Type of selling contracts

3 majors types of contracts exist in term of property selling. They are all done through a public notary.

Direct sell (literally, « Vente directe »)

The entire amount of the transaction (down payment / mortgage loan / provision for closing costs, depending the state (canton)) needs to be paid to the notary account on the day that the contract is signed. You will officially be the owner(s) of the property right after you and the seller(s) have signed the contract.

This process presents the advantage to be a little bit less costly than a forward sell, but you will need to make sure that no penalty fees will be charged to you by the mortgage provider in case the transaction was to be canceled at the last minute.

Forward sell (« Vente à terme »)

The « term » of the transaction is planned weeks/months/years after the signing of the selling contract. With that scenario, you will pay a deposit on the day of the signature of the selling contract (generally 10% of the purchase price), with the remaining of the transaction being paid at the term. You will only become the official owner(s) of the property at the term, once all the funds have been paid to the notary account.

Even though this process is a little more expensive than the direct sell, it is the one mostly used in Switzerland. It allows seller(s) and buyer(s) to lock the transaction, while giving them both the time to get organized (getting out of a leasing contract, to move out, etc.)

« Viager » sell (« Vente en viager »)

You buy the property today, at a lower price than the market value, but you will only become the owner(s) later on in time (for exemple, when the previous owner(s) move into a retirement home or when he/she passes away). Until that time, the previous owner(s) stays in the property, through a « Right of residency » (in french, un « Droit d’habitation »). No rent will be due to you by the previous owner(s), and in some cases, you’ll even pay an annuity to him/her.

Because of the financial uncertainty of this process (you dont know how long the previous owner(s) will stay in the property when acquiring it), it is usually done through investors who have important financial means.