What is a Sale Deed?

A Sale Deed, also known as a Deed of Sale or Sale Agreement, is a legal document that formalizes the transfer of ownership of a property or asset from one party to another in exchange for a specified amount of consideration, usually money. This document serves as evidence of the transaction and outlines the terms and conditions agreed upon by the buyer and seller

Parties Involved in a Sale Deed

  1. Vendor/Seller: The vendor or seller is the party who currently owns the property or asset and wishes to transfer ownership to another party in exchange for consideration, usually money. The vendor is responsible for providing clear title to the property and complying with all legal requirements related to the sale.
  2. Purchaser/Buyer: The purchaser or buyer is the party who intends to acquire ownership of the property or asset from the seller by paying the agreed-upon purchase price. The buyer may be an individual, corporation, or other legal entity seeking to invest in or utilize the property for various purposes.

These two parties are the primary participants in a Sale Deed, and their agreement is documented in the deed to formalize the transfer of ownership. Additionally, witnesses or legal authorities may be present to attest to the signing of the deed and ensure its validity.

What is the purpose of a Sale Deed?

A sale deed is a primary document that serves as proof of ownership of immovable property. The deed is created on non-judicial stamp paper. It can be used to sell any kind of property, including land and residential or commercial property.

The sale deed is a legally binding document that has to be registered with the relevant authorities. It must be signed by both parties in the presence of witnesses. The seller should ensure that he/she has cleared all the dues and charges related to the property before signing it.

After the seller and buyer sign the deed and get it registered, the title of the property will be transferred from seller to buyer.

Importance of Sale Deed

The importance of the sale deed are:

  1.  It provides official proof of ownership
  2.  It prevents ownership disputes
  3.  It gives security to the purchaser.
  4.  It helps in getting loans, mortgages, etc.

Components of a Sale Deed

The components of a Sale Deed are:

Information about the parties involved

A sale deed should disclose all the particulars about the parties involved. Their full name, address, occupation involved, age, and contact details.

Property details

A sale deed should disclose all the information about the property being transferred. Its complete address, any construction or repairs going on, dimensions, and any other details.

The clause related to indemnity

The sale deed should include a clause related to the indemnity from the seller that the property is free from any mortgage, charge, litigation, or hindrance if any. And the buyer should indemnify the seller for any remaining payments.

The seller should clear any loans pending against the property he is going to sell. And the buyer has all the rights to check the documents and verify everything.

Sale consideration

Particulars regarding the sale consideration should be mentioned in the sale deed as well. Any amount paid in advance, the date on which payment is to be made, the mode of payment, and other details, if so, should be particularly mentioned and agreed upon by both parties.

Transaction receipts

The sale deed should also contain the receipts of transactions occurring between the parties.

Payment and delivery details

The sale deed should also contain all the details about the payment and delivery of the possession.

 

  1. A sales deed cannot be made without a lawyer. Therefore one should contact a lawyer to understand the legalities better.
  2. Then, you should share all the necessary details with the lawyer to get started with the procedure.
  3. After that, you should pay the necessary fees, and the lawyers will initiate the process.
  4. You will get the draft within a few days after this.
  5. In case there are any additions or editions, the deed can be modified easily.

Registration of a Sale Deed

When you are registering a sales deed, you have to follow these steps to make the registration process efficient and seem easier.

Both the parties have to submit necessary documents to the sub-registrar to initiate the process. 

Here is the process of registration of a sale deed:

  1. The rates of the property will be determined as per the region, and the same should be disclosed in the deed.
  2. As per the rules, the price of the region and the one decision should be related to each other. And if the actual price paid is different from the stamp duty value, then the higher of these two should be taken into consideration.
  3. Subsequently, a non-judicial stamp has to be bought and pasted.
  4. After all of this, the deed has to be prepared in a type and printed in a stamp format.
  5. The last step is to submit everything with the sub-registrar office and get the sale registered. And there must be two witnesses by both of the parties to complete the process.

Documents Required for a Sale Deed

When drafting a sale deed, the seller of the asset must provide a few key papers to demonstrate that they are the rightful proprietor of the asset.  

The following paperwork is needed for drafting the sale deed:

  • Contract: Prior to completing the sale transaction, a sale contract is signed by the purchaser and the seller.
  • Payment receipts: When drafting the sale deed, the seller must be given the property’s pay slips.
  • NOC: The developer is required to obtain the NOC from several governmental agencies in the event that a property or apartment is sold.
  • Completion certificate: The building’s construction was carried out in accordance with a plan that was approved, as shown by the completion certificate is required.

Cancellation Of A Sale Deed

A deed is a legal document that is an agreement between the seller and the purchaser. A deed of cancellation is a legal document that cancels the agreement or contract of sale. The clause for cancellation of a deed can be written in the deed itself or any other document attached to the deed.

The cancellation process can be initiated even when one party requests for cancellation but the cancellation process can be executed only when both parties sign the document. 

The cancellation of the deed can be done by both parties as well if there is a related agreement to this. It can be written that if either party demands cancellation, then there will be a cancellation of the sale agreement. This can be done by writing it in the agreement itself or any other document attached to it.

Certain conditions should be met to finish the cancellation process

Some conditions are as follows:

  1. Both parties must agree on the fact that they want to cancel their sale agreement.
  2. The said party must have some reason for requesting for cancellation of a deed, such as a default in payment or some fault committed by the other party. Or it can be due to forgery, fraud, or force.
  3. The party who wishes for cancellation must have legal right over his property being sold, or otherwise, he cannot get done with the cancellation process.

Obtaining a Certified Copy of Sale Deed

Because a sale deed is such a crucial record, it ought to be kept in a secure location. A certified copy of the sale deed is available from the sub-registrar department where it was recorded. Anyone who wishes to acquire a copy of the sale deed can do so by filing an application to the sub-registrar and by paying the necessary charges.

However, if someone loses the sale deed, then a report must be made at the closest police station. A non-traceable certificate is given to the asset proprietor following the lodging of the FIR. Upon receiving the non-traceable certificate, the land proprietor must place an ad in the newspapers describing the disappearance of the selling deed.

To obtain a certified copy of the selling deed, you must then submit an affidavit and a request to the sub-registrar office and then pay the necessary charges. After the procedure is finished, a certified copy of the selling deed will be given out within two to four weeks.

Difference Between Sale Agreement And Sale Deed

A sale agreement is a contract between a buyer and a seller wherein the property of one party is exchanged for money or other valuable consideration. The agreement states that the buyer becomes the owner of the property as soon as the agreed amount is paid.

Here are the differences between sale deed and sale agreement:

  1. Real possession of an asset is transferred by a sale deed whereas the assurance of a potential transfer of real estate assets is contained in a selling agreement.
  2. According to the sale document, the purchaser is in charge of the estate’s liability whereas the responsibility attached to the asset must be borne by the seller up till the asset is sold.
  3. The main difference between a sale agreement and a sale deed is that a sale agreement is just an agreement stating that a sale shall happen on the terms as agreed upon by the parties concerned, whereas a sale deed includes all documents executed by both parties during the process of transfer of ownership.
  4.  A sale agreement operates on a “when” rather than “if” basis. Both parties are aware that irrespective of any future contingencies, they will have to fulfill their respective obligations and then be legally bound to transfer ownership in favor of each other.

Should you purchase a property without a sale deed?

A buyer of a property must be very careful in the purchase of any property. A buyer must make sure that the seller is the legal owner of the property by checking with the revenue department and then checking for the title deed.

Many times it has been seen that original title deeds are missing because someone may have taken a loan against this property, and the original deeds might have been seized by the bank as security against the loan amount, or they might have been used as collateral security against a loan.

The original deed may have been seized as evidence in pending litigation. So it is a must to get all these documents checked before proceeding to buy a property. Legal documents like sale agreement, mortgage deed, lease deeds, affidavits from all concerned parties should be taken for verification of the authenticity of the said property.

When we talk about real estate purchases, then we are talking about something which will stay with you for many years, so it is very important to look into every minute detail before buying any kind of property.

One should be very careful while buying an under-construction project or resale project as many things need to be verified before finalizing any kind of deal. It is said that sometimes problems start even during the construction stage itself and sometimes after completion also.

Conclusion

A sale deed is a legal document that is signed by the buyer and the seller before transferring ownership of any property. This document contains details like the name and address of the buyer, seller, rate of duty, registration fee, the date on which a contract was made between both parties, etc. These details can easily be verified from their signatures on this legal paper.

Before buying any property, one must go through its sale deed because it has all the details about that particular property. If there is any discrepancy found in its contents, then it may create problems for you in the future. So, therefore, before buying any property, make sure that you have complete knowledge about its sale deed because it will help you to avoid unnecessary issues.