Compromis - cooling-off period?

[SaligoBay]

LAST EDITED ON 24-Jul-04 AT 02:18 PM (BST)

We put an offer in on a house this morning (Saturday). The estate agent phoned us back and said "Someone else has just offered exactly the same, and the vendors have accepted it in principle. This other person intends to sign the compromis on Monday, so if YOU want the house you have to sign a compromis this afternoon".

So far we've mentioned it to two friends (French), both of whom said straightaway that the agent is pulling a fast one, and the other buyer is fictitious.

Based on your experience of French estate agents, do you think she's pulling a fast one?

It's a situation we haven't been faced with in house purchases in the UK.



p.s. just realised I put the wrong title on this, oops, sorry to mislead anyone who's still awake

[Will]

It sounds as if you are being steamrollered into signing something quickly. What I don't understand is, if the offers are identical, why yours should not have been accepted first, as it apparently came in first.

It may be that the house is for sale with more than one agent, yours was perhaps a bit late in putting the offer through and found that an offer had already been received.

Safest thing is, if you like the house and think it's good value, to offer the asking price, which should secure it for you. I know some people, particularly English, refuse to do this as a matter of principle though.

Good houses are certainly moving very quickly in Normandy and it's not uncommon to have several potential buyers. Is it the same where you are?

It might be as well to steer clear of this particular agent. You need to be dealing with somebody in whom you have confidence, after all you will be paying them a lot of money.

Will (50)
Forum moderator

[Iceni]

>
>Based on your experience of French
>estate agents, do you think
>she's pulling a fast one?
>
SB - shirley you are not suggesting that any estate agent in France would resort to such an underhand and despicable falsehood ? Wash your mouth out with soap (before Soppy1 does it for you).

John
http://www.iceni-it.co.uk

[Rita]

Hi,

Just wondering where the house is! as we have been with some unscrupulous agents in the past.

[Penny29]

Hi Saligo,

I've seen your other thread on the size of the bedrooms in your potential new house and I can't help feeling that you should, maybe, walk away from this one.

I'll just be blunt and you can tell me to get stuffed if you like!

It sounds like an awful lot of money for not a lot of house.

It sounds like either the vendor or the estate agent is playing games.

From some of your other postings I'm not convinced you like the geographical area or the house that much either!!!

Perhaps you have house-hunting fatigue and just want to get settled (can understand that!) but better to hesitate now than make a costly mistake that you will regret for years. We did the same when we were looking and almost made a mistake by buying an "Not quite what I want but it will do" house because I was soooo desperate for a home of my own. I'm glad we walked away and waited.

Penny

[SaligoBay]

Just an odd little aside to this one....

.... yes, the other offer was real, and was accepted verbally by the owner. Then we upped ours and he accepted ours.

THEN the other agent immobilier got upset, and yesterday the owner got a letter saying that the huissiers (bailiffs) would be coming round to claim goods to the value of the 13000 euros the immobilier had "lost" in commission.

I think it's sorted now, somehow, but ouf, scary stuff!!