Real estate trading: even notaries on the carousel of intermediation?
Real estate trading: even notaries on the carousel of intermediation?
Under the tree...
The Christmas present this year the notaries have made to real estate agents is well documented by an article in the Italian newspaper Oggi of 18 December 2017 ( here is the link to the pdf ). The scenario told would see notaries not only in the field with the usual functions of public official, but as new intermediaries of real estate trading and therefore active participants in the market rather than guarantors of the same.
The mechanism is based on direct sale by auction, on the basis of what is already online with the forced sale procedure. In essence, the customer who wishes to sell the house could entrust the entire sales process to the notary, instructing him to collect the offers in accordance with the provisions of art. 1336 of the civil code.
After receiving the assignment, the notary will collect all the documentation for the formation of the "Fascicolo dell'immobile". Also the real estate valuation will be made by the notary, obviously "helped by competent technicians".
The notary Giacomo Laurora of Rome, as indicated in the article, explains that: " The benefits for those who sell a good are obvious, the agencies take commissions that can also be exorbitant, while the fee of the notary is adequate to the effective work done and not the value of the good ". Renato Caruso, president of the regional notarial committee of Sicily, echoed him according to which the procedure "... allows the sale to be completed in a shorter time than those carried out through traditional real estate agencies ". In unison, the reference to what is already happening in France, where notaries usually enter the real estate.
The savings "sold" by the notary system is to be verified considering that the placement of the property is not insured and that the sales process will have a certain cost borne by the homeowner, unless the notaries work successfully (by collecting only if they sell ), which does not seem to me in the style of this category.
Market competition? Yes, but one-way!
It always makes us reflect how in a country like Italy, where everything is hyper-normalized to the limit of vexation, there is never lack of space for the "nonsense", a gray area where everything can be done in spite of the norm and common sense, or at least we try.
In particular, the law on mediation ( n.39 of 3 February 1989 ) clearly indicates who can do what, with all the limits of the case ( the notary can not do mediation ), while Article 1755 of the Civil Code on mediation expresses with clarity that: " It is a mediator who connects two or more parties for the conclusion of a deal ... ".
If Treccani instructs us on the figure of the notary in this way: " Public official (appointed to the office and assigned to a seat following a competition for examination) who has the function of receiving deeds between living and the provisions of last will, give them public faith, keep their deposit, release copies ... "we understand, in the light of what can happen, that the step between" ... receive acts between living ... "and become an active part of commercial real estate purchase is very short.
That the real estate broker is tempting to many is out of the question, the hard core of over 500 thousand trades ( residential only ) is a great opportunity.
To those who think that this initiative is only a year-end boutade , I reply that the intention was manifest since 2015 where, with the civil law study n. 153-2014 / C, the National Council of Notaries dealt with the possibility for private individuals to sell properties with a "private" auction. In addition, in the article that reports the news, we read: " To exclude, for the notary, the existence of a conflict between the appointment to the notary to organize and manage the private auction and the activity of mediation ", well aware ( in my view ) that the initiative already highlighted an inappropriate market competition at the origin ( excusatio non petita, accusatio manifesta ).
The same year ( 2015 ) in an editorial by the then president of FIAIP, Paolo Righi, which titled " Notaries and real estate agents can not compete " highlighted the deep distinction between mediator ( real estate agent ) and notary.
Righi stated that " ... the notary is out of the market as a market controller ". However: " ... notaries (who do not practice a free profession, but perhaps do not know) with considerable ingenuity, continue to want to compare themselves with the market, continue to present themselves with the" other "professions (CUP, ADEPP and similar) and to participate in the drafting of the Consolidated Text of Professions! ". And again: " ... notaries tend (in particular) to dominate the real estate market, excluding those operators who seem to be able to steal their skills and privileges, such as real estate agents, for example. list of the notary prerogatives referred to above,
In light of the strong and demonstrated notoriety's propensity to commercial competition, it is really difficult to understand the battle of these 4,931 ( yes, you read that right! ) Public officials against the law that allowed lawyers to draw up the sale of real estate not used housing ( cellars, boxes, commercial premises ), of cadastral value not exceeding 100 thousand euro. The rule, contained in the 2015 Competition Law was: " ... expunged from the text, after the notarial complaints ... ". Wow, what an efficiency! So competition can be done, but it can not be done.
Because it will not work
Beyond the ethical aspects that will affect good neighborly relations with professionals in the real estate chain and remain on the table of public opinion, my surprise is that this story is being consumed in the deafening silence of the many sheriffs ready to rise on the barricades when it comes to pointing out for unfair competition the banks entered into real estate brokerage or those web platforms that promote the sale and purchase of private parties. Perhaps the Christmas season has made everyone more tolerant.
This too is part of the sub culture of a country and a category ( that of real estate agents ) that requires the finding of a common value that expresses a strong and protective leadership .
Returning to the notarial ambitions, in the project reside significant functional criticalities that should put on the person who lives any real estate owner:
Negotiation and prequalification of the buyer - In the direct auction process there is no typical element of any sale: the negotiation. Buyers negotiate, it's out of the question. The variables being purchased are many: furnishings, delivery times, property financability, verification of the creditworthiness of the buyer, obtaining mortgage, suspension clauses. The variety of the cases is such that it is not possible to cloak them in a rigid auction procedure. Even buying and selling platforms between private individuals such as Homepal , to name one above all, while making extensive use of technology in the process of digitizing the sale, uses an assisted negotiation system,. It is therefore very unlikely that direct sales at auction can assume the expected numerical importance.
Real estate appraisal - The identification of the correct price is essential to avoid wasting time and not inflating the presence of the property on the market. What skills will a notary ever have to carry out or even delegate the real estate appraisal? Beyond the multiple skills required to carry out a reasoned and sustainable assessment, the lack of sensitivity towards the market, deprives the notary not only of the effectiveness of assessing directly in a correct way, but for the same reasons also to delegate ( to whom , then?) the realization of the evaluation report. Result? Indication of wrong price and loss of time for the seller or, worst case, indication of price from "real estate auction" and economic loss for those who sell the house. Does it seem like a good deal?
Promotion and quality of service- In the era of storytelling, 360 ° images, virtual visits conducted by a real estate agent, videos and interactivity of each phase of the promotion, what is to be expected from a rigid real estate auction system? Just go and browse through the direct sales procedures to understand the quality and applicability of the system. We also want to talk about real visits, that is, what a normal buyer, perhaps more than once, coming back with his girlfriend, his parents, his architect friend, is doing at the building? Who will distinguish between real estate tourists and motivated customers? The notary? Who will take care to organize the accesses, to overcome all the normal "clutches" that can be created during the meeting of the parties? An auction process?
Real estate brokerage is an activity that requires human intervention in many aspects, not just technical ones. We need empathy, negotiation skills, emotional intelligence, discernment, balance, sensitivity, humor. That's why technology will make processes faster, but it will not disintermede the industry . And that's why the notary must continue to fulfill its important role of control, of course, until the technology will not make " the receipt of acts between living " a digital and technical operation to be delegated to an artificial intelligence ( you can see the concept of machine learning? ).
Oh yes, because even the legal framework is invested by the wave of intelligent technology, where learning machines already provide reliable legal advice and revise the contracts. COIN developed by JP Morgan, Ross developed by IBM, DoNotPay and Kira are just a few examples of what is happening in the international "legal" sector. I quote a curiosity reported by the Online Magazine Spremutedigitali.it in an article that deals with Artificial Intelligence in the legal field signed by Roberto Alma ( Lawyer and Legal advisor for startup ): "In fact, I must remember, for the record, that the University College of London, in 2016, had an "intelligent" system analyzed about 500 cases decided by the European Court of Human Rights and what was the result? In 79% of the time a sentence similar to that of the Strasbourg judges was issued ".
How long do you think it is possible to automatically collect a real estate purchase and transcribe it into a conservatory? Probably the visionary system lacks vision, the challenges on which to focus are very different.
And in any case do not worry, when all this becomes reality, to the notaries it will be enough to attend a course in the Chamber of Commerce, to take an exam and to enter fully into the ranks of real estate agents. See you there!
Update of January 13, 2018 - Replication of notaries
Following the publication this article, taken up and published in the online publication Requadro , came the reply from the notary Valentina Rubertelli, whom I thank. In reality I did not understand if he responds in his own name or as National Councilor of Notaries and therefore on indication of the prestigious body. In any case, find the reply here .
Four relevant aspects emerge:
1)no role of intermediary of the sale by the notary and no attempt to disintermediation ( real estate agent ) through the portal of notary notices;
2)the statements made by notaries in the article of Italia Oggi ( which are 3 and not 2 as indicated in the reply ), do not represent in any way the institutional line of the National Council of Notaries ( so here there is a problem of serious communication );
3)the notary that uses the Notary Notarial Portal under no circumstances proceeds to verify the valuation of the property ( on the article of Italia Oggi it is stated exactly the opposite, but I take for good what is indicated in the reply, will be the facts to confirm the good faith );
4)the Portal is born not to allow the Notary to be a mediator ( something that is forbidden by law ), but as an instrument at the service of the creation of the security and security circuit in which, right from the first moment even real estate agents can be involved if, only, they intend to attribute to one or more of the properties they are selling, a blue bulletin of due diligence by the notary ( I do not understand what the cooperation between agent and notary has to do with due diligence with the portal of notary notices and above all how this can increase the security and guarantee circuit that already the role of the notary is called to guarantee ).
As always the facts will clarify the intentions. It is very important that every single real estate agent feels the responsibility of monitoring so that the market expresses itself:
dynamics respectful of professionalism in the field;
a communication that does not generate confusion in the consumer;
synergies between the parties that promote trust and cohesion in a historical moment in which real estate can play a strategic role in the economic recovery of our country.