selling our French house

[bubbles]

We have our French house advertised with three different agents. One agent has found a buyer who has offered close to the asking price. We have agreed to sell to him. We have been asked now to send by a fax an accord de principe to the agents, basically stating that we are in agreement to sell our house at the said price.

We've never sold in France before and we are in England at the moment.

Just wondered first of all if this sending of a fax is normal procedure.

And, second of all, what do we do about the other two agents? At what point do we inform them that we have agreed to sell via a competitor?

Bit scared.

Bit excited.

Just want to do it all correctly.

Thanks for any help you can give me, folks.

[bubbles]

PS any indications of time scale and when we should anticipate having to return to France to sign stuff and empty the house would be welcome too.

Very tricky this since we are in England supporting our son and his three small children while their mother is in hospital at the moment.

[nectarine]

I guess if you were in France you would be asked to sign an agreement at the estate agents' office so that everything can go ahead, your side of the 'compromis de vente' so it sounds reasonable for the agent to ask for a fax (which has your signature) stating that you have accepted the offer and the house can be sold. When the buyers have signed their compromis then the process usually takes about three months to completion and you should be there to sign it then.

Good luck.

[bubbles]

Thanks, Nectarine.

That makes perfect sense.

So our fax is actually our part of the famous comromis de vente, non?

So, in fact, we probably won't need to be in France until the sale is finalised - probably in the new year?

Of course, there is the small matter of disposing of all our furniture and shipping clothes and whatever else we want to keep.

Anyone out there in or near 66 who may be looking to equip a house in the near future? Could be some real bargains going soon.

[Gardengirl]

It sounds as though things are moving for you, bubbles! I'm very pleased for you, and hope it all goes smoothly. [:)]

[Quillan]

[quote user="bubbles"]Of course, there is the small matter of disposing of all our furniture and shipping clothes and whatever else we want to keep. Anyone out there in or near 66 who may be looking to equip a house in the near future? Could be some real bargains going soon.[/quote]

Yes, I know somebody who will be arriving to their empty new home this Thursday in 11 (just under an hour from Perpignan), you best PM/Email me with a list or contact details and method to view. They are here for 4 days.

[nectarine]

Bubbles, I'm not even sure that you would need to be at the Acte De Vente as I think some notaires can arrange signing in advance or proxy signing, but it would be in your interests to be there in case there are problems or queries. I've never heard of a seller NOT being at the Acte De Vente but I guess it is possible.

At the Acte De Vente the property becomes the buyers from that point onwards including anything left there (unless there's agreement). So you really have to empty the house beforehand.

I've seen a few house clearances advertised on this, and other more local, forum and they seem to be popular. Really you can get rid of anything if you price it low enough.

Well done on selling your house ...... there's many here who have been for sale for a while and would like to know your secret to get a buyer. Care to share it with us?

[Stan Streason]

Have you tried offering the contents to the buyer. I agreed £4k to buy all the contents and it was a great deal for me. Not having to furnish from new, was a great saving even if over time we will gradually replace stuff.

[bubbles]

Yes Stan - I was going to ask them if they were interested. Just thought I'd keep the thing simple at the moment and not muddy the waters so to speak. I'll mention it to the agent once we have compromis sorