Pancake Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 A question came up the other day when we were talking to someone who was buying a house.After the signing and the seven days is up and the deposit has been paid can you opt out of the contract.Not only did they pay the deposit but they also sent the balance of the sale to the notaire..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunday Driver Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 You cannot sign a legal contract, then "opt out" without incurring a penalty. In the case you mention, it would normally be the loss of the deposit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
feuillants Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 Doesn't it also depend on the conditional clauses you put in the contract...?That's why they're there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 A confusion of terms perhaps."Opt out" infers a act of choice and in that sense no, after the 7 days you cannot simply "choose" to not go ahead without losing your deposit.If on the other hand you had something written into the Compromis which entitled you to withdraw if a condition, or conditions, are not met then yes, you may be able to pull out without penalty.I believe there are some standard "Force Majeure" circumstances in which you can pull out unconditionally, things such as the death of a spouse for instance. We asked about this very point whilst signing our Compromis and were told this by the Notaire.It sounds as if whomever you were speaking to has maybe had second thoughts or possibly suffered an unexpected change in circumstances, hopefully not a death, but we would need to know a lot more to judge whether or not they could pull out without penalty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pancake Posted May 22, 2007 Author Share Posted May 22, 2007 ErnieY....It seems that they have just changed their minds and want to return to the UK.I think that they will have to go ahead with buying it and then put it back on the market...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjamin Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 They could also find the agent after them for their commission, although I don't know the legal status if that were to happen. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnOther Posted May 22, 2007 Share Posted May 22, 2007 [quote user="Pancake"]ErnieY....It seems that they have just changed their minds and want to return to the UK.I think that they will have to go ahead with buying it and then put it back on the market......[/quote]Fraid so, hope they're not in a hurry nor hoping to get all their money back.Pity the balance is with the notaire otherwise they MAY have got away with losing their deposit. At the moment it seems they are at a total disadvantage.Buy in haste, repent at leisure................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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