Buying land and paying part in cash normal?

That's neither fish nor fowl. Either I stay clean, then I don't participate at all, or I participate and want my advantage, then I take the risk, become criminal, and choose the envelope option. What good is cash in the presence of the notary? If the notary sees that 120k is flowing, he cannot certify 77,000. He will then certify 120, and who benefits from that except the OP has volumes of cash under the pillow and needs to distribute his cocaine money. However, that is probably not the case. Karsten

Come on: 77,000, notarized. Done. What else could the lady demand at what point? She has nothing in hand but the notarized contract for 77,000€! Done, the mouse! The sale is done with 77,000.

Please don't talk like that. If you do deals like that with such people, you have to expect that three Russian debt collectors will come looking for you.

Hands off!

it only causes trouble for you

her statement was possibly in the waiting room at the notary in an envelope,

Some apparently overlooked this sentence. The clever crook first takes the cash and then signs the notary contract. No envelope, no signature.

Failed money deliveries happen in the movies; I recommend The Big Lebowski, where the protagonists try it with dirty underwear instead of money. But then there’s trouble...

And what prevents the brazen crook from just taking the money, getting up, and leaving? Because it is in a notary's waiting room?

The "advice" to try to trick the crook yourself is completely to be rejected.

"An eye for an eye" was about a principle, not about legal/illegal.

The view that playing in the dirt is okay when the other party is a pig perplexes me. Self-centered society par excellence.

By the way: The amount the state loses compared to legal purchase at full price is the same in every variant. But with the scheme to outsmart the crook, you are not acting illegally and can pat yourself on the back for keeping the money in your own pocket. Congratulations.

And this is being played out here because someone who wants to wrongfully withhold money from the state is supposed to learn a lesson? Logic?

Ridiculous!

To OP: Under no circumstances listen to these pieces of advice!

I just wanted to point out that cash per se is not illegal. Only the agreed purchase price, the certified purchase price, and the amount of money should all match.