Organising a property sale signing appointment

A property sale signing goes smoothly when the date is agreed with every party well in advance, each one knows exactly what to bring, and anyone who can't attend has arranged a power of attorney in time. Fix the date once the file is complete, send each party a written list — identification, any documents still missing, details for the funds — confirm a few days before, and book a room and a slot long enough to read the deed and answer questions without rushing. The signing is the end of a long process; its organisation should give the parties nothing new to worry about.

A signing brings together sellers, buyers, sometimes their own notaries or advisers, the estate agent and occasionally a lender. Collect everyone's constraints before proposing a date, and propose it only once the file is ready: searches returned, conditions met, financing confirmed. A signing fixed too early and then moved is harder on everyone than a date announced a little later but held.

Send the list in writing when you confirm the date: valid identification for each person signing, any documents still missing from the file, keys and access codes for the seller, and the practical details for the funds agreed in advance. Remind everyone that last-minute bank transfers can take time, so the funds must be arranged well before the day.

Allow time for the reading of the deed, explanations and questions, signatures and the handover of keys. A room large enough for everyone, with a table where documents can be laid out, makes a difference. Avoid back-to-back signings in the same room: one that overruns shouldn't delay the next.

Where your rules allow remote or electronic signing, explain in advance what equipment and identification the remote party needs, and test the connection before the day.

A short message to every party a few days ahead catches last-minute problems while there is still time to solve them: an expired passport, a co-owner who forgot they had to come, funds not yet transferred, a power of attorney not yet signed. Ask each party to reply to confirm, and follow up by phone with anyone who doesn't. If something can't be fixed in time, move the date early rather than on the morning itself.

Welcome the parties, check identities, and read or summarise the deed in plain terms, stopping for questions. Point out the clauses that matter to each side: price and payment, date of possession, conditions, any easements or obligations. Once everything is signed, explain what happens next — registration, copies, when the buyer receives the title — and hand over the keys if that is the arrangement.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. For signings, you usually fix the date yourself with all parties, so book it from your calendar: first and last name are required, email and phone optional. With a slot capacity above one, you can add each party as a booking in the same slot; enter their email if you want them to receive a confirmation with a calendar file, and write the file reference in the note. For preliminary meetings, open slots clients can book online. If the date moves, reschedule from your bookings list and tell every party yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes.

Durations are examples: set your own. Book handles appointments only; it doesn't store deeds or take payments. It costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.