The Compromis de Vente
After you agree a price with a seller, the next step is for an estate agent, a
notaire to draw up a preliminary purchase contract (compromis de vente. This
confirms in writing that your offer has been accepted. One of the most
important parts of this will be the conditions of purchase and sale (the
conditions suspensives). It will also contain a description of the property
with its cadastre (boundary) reference, the price and how it is to be paid, the
amount of the deposit (10%), the date of completion and the name of the notaire
who will draw up the Acte de Vente (Final Contract of Sale). The amount of
commissions due to interested parties and the names of those responsible for
paying them, the legal rights and obligations of both parties, and their
personal particulars including date and place of birth and precise marital
status will also be set out. This preliminary contract will form the basis of
the final deed of sale. Make sure that any agreements you have made with the
seller about fixtures and fittings, boundaries, vacant possession, and so on
are spelled out in the contract. An inventory might also be useful.
Two-stage process
Contractually, buying a house is a two-stage process. First, you sign a
preliminary contract, the compromis de vente, which is binding on both parties
after a 7 day period of reflection, and you pay a deposit. This exchange of
contracts, is subject to certain get-out clauses. It helps keep both sides
committed to the transaction while the various legal, administrative and search
processes are undergone, and during which time the buyer gets the funds
together for the purchase completion. Then, the final contract - the acte de
vente is signed.
On signing the Acte de Vente, the buyer gets the keys, the seller gets the
money, the notaire and agents get their fees, and the state collects its
various taxes.
Promesse d'achat and Promesse de Vente
The most common form of preliminary purchase contract is the compromis de
vente. But there are two other forms: the promesse d'achat - binding only on
the buyer, and the promesse de vente - binding only on the seller. These are
far rarely used. If the seller insists on a promesse, rather than a compromis,
extra attention needs to be taken in checking the contract before signing.There
are no statutory fixed penalties for breaking a contract: these are, therefore,
set out in the body of the document itself.