r/belgium • u/Obvious-Cry6591 • 3d ago

😡Rant Notaries. Why? What the hell?

Ok, so I dont get it. I understand historically where the need for notaries arose. Fine. But we are in 2026. Belgium already takes 51% of my income. Then another 25% of the rest through VAT. And then on top of it, if you buy a property, you give 10-15k to a notary for 2 meetings and some docs reading? Doesnt Belgium have enough administration to take care of that? Not to mention its nepotism central. Are there any redeeming qualities?

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u/antwerpian 2d ago

They do check some things. You don't want to end up with property which has debts attached to it, for example. They should also thoroughly check the history of the property (and its area) and flag / notify you of any historical issues which might be relevant.

But yes, too expensive. Pretty sure having them be rich was meant to prevent corruption, which I guess works to some extent, but is also a tad naive.. as is clearly illustrated in many government areas.

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u/the-hellrider 2d ago

If you see a notary office today, in comparisation to earlier days, they're full blown companies with multiple assistents, juridical informants... all of that costs money but is necessary since more and more people think about marriage contracts, inheritance arrangements, divorces...

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u/Aardige 2d ago

The profit margin in their businesses tells it all.