Property sellers beware - the saga continues
Posted: Mon 11 Aug 2014 15:16
Received by email
We should like to draw your attention to the ludicrous situation in which we find ourselves over the sale of our apartment in France which, thanks to the extraordinary French property laws, is proving to be a very frustrating and expensive business. Any help or pressure you can bring to bear would be greatly appreciated.
The facts are as follows:
In 2006 we decided to buy an apartment in Collioure in the Languedoc Roussillon as a holiday home and investment for our retirement. Now in our 60s and having enjoyed many visits, we decided the time was right to sell as we are relying on this money for our pension.
We placed it on the market in September 2012 with two estate agencies in the region and, after a number of viewings, accepted an offer made through one of them (to include the furniture) in May 2013. At this point we appointed an English lawyer living locally to us in the UK who advertises himself as a specialist in French property law; this was to ensure that our interests were represented, and all papers checked before anything was signed (his payment required in advance).
A Compris de Vente was prepared by the estate agent and,with our lawyer’s advice, we duly signed and returned the contract to the agent which was then forwarded to a Notaire in Argeles-sur-Mer to handle the details of the sale.
The lady intending to buy the apartment lives in northern France, and it should perhaps be mentioned that at no time did she visit our apartment, but had seen it advertised on the internet, knew the area and location, and apparently wanted to proceed before anyone else could place an offer. She duly signed and returned her part of the initial sale contract, but it subsequently transpired that the deposit of €12,000 was never paid, the estate agent and our lawyer informing us that at the Notaire’s behest the sale would still proceed since in France it is possible (though unusual) to pay the full purchase price on completion.
The date for final completion having been set for 29th July 2013, we drove all the way down through France the week before (a considerable cost) to clear the apartment of personal belongings, pictures, linen, towelling, kitchen utensils etc. Some of these we gave away, the rest we brought back to the UK. Whilst in Collioure, we met with the estate agent as she wanted to prepare an inventory in readiness for the sale, and it was at this stage that she began to express some doubt as to whether the completion would take place; we now wonder what had prompted this doubt and what we were not being told.
As you will have guessed, our buyer did not turn up to the completion meeting and calls from the agent and the Notaire went unanswered. When the Notaire finally managed to get through several days later and suggested that she had lied to him on several occasions about transferring the money, she hung up. This all happened around the beginning of August 2013, just as France was closing down for annual holidays.
After several more futile attempts to contact our buyer, the Notaire recommended that we send a huissier (bailiff) to serve papers requesting her to sign a written cancellation of the contract which would then leave us free to re-market the apartment. The cost of this procedure was to be €450, payable by us. Until this was formally done, he would not allow us to sell to anyone else, in spite of the fact that we had another purchaser interested.
Our English lawyer had little to suggest other than we had to accept (through gritted teeth) whatever action the Notaire considered appropriate to annul the contract, so we paid this additional fee and awaited results.
After more waiting and delay, the huissier finally managed to approach the lady in question and she point blank refused to sign any cancellation, writing (in French) across the paperwork that she was expecting an inheritance and would soon have funds available for the purchase.
And so time went on, with many delays and prevarications, the French law apparently completely on the purchaser’s side. In November 2013 the Notaire gave her one further chance to complete, and set a date later that month for her to attend his office. Once more she failed to turn up with no explanation.
Our English lawyer was getting nowhere other than advising that we take the woman to Court. Unhappy with his attitude and lack of progress, we decided in January 2014 to dispense with his services, particularly after he stated in one of his emails that he was not qualified in French law and we should therefore look to the French Notaire for guidance. He tried to persuade us to carry on with him, but we were not prepared to consider this as we felt he had not fairly represented our interests nor that it was worth his demand for further fees.
Instead we decided to employ an English-speaking French lawyer in Perpignan. The newly appointed lawyer took the matter to Court on our behalf (as you can appreciate at considerable cost) and finally, in February 2014, we were awarded €25,000 plus costs under the penalty clause of the sale contract. However the Court did not feel it within their power to cancel the contract, and so we STILL remained unable to re-market the apartment even though our buyer had totally defaulted.
