I want to bring all of this down a bit. One might think the Cosa Nostra is involved here. This "in cash" is, at least in SH according to my life experience, a very common, I don't want to say normal, but certainly not unusual payment model with the envelope in the waiting room. Everyone here knows that, the notaries, the authorities – as long as everyone smiles and stays silent, the office can't intervene if the notarized transaction is not unusually low. Because there has to be a well-founded suspicion to seriously investigate. They don't have that many staff. Yes, in this respect the state loses real estate transfer tax and income tax. That's how it is. Viewed from a distance, however, you have to live with it if you don't want a completely surveilled citizen. Freedom always comes with a loss of justice and order. But here we are talking about fundamental attitudes towards life. So: conclusion: if you already feel uneasy about it and you bring this up here, then hands off. Those who go through with it don't discuss it here anyway, and despite all the moralists, it simply happens hundreds of times like this. Karsten