Fund depository installs "safety valve" for second-hand housing transactions

　　In order to control transaction risks, policies promote capital depository. Over 20 cities have introduced relevant policies this year, and institutions are continuously improving the fund depository business.

　　"In order to let the seller release the mortgage, I directly called him a down payment of 1.7 million yuan, but I did not expect that he would be misappropriated." Mr. Wang, who bought a house in Sanhe City, Hebei Province, said that his house has been "deceived" for nearly a year, and it has not yet been resolved.

　　Mr. Wang's experience is not unique. In the sale of second-hand houses, the phenomenon of buyers' funds being damaged due to the failure to buy a house or even "the money and the house are empty" has occurred from time to time. This has also become a major pain point in real estate transactions. As the real estate market enters the era of stocks, especially since this year, the online real estate transactions have further accelerated, and the safety of second-hand housing transactions has been increasingly valued by all parties.

　　Industry insiders pointed out that a positive trend is that "fund custody" is becoming an important part of guaranteeing the safety of funds in the process of real estate transactions, and is increasingly used in actual housing transactions. With the promotion of policies and the continuous optimization and innovation of institutions, the construction of industry-related platforms has also continued to improve.

Disputes over transaction funds occur frequently

　　As we all know, the process of buying and selling second-hand housing is complicated, the cycle is long and the amount involved is large. Once a problem occurs, it may cause disputes and bring inestimable losses.

　　In reality, legal disputes in my country's real estate transactions are showing an upward trend year by year. Institutional statistics show that from 2010 to 2018, the total number of real estate transaction dispute cases in my country was 1,284,891. In 2018 alone, the number of real estate transaction dispute cases reached 300,000. In the process of real estate transactions, there are numerous transaction disputes arising from capital problems.

　　According to Mr. Wang, a house buyer, in August last year, he took a house in Sanhe City, Hebei Province through a local agent and signed a house sales contract. Because the house had a bank mortgage of 1.7 million yuan, the seller asked him to pay a down payment of 1.7 million yuan for the mortgage. However, after Mr. Wang sent all the down payment to the seller, on the agreed repayment date, the seller did not repay, but misappropriated the funds. Until now, this dispute has not been resolved.

　　According to industry analysts, in addition to the risk that Mr. Wang unfortunately encountered the seller misappropriating the mortgage payment, there are usually the following potential risks in the housing transaction process: first, the seller sells one house and two sells; second, the house Sealed or frozen; third, after the buyer pays the down payment, the house transfer fails, and the seller refuses to refund; fourth, after the transfer, the seller does not cooperate with the account move out; fifth, after the transfer, the seller cannot get the house payment in time, etc. .

　"Insurance" on fund depository

　　"Housing property rights and capital exchanges are not simultaneous in time. The node of fund delivery should be earlier than the transfer of property rights. If the capital flow information is opaque, it is difficult for consumers to know where the large sum of money is going." Kay pointed out, "If the consumer pays the house payment to the seller on his own, once the transaction becomes problematic, it is difficult to ensure the safety of the house payment. In addition, from the perspective of the transaction process itself, the possibility of disputes arising from second-hand housing transactions is greater than that of new housing transactions. "

　　Since there are many security risks in second-hand housing transactions, how should consumers avoid "pits"? The industry recommends that the use of "cash deposit" in the transaction process is a strong grip and a key factor in dealing with risks.

　　Specifically, the deposit of funds means that before the completion of the housing transaction, the housing transaction funds are deposited in a specially-opened third-party depository account. The third party is responsible for the safe deposit of the transaction funds, and the housing transaction meets the defrosting conditions (that is, the completion of the transfer). The funds are transferred to the seller, and if the transaction cannot be reached, the funds are returned to the buyer.

　　"During the entire transaction process, although it is more troublesome to do fund deposits in the early stage, it can fully guarantee the safety of transaction funds." Yi Kai said that fund deposits are equivalent to "Alipay" in second-hand housing transactions, controlling the transaction process Risk of house purchases and property rights losses caused by objective reasons.

　　In fact, more and more second-hand housing traders have used third-party fund depository to effectively solve various security problems in the delivery of funds and real estate.

The popularity varies from place to place and needs to be optimized

　　In fact, fund depository is not new. In 2006, the former Ministry of Construction and the People's Bank of China issued the "Notice on Relevant Issues Concerning Strengthening the Management of Real Estate Brokerage and Regulating the Management of Transaction Settlement Fund Accounts."

　　However, for many years, fund depository has not been fully popularized in the country, and its implementation in different cities is not the same. According to the statistics of Shell House Search, the city with the highest proportion of capital deposits can reach 98%, many cities can achieve more than 90%, but many cities have only 30%-40% or less.

　　In an interview with the media, Chai Qiang, vice president and secretary general of the China Real Estate Appraisers and Real Estate Brokers Association, said: "According to China's relevant real estate laws and regulations, the pre-sale funds for new commercial housing are subject to government mandatory supervision, but the supervision of stock housing transaction funds is due to laws. The regulations of the administrative regulations are not clear enough, and the supervision standards are different in different places. In practice, the two parties of the transaction, especially the house buyers, can be guided to realize the importance of transaction funds supervision, and urge both parties to jointly supervise the transaction funds."

　　Industry analysis believes that it is more difficult to deposit funds in some places. On the one hand, because the purchase of a house is a low-frequency transaction, many people's awareness of this needs to be improved; on the other hand, some sellers feel trouble or worry about extending the payment to I don’t want to do it.

　　According to Yikai, the previous custody mode was relatively cumbersome, requiring offline signing agreements, going to banks to open accounts, receiving multiple submissions, etc. However, the relevant platforms are constantly optimizing online construction, and the procedures have been greatly simplified , Offline links can also be transferred online, "some owners even handle the business when parking on the roadside."

　　So, will the deposit of funds affect the arrival time of the house payment? "As long as the house transfer is completed, the payment can be released to the seller's account within 2 working days at the latest." Yi Kai said that this move can also avoid the risk of the buyer delaying the payment.

　　From this point of view, some influencing factors that restrict the deposit of funds are actually being gradually optimized and resolved.

　The policy "supports" the organization to improve

　　It is worth noting that the policy level is also "supporting" the advancement of fund depository. In recent years, from the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development to local governments, opinions on fund depository requirements have been intensively issued. According to the statistics of housing search, in addition to provinces and municipalities, there are more than 50 prefecture-level cities nationwide that introduce policies for the management of second-hand housing and new housing funds in 2019; in 2020, more than 20 cities have introduced relevant policies.

　　With the promotion of policies and the development of the industry, some brand enterprises and third-party institutions are also actively exploring how to do a good job in depositing funds. It is reported that Shell, which is linked to more than 200 new brokerage brands, has reached strategic cooperation with commercial banks such as China Everbright Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, China CITIC Bank, and launched Shell-Bank Fund Depository. Consumers can complete fund deposit on the APP It is more efficient and convenient to complete the deposit management through online transfer or offline POS machine.

　　According to the shell house search, as of July 2020, the company's bank fund depository business has been launched in 103 cities across the country.

　　In the industry's view, in order to ensure the safety of transaction funds and create a good real estate market order, capital depository is imperative. Yikai said, "In the future, I hope everyone can enhance their security awareness and get used to fund supervision. Every transaction fund can be well protected and the transaction will be smoother and safer."

　　This edition is written/Reporter Yang Juanjuan of Beijing News