So to the next stage: a huissier (same firm as previously) was appointed at our cost to investigate this woman and seize any funds. After yet more weeks, it transpired that she has no money or assets, does not own her own home, has no means of paying any penalty let alone purchase our property, is being pursued by the French tax authorities, and has been in and out of hospital (a mental institution perhaps?).
We are informed that the huissier has been unable to make any physical or verbal contact with her in order to try yet again for a formal cancellation of the contract. We now face a further bill of nearly €4,000 to take the matter to Court again. Until this happens, even under these exceptional circumstances, the Notaire and estate agent refuse to allow us to sell the property to anyone else.
Our French lawyer has attempted a ‘fast-track’ Court decision, particularly with the French holidays now in place, but this has been refused as the matter is not deemed urgent. The hearing is therefore unlikely to happen until the autumn, but in the meantime we are left with an apartment that we have been unable to use, are still having to pay service and maintenance charges as well as French tax, and are completely stressed out and in turmoil about this on-going situation which no-one in either England or France seems to have ever come across before and to which there seems no simple solution.
We simply can’t afford these continued costs having already spent thousands on legal fees which we are unlikely to get back. This situation should never have been allowed to develop – the English lawyer insists he acted in our interest (where IS he coming from?) and the whole French system seems determined to make our life difficult. We just seem to be going around in circles and getting nowhere.
How can French law allow this to happen – there seems to be no logic that we should still remain under contract even when our supposed buyer has and never has had the means to pay for the property. Additionally there seems to be no further action being taken against her, and there seems nothing to stop her from doing exactly the same again to someone else. There seems to be no regard for our interests or the costs that we have been forced to incur through her untrustworthy and (as is suggested by those in France) mentally unstable condition.
Hoping that you may be able to help or offer suggestions,
Kind regards
Oliver and Lisa Phillips
We should like to draw your attention to the ludicrous situation in which we find ourselves over the sale of our apartment in France which, thanks to the extraordinary French property laws, is proving to be a very frustrating and expensive business. Any help or pressure you can bring to bear would be greatly appreciated.
The facts are as follows:
In 2006 we decided to buy an apartment in Collioure in the Languedoc Roussillon as a holiday home and investment for our retirement. Now in our 60s and having enjoyed many visits, we decided the time was right to sell as we are relying on this money for our pension.
We placed it on the market in September 2012 with two estate agencies in the region and, after a number of viewings, accepted an offer made through one of them (to include the furniture) in May 2013. At this point we appointed an English lawyer living locally to us in the UK who advertises himself as a specialist in French property law; this was to ensure that our interests were represented, and all papers checked before anything was signed (his payment required in advance).
A Compris de Vente was prepared by the estate agent and,with our lawyer’s advice, we duly signed and returned the contract to the agent which was then forwarded to a Notaire in Argeles-sur-Mer to handle the details of the sale.
The lady intending to buy the apartment lives in northern France, and it should perhaps be mentioned that at no time did she visit our apartment, but had seen it advertised on the internet, knew the area and location, and apparently wanted to proceed before anyone else could place an offer. She duly signed and returned her part of the initial sale contract, but it subsequently transpired that the deposit of €12,000 was never paid, the estate agent and our lawyer informing us that at the Notaire’s behest the sale would still proceed since in France it is possible (though unusual) to pay the full purchase price on completion.
The date for final completion having been set for 29th July 2013, we drove all the way down through France the week before (a considerable cost) to clear the apartment of personal belongings, pictures, linen, towelling, kitchen utensils etc. Some of these we gave away, the rest we brought back to the UK. Whilst in Collioure, we met with the estate agent as she wanted to prepare an inventory in readiness for the sale, and it was at this stage that she began to express some doubt as to whether the completion would take place; we now wonder what had prompted this doubt and what we were not being told.
