French buyers

[Magnolia]

In the month of august 2007 we sold our house to french people. We obviously moved out and them in. Three months later we received a call from the agent whom we sold through stating that our purchasers were unhappy because they had found fault with the house. Keep in mind that this is 3 MONTHS AFTER they moved in. They said that the electrics weren't right, there was a leak in the shower and water went through into their lounge, they had a chimney fire because the chimney hadn't been swept (we were unaware that this was a legal requirement and the house we thereafter bought never had a certificate of proof either) and some of the windows won't open and shut properly. We thought that we had rectified the problem by paying for the bill for the chimney being swept but now the purchasers are threatening to take us to court. Before they completed on the house, they brought a 'builder friend' around to have a look and they had the usual termite etc survey done as is legally required. However, they did not have a full survey done, So, what i want to know is what's our legal standing with this? Can they take us to court because of these 'problems'? Can they blame us for the chimney fire when on completion they never asked for the certificate therefore surely it's their own fault for not requesting one? Also, does anyone know of a fluent english/french 'Advocat' who can advise us on the matter?

Any advice is most gratefully received

 

[woolybanana]

My guess is they are trying it on, bullying you because you are foreigners. They had every possibility to check the place and once they sign that it is it unless you have actually hidden something or lied. There is a clause in the Acte which says you gotta take the house as is once your signature is on the paper.

[woolybanana]

Can they prove there was ever a chimney fire?

[Magnolia]

Yes because the plasterboard behind the woodburner caught alight.

[groslard]

There is the idea of vices cachés..hidden flaws "le défaut que l’acheteur ne pouvait pas déceler, compte tenu de la

nature de la chose vendue, et dont il n’a pas eu connaissance au moment

de la vente.

 "a defect that the buyer couldn't find out  about, given the nature of what was sold, and which he didn't know at the moment of the sale"

I believe there is a 6 month limit on claims.

If you read French there is this site

But as has been said there may be a clause in the contract saying that the buyer accepts the house in the state it is in, including these "vices cachés"

[woolybanana]

Yes, check your copy of the contract

[nectarine]

I would contact the notaire who handled this sale, and fast, and get his advice.  We recently sold a property and, at the signing, the notaire told our buyers that they were purchasing it in the state that they had found it that morning (just before the signing), as it existed at present and that they had been given a full opportunity to inspect it, and that by signing they accepted it as it is. 

So my understanding is that, by signing, your buyers accepted it.  Not sure about the conditions of the chimney fire and, yes, I understand it is a legal - or at least an insurance - requirement to sweep them once a year.  But, for the rest of it, stuff not opening and all that, well they had every opportunity to check fittings and shutters and as long as you haven't lied to them then, heck, it is a case of 'buyer beware'.

Sorry this isn't a legal viewpoint but it is more of a common-sense viewpoint.  Good luck.

[groslard]

[quote user="nectarine"]

, it is a case of 'buyer beware'.

Sorry this isn't a legal viewpoint but it is more of a common-sense viewpoint.  Good luck.

[/quote]

I agree with almost all of what you say, especially about contacting the Notaire, and checking that there was an 'as found' clause in the contract.

There was in mine.

I would sound a note of caution though on relying on "common-sense", or on ideas such as 'buyer beware', unless you know the details of French law, which is often different not only in detail, but also in spirit from the UK.

For example in the UK surveys are the rule, and subsequent defects can be taken up with a surveyor if they should have been noted in his report.

In France there exists this idea of a "vice caché"..a hidden defect which a normal person such as the "father of a family" couldn't have found out in the situation.

If it can be shown that the seller knew about them but didn't tell there can be repercussions.

An 'off the top of my head' example would be a house in which the light switches and plugs were new, hiding the fact that the wiring was faulty.

But has been posted, usually there is a clause in the contract by which the buyer accepts the house 'as found'..

I am just 'going on' because I have often come close to tripping up over areas where the emphasis in the two countries is different.

It can be misleading..