Complete property transfer service

During authorisation, the lawyer verifies the contracting parties' identities and takes responsibility for the agreement being suitable for Land Register registration. Mandatory lawyer insurance covers that liability. Both parties therefore have greater legal certainty than with signature verification alone. If you only need authorisation of a property transfer agreement and can arrange the rest yourself, we also provide it separately; signing then takes place in person in Košice.

The buyer deposits the price in a separate lawyer escrow account. The seller sees that the money really exists, and the buyer knows it will be released only after their ownership is entered in the Land Register. Release conditions are agreed in writing beforehand, and none of us may depart from them.

Yes. Documents and communication are handled by email and telephone, and we agree a signing procedure suited to your circumstances. This is common for clients from Czechia; we are registered with both SAK and ČAK and also communicate in Czech.

No, that is common. We align the agreements with the bank's conditions and security interest, and coordinate escrow and release with loan drawdown.

We check the agreement and application before filing specifically to avoid suspension; formal errors are its most common cause. If the Land Register nevertheless issues a notice, we prepare the response for you as part of the service.

We usually complete our part — checks, agreement and filing — within a few working days of receiving the documents. The Land Register determines the duration of its proceedings, so we do not guarantee it. We monitor progress and inform you of every development.

Under § 9(1)(a) and (b) of the Income Tax Act, property sale income is exempt after five years from acquisition or removal from business assets. For property inherited in the direct line or by a spouse, the period runs from the deceased's acquisition date. The decisive date is receipt of the first payment or conclusion of the transfer agreement, whichever is earlier. We are not tax advisers, but we flag the implications before anything is signed.

Because that is where exemption is most often lost. The law expressly excludes income arising under an agreement for a future sale concluded within the five-year period, even if the sale agreement is signed after that period ends. A client who waits until 'the end of the period' to sign the sale agreement, but signed the future agreement earlier, has lost the exemption. This can still be addressed at the reservation stage; usually not later. We explain the full five-year test, including inheritance, in When is a property sale exempt from income tax?.

It depends on the seller's status and the treatment of the particular supply; we also check whether the sale itself could trigger VAT registration. Under § 38(1) of the VAT Act, the supply of a building and the land beneath it is exempt five years after occupancy approval permitting first use or the start of first use. Major renovation may restart this period. A VAT-registered seller may elect to tax the supply, but the law does not permit this for residential buildings, flats and apartments in blocks of flats. Where an otherwise exempt supply is voluntarily taxed under § 38(8), the buyer accounts for the tax if VAT-registered and the conditions of § 69(12)(c) are met. This reverse charge does not automatically apply to a mandatorily taxable sale. We clearly set out the VAT treatment in the agreement. See Is VAT payable on a property sale? for details.