As you will have guessed, our buyer did not turn up to the completion meeting and calls from the agent and the Notaire went unanswered. When the Notaire finally managed to get through several days later and suggested that she had lied to him on several occasions about transferring the money, she hung up. This all happened around the beginning of August 2013, just as France was closing down for annual holidays.
After several more futile attempts to contact our buyer, the Notaire recommended that we send a huissier (bailiff) to serve papers requesting her to sign a written cancellation of the contract which would then leave us free to re-market the apartment. The cost of this procedure was to be €450, payable by us. Until this was formally done, he would not allow us to sell to anyone else, in spite of the fact that we had another purchaser interested.
Our English lawyer had little to suggest other than we had to accept (through gritted teeth) whatever action the Notaire considered appropriate to annul the contract, so we paid this additional fee and awaited results.
After more waiting and delay, the huissier finally managed to approach the lady in question and she point blank refused to sign any cancellation, writing (in French) across the paperwork that she was expecting an inheritance and would soon have funds available for the purchase.
And so time went on, with many delays and prevarications, the French law apparently completely on the purchaser’s side. In November 2013 the Notaire gave her one further chance to complete, and set a date later that month for her to attend his office. Once more she failed to turn up with no explanation.
Our English lawyer was getting nowhere other than advising that we take the woman to Court. Unhappy with his attitude and lack of progress, we decided in January 2014 to dispense with his services, particularly after he stated in one of his emails that he was not qualified in French law and we should therefore look to the French Notaire for guidance. He tried to persuade us to carry on with him, but we were not prepared to consider this as we felt he had not fairly represented our interests nor that it was worth his demand for further fees.
Instead we decided to employ an English-speaking French lawyer in Perpignan. The newly appointed lawyer took the matter to Court on our behalf (as you can appreciate at considerable cost) and finally, in February 2014, we were awarded €25,000 plus costs under the penalty clause of the sale contract. However the Court did not feel it within their power to cancel the contract, and so we STILL remained unable to re-market the apartment even though our buyer had totally defaulted.
So to the next stage: a huissier (same firm as previously) was appointed at our cost to investigate this woman and seize any funds. After yet more weeks, it transpired that she has no money or assets, does not own her own home, has no means of paying any penalty let alone purchase our property, is being pursued by the French tax authorities, and has been in and out of hospital (a mental institution perhaps?).
We are informed that the huissier has been unable to make any physical or verbal contact with her in order to try yet again for a formal cancellation of the contract. We now face a further bill of nearly €4,000 to take the matter to Court again. Until this happens, even under these exceptional circumstances, the Notaire and estate agent refuse to allow us to sell the property to anyone else.
Our French lawyer has attempted a ‘fast-track’ Court decision, particularly with the French holidays now in place, but this has been refused as the matter is not deemed urgent. The hearing is therefore unlikely to happen until the autumn, but in the meantime we are left with an apartment that we have been unable to use, are still having to pay service and maintenance charges as well as French tax, and are completely stressed out and in turmoil about this on-going situation which no-one in either England or France seems to have ever come across before and to which there seems no simple solution.
We simply can’t afford these continued costs having already spent thousands on legal fees which we are unlikely to get back. This situation should never have been allowed to develop – the English lawyer insists he acted in our interest (where IS he coming from?) and the whole French system seems determined to make our life difficult. We just seem to be going around in circles and getting nowhere.
How can French law allow this to happen – there seems to be no logic that we should still remain under contract even when our supposed buyer has and never has had the means to pay for the property. Additionally there seems to be no further action being taken against her, and there seems nothing to stop her from doing exactly the same again to someone else. There seems to be no regard for our interests or the costs that we have been forced to incur through her untrustworthy and (as is suggested by those in France) mentally unstable condition.
Hoping that you may be able to help or offer suggestions,
Kind regards
Oliver and Lisa Phillips