1. A preliminary agreement doesn't transfer ownership. In Armenia the sale contract for real estate is certified by a notary, and the buyer becomes the owner once the right is registered with the Cadastre Committee.
2. Under the Civil Code a preliminary agreement takes the form required for the main contract. Ask a notary whether to certify this one too: it protects both sides, especially when a deposit is paid.
3. Before paying anything, get a fresh extract from the unified state register of property rights and check the owners and any encumbrances (mortgage, arrest, lease). Check that every owner, and the seller's spouse where needed, agrees to the sale.
4. Write down whether the money paid now is a deposit (kept by the seller if the buyer walks away, returned double if the seller does) or an advance (returned whatever happens). Pay large sums by bank transfer or against a receipt.

PRELIMINARY AGREEMENT FOR THE SALE OF REAL ESTATE

City of ____________, date ____________ 20___

Seller: ______________________________ (full name), ID/passport No. ____________, issued on ____________ by ____________, living at ______________________________, phone ____________

Buyer: ______________________________ (full name), ID/passport No. ____________, issued on ____________ by ____________, living at ______________________________, phone ____________

agree as follows.

1. Subject of the agreement

1.1. The sides undertake to sign, by ____________ 20___, a sale contract (the "Main Contract") certified by a notary, under which the Seller sells and the Buyer buys the property at ______________________________ (the "Property").
1.2. The Property: apartment / house / land, ___ rooms, total area ___ m², land area ___ m², cadastral code ____________.
1.3. The Seller owns the Property under ______________________________ (ownership certificate or extract from the unified state register No. ____________ dated ____________).

2. Price and payment

2.1. The price of the Property is ____________ (in words: ______________________________) AMD / USD. It doesn't change until the Main Contract is signed.
2.2. When this agreement is signed, the Buyer pays the Seller ____________ AMD / USD as a deposit / as an advance, against a receipt.
2.3. The rest, ____________ AMD / USD, is paid: when the Main Contract is signed / by bank transfer / with a mortgage loan from ____________ bank, on ______________________________.
2.4. The notary's fee and the state registration fee are paid by: the Seller / the Buyer / in equal shares.

3. The Seller confirms that

3.1. the Seller is the sole owner of the Property, or all its owners agree to this sale: ______________________________;
3.2. the Property isn't mortgaged, under arrest, let, promised to anyone else or the subject of a dispute;
3.3. the people registered at the Property (if any): ______________________________ will be deregistered by ____________ 20___;
3.4. utilities, property tax and other payments are paid up to the day of the handover.

4. Documents and handover

4.1. For the Main Contract the Seller provides the ownership document, an extract from the unified state register, the spouse's consent where needed, and certificates that there are no utility debts.
4.2. The Seller hands over the Property, with ___ keys and ______________________________, by ____________ 20___, under a handover act.

5. If the Main Contract isn't signed

5.1. If the Buyer refuses to sign the Main Contract, the deposit stays with the Seller.
5.2. If the Seller refuses, or the Property turns out not to be as stated in section 3, the Seller returns double the deposit within ___ days.
5.3. If neither side is responsible (for example, the bank refuses the mortgage: yes / no), the money paid is returned within ___ days.
5.4. An advance (not a deposit) is returned to the Buyer in every case where the Main Contract isn't signed, within ___ days.

6. Other terms

6.1. Changes to this agreement are valid only in writing, signed by both sides.
6.2. Disputes are settled by negotiation, and if that fails, by the courts of the Republic of Armenia under its laws.
6.3. The agreement is made in ___ copies of equal force.

7. Signatures

Seller: ____________________ (signature) ______________________________ (name)

Buyer: ____________________ (signature) ______________________________ (name)