access to a safe deposit box under different circumstances, which may determine who can withdraw money from a particular safe deposit box, when, and upon presentation of what documents. The relationship, if several apartments are involved in the transaction, will be complex. And it is very important to correctly compare all the terms and conditions of access to the cell for all participants in the transaction. Even not all realtors are able to understand all the details and take into account 100% of all possible circumstances.

Who holds the key?

The usual mechanism for putting money into a cell is as follows:

After signing the purchase and sale agreement, the lease agreement for the safe deposit box is signed. At the time of pawning, the Seller and the Buyer pledge all funds into the safe deposit box together. There may be one key to the cell, or there may be two. If there are two of them, then one key is given to the Buyer, the second remains in the bank. By agreement of the parties, the key can be transferred to the Seller. The one who keeps the key undertakes a written obligation to transfer the key to the party who receives access to the cell upon fulfilling its obligations under the contract. Some banks provide a key storage service to avoid disputes between the Seller and the Buyer. If your bank does not have such a service, you can entrust the storage of the key to real estate agency specialists, again under a written guarantee.

Rental periods and cost

The cost of renting cells usually depends on the rental period. If the registration period for a regular transaction today is 10 business days, then you can rent for 20-30 days. This is necessary in order to have a small reserve left for withdrawing money from the cell at a time and day convenient for you. Registration of a mortgage transaction using borrowed funds from the Bank is registered within 5 working days. Here the rental period can be shortened, saving money. There are additional nuances when the access conditions stipulate the presentation of documents confirming the discharge of registered persons, which may require additional time after receipt of the registered documents. Here it is better to play it safe and increase the rental period.

Who pays the rent?

It so happens that Buyers usually pay for the rental of cells. Since, after all, the cell protects the Buyer’s money during registration. If registration fails, the Buyer can withdraw his money from the box. But it happens that Sellers also initiate the rental of additional cells. For example, if we have not one Seller, but several. All Sellers are worried about whether they will divide the money correctly after the seizure. In this case, Sellers can rent several cells, having previously allocated their shares in them. Everyone will have access to their own cell. Those. The buyer pays for one of the cells, and interested sellers pay for the remaining cells themselves.

Each bank sets the rental price itself. Sberbank, for example, asks for rent from 2500-5000 rubles.

How does excavation occur?

After receiving the registered documents, the Seller has the right to withdraw his money. The seller submits to the bank his registered copy of the purchase and sale agreement, unless otherwise stated in the terms of access, his passport and withdraws the money. If the transaction was an alternative one, then the list of documents provided increases significantly, at least by copies of agreements for other transactions. Extracts from the Unified State Register may also be included, which indicate who is the current owner of a particular apartment in Dubna.

If registration fails

If the parties are refused by the registration authority to register their transaction, then the Buyer has the right to withdraw his money. These conditions are also stated in the lease agreement. It’s just that the Seller has a certain period after registration, after which the Buyer has access to the box. In any case, there are two options for the development of this situation. The deal may not be finalized and the termination of the lease agreement may be mutual. In this situation, the Buyer withdraws his money at any time convenient for him. And if the Seller and the Buyer have not maintained a good relationship, then the Buyer just needs to wait until his due date and withdraw the money in accordance with the terms of the lease agreement.

Attention! The bank is not responsible for the safety of the contents of the box; it is responsible for the use and access of the box, as well as for the safety of the box itself. In accordance with current legislation, the contents of the cell are a bank secret.

Advantages and disadvantages

Carrying out a transaction under a purchase and sale agreement through a bank safe has a lot of advantages when compared with other methods:

1. Eliminates the possibility of unilateral cancellation of the transaction.
2. Fraud is not possible.
3. If you order a check and recalculation of funds, this eliminates the transfer of counterfeit banknotes.
4. The bank guarantees the seller that after completing all the documentation, he will receive money for the property.
5. The bank guarantees the buyer that he will become the owner of the property, and in case of problems with registration, he will return his money.
6. The bank ensures the confidentiality of the transaction.

The disadvantages include the fact that the safe rental service is not free - you will have to pay for peace of mind and fairness of the transaction. Verifying the authenticity of banknotes also involves costs, but this action guarantees that the money is not counterfeit. A safe deposit box allows you to safely make cash payments only. For guarantees with non-cash transfer, you must use a letter of credit.

A safe deposit box is one of the most popular ways to ensure the safety of payments. Its rental is inexpensive, and at the same time, the parties to the agreement receive a place where they can store funds, as well as count and check them in a special client room next to the storage facility.

If the deal falls through, the buyer does not lose his funds. He can take them out of the safe at any time, because the seller will not be able to receive them without presenting a registered purchase and sale agreement to the bank.

In fact, money is reserved until the final stage of the transaction - registration of rights to real estate, which can last more than a week.

The scheme has only one drawback: the cell rental agreement does not indicate the amount that will be stored. That is, after signing and registering the contract, it may turn out that only part of the funds is stored in the safe, and not the full cost of the apartment.

To prevent this from happening, it is necessary that money is placed in the safe deposit box in the presence of the seller and the buyer, and not just one party. In addition, if the seller takes money in cash and goes out with it, then the risk of it being stolen is quite high. It is necessary to hire security or otherwise take care of the safety of transporting valuables.

• You can rent a safe for up to 3 years (at VTB – 365 days);
• the longer the period of use, the lower the tariff for 1 day;
• when renting for a period of 60 days, more favorable rates;
• the client does not need to pay a deposit when receiving the key, unlike other banks.

Disadvantages of Sberbank safe deposit boxes:

• high tariffs for short periods (up to 60 days);
• during the storage of valuables, the client does not receive income;
• lower cell height (in VTB maximum 78 cm);
• the service is provided in 190 Sberbank branches (there are 300 in VTB).

Storing cash in individual safes is not the most profitable option, because they do not generate any income, and you need to pay rent. However, a Sberbank locker is a convenient, reliable and inexpensive way to store personal belongings and organize the transfer of cash when concluding a transaction for the purchase/sale of housing.

How much does a safe deposit box cost?

The rental cost is determined daily or per month of service, the price depends on the dimensions of the cell. Since mini-safes have different sizes, it is better to immediately check whether the entire amount will fit. Each bank sets its own price for the service.

1. In the Russian branch of Raiffeisenbank you can subscribe to a small cell for 2 thousand 400 rubles for a period of 30 days.
2. VTB 24 has regional tariffs. The highest prices are in the capital - here rent will cost 135 rubles per day. The client is provided with 2 sets of keys.
3. Potential clients of Rosbank will be able to book a safe in advance via the Internet, as well as send the employee documents to formalize the contract. A small cell will cost 4,250 rubles per month. Deposit for keys – 3500 rubles.
4. Sberbank has an attractive cost of service. A day's subscription to a cell will cost approximately 65 rubles. After the end of the contract, if the transaction does not take place, the money can be kept for free for another week.
5. Alfa Bank offers a similar service for 35 rubles/day, provided that the period of use of the cell is at least three weeks.

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The cost of the service varies by region. Moreover, even within one bank it can vary significantly.