The Emperor encouraged the sale, as he needed the Prince of Liechtenstein's support in the west in curtailing Hohemems' attempts at expansion and as a buffer to the Swiss. Loyal to the Emperor, the Prince also added his support at the Assembly of Imperial Princes in the Imperial Diet. But the prince was not satisfied with just this honor. He wanted a seat on the inner circle of the Diet not just in the assembly. The buying of Schellenberg was the first step. Next he had to acquire Vaduz.
The bill sale was signed and Prince von Liechtenstein took possession of the County of Schellenberg. The people living in the county were not present at the signing. They were however required to pay homage to their new master. Two weeks after the sale, the interim "Oberamtmann", or highest official of the combined fief of Vaduz Schellenberg, invited the "Landammann" of the County of Schellenberg, the local judges and all male subjects over the age of 14 to attend the homage services in Bendern at on 16 March 1699. Widows were allowed to represent their dead spouses but otherwise women were not allowed to take an active part in the ceremonies except as interested bystanders.
Early that morning of 16 March 1699, the people of the County of Schellenberg gathered outside the Rectory of Bendern. The representatives of the Prince and the imperial administrator waited inside. The Prince's new subjects were not quite ready to swear allegiance. They wanted something in return. Wary that they might end up paying for the previous rulers' debts, they wanted written assurance that the settlement reached three years would be honoured. That settlement laid out how the debts were to be paid back, that the people of the region would not be responsible for them and that the promissory notes be handed over to them. Otherwise they would not acknowledge their new lord. They were taking a chance but the debt of 40,000 guilders was too big of a burden for the citizens of Schellenberg to bear.
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