Before signing an apartment sale contract in Egypt: what should you verify?

Who owns the apartment and who is signing?

Match the seller’s name and capacity to the title records. If the seller is an heir, co-owner or agent, check the document that gives them authority, its date and limits, and whether it covers the sale and receipt of money. If there is more than one owner, do not assume one signature is enough.

Is the title chain coherent?

Ask for the records that connect the current holder to earlier holders. Compare names, unit numbers, area, boundaries and dates. A stamp or scan is not a substitute for knowing the source, whether it relates to this unit and what remains missing for the next step.

Does the contract explain the risk?

• Price, instalments, receipts, delivery and utilities
• Documents the seller must provide and by when
• How a registration obstacle or document conflict affects the deposit
• What happens if a party cannot or will not complete the agreed step

Separate what a broker says from what a record or competent authority confirms.

Stop signs that deserve a file review

• A different name, number or area appears in two documents
• Pressure to pay before seeing the title file
• An agent cannot show clear sale authority
• A general or old power of attorney is treated as unlimited
• A promise of fast registration has no named authority or document path
• An unrepresented heir, co-owner, mortgage or dispute appears

A stop sign does not decide that a deal is invalid. It means pause, identify the missing record and obtain advice before signing or paying.

If money has already been paid

Keep the contract, receipts, messages, advertisements and copies of the documents. Write a neutral timeline of what was promised, paid and delivered. Do not send national ID numbers or bank details through an open first enquiry.

For the distinction between signature validation and registration, read the companion guide or use the initial enquiry route.