What is a transfer fee?

What does a transfer fee pay for?

It pays for the developer's consent and for the paperwork behind it. When a unit changes hands before handover, the developer has to approve the new buyer, check the payments made so far, release the first buyer from the remaining schedule and record the second one in their own books. The transfer fee is what the developer charges for that step. It is not a payment for the unit and not a payment to the state; it is the price of moving a contract from one name to another.

How is it set — a fixed sum or a percentage?

The developer decides. Some write it as a percentage of the unit's price, others as a fixed sum, and the difference between compounds is a difference in their terms, not in a rule. The catalogue does not carry the figure; the amount is set out in the contract and in the compound's own terms of sale. Ask for it in writing, with the basis it is calculated on, before you agree anything with a buyer.

When is it paid?

When the transfer is made — that is, once the developer has approved the new buyer and is ready to record the change. It is tied to that step, not to handover and not to the first instalment: it is not paid at reservation, and it is not paid while you hold the unit. The date and the trigger are read from the assignment clause of the contract.

Who pays it?

That, too, is a matter of the contract and of what the two parties agree: the transfer clause states who bears the fee — the seller, the buyer, or each a share — and the developer collects from whoever the terms put it on. Agree it with the other side before the transfer is booked, and confirm it with the developer's sales team.

Is it the same as the registration fee?

No. The registration fee is paid to the state to register the sale at the real-estate registry, and it belongs to a later stage, when the unit is registered. The transfer fee is the developer's own charge for consenting to the change of buyer, and it is paid to the developer. The two are separate payments, made to different parties at different stages.

Does it differ from one compound to another?

Yes, because it is part of each developer's terms and each project's contract. There is no single figure that applies to all of them, so the amount is read from the contract and from the terms of the specific project you are dealing with, not from a common list.

What if the developer refuses?

The fee is the price of consent, and consent is the developer's to give. Whether it can be withheld, and on what grounds, is written into the assignment clause of the contract rather than fixed anywhere else, so that clause is where you read it. Until the developer agrees and records the new buyer, the unit has not moved, and the outstanding instalments remain the first buyer's.

What should I check before agreeing to a transfer?

Four things, all in the contract: who pays the fee and how it is calculated; when it falls due; whether there is a minimum share of the price that must be paid before a transfer is allowed; and the date the new buyer takes over the instalments. Put those beside the price and the payment plan, so that the whole cost of changing hands is in one place.