Escrow Agent (Treuhänder)
An independent person of trust (usually a lawyer or notary) who holds the purchase price and releases it only once the agreed safeguards are in place.
In a property purchase the buyer does not pay the price directly to the seller but into the escrow account. The escrow agent releases the funds only once unencumbered ownership is secured, for example once the ranking order is in place and the discharge of encumbrances by the mortgagees is assured.
Lawyer-administered escrow is safeguarded through the electronic escrow system and escrow institutions. It protects both sides: the seller receives the money, the buyer an unencumbered register sheet.
Legal basis
Statutory texts for orientation; the version in force at the relevant time prevails.
This explanation gives a general overview of Austrian law and does not replace advice in an individual case. The specific circumstances of your property purchase are always decisive.
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Priority Ranking Notation
A land register notation that secures the rank for a future sale or pledge; it reserves the order of entries for one year.
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Discharge of Encumbrances
The removal of existing register burdens so that the buyer receives an unencumbered property, in particular the deletion of mortgages.
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Maturity of the Purchase Price
The point at which the buyer must pay the purchase price; in a property purchase usually tied to securing the unencumbered transfer of ownership.
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Declaration of Registration Consent (Aufsandungserklärung)
The seller's express consent to the registration of the buyer's ownership right (the intabulation clause), without which registration cannot be granted.
Reviewing a contract, arranging escrow, securing handover?
When buying property, the contract and the land register decide. Call us directly or send an email, callback within one business day.
A direct line to the firm.
Address
BRANDAUER Rechtsanwälte GmbH Giselakai 51 5020 Salzburg
Phone
+43 662 6280000