Notaries launch electronic auctions to help sell real estate at the best market price

Individuals and companies seeking to sell their real estate have a new attractive opportunity - they may use electronic auctions organised by notaries on the platform created by the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries and the real estate company Newsec.

According to the President of the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries Marius Stračkaitis, auctions organised by notaries not only guarantee legal and transparent procedures of real estate sales, but also give the opportunity to clients to get the best price for the property in case of success.

"It is no secret that sellers always want to get the best possible price for their property, and these auctions offer just such an opportunity, irrespective of the property's purpose and type," says M. Starčkaitis.

Electronic auctions organised by notaries became available after the Lithuanian Chamber of Notaries started cooperation with the international real estate company Newsec, which has been organising real estate auctions for ten years. Thanks to this partnership, a new online platform has been introduced to the public - www.notaru-aukcionai.lt.

In order too sell a property through a public electronic auction, the client applies to a notary, with whom a brokerage agreement is signed. The client shall provide the notary with all the necessary information concerning the object to be sold and shall pay the notary an administration fee by transferring it to a bank account administered by the notary. This fee is intended to cover the costs of preparing the auction.

The auction shall be organised on the electronic auction platform www.notaru-aukcionai.lt, owned by Newsec. Participation is open to potential buyers who have logged in and completed the registration formalities. Upon successful auction, the client-seller shall pay the pre-agreed success fee to the notary, which was stipulated in the contract.

After the auction, the buyer and the seller may conclude a contract of sale and purchase of the property with the same notary who organised the auction. The asset transfer transaction can be concluded either in the traditional way - at the notary's office, or via the remote system eNotaras, or in the hybrid way - where one party to the transaction connects remotely and the other comes to the notary's office.

The right for notaries to organise and conduct public auctions for the sale of property by means of information technology has been established by the amendments to the law that entered into force in 2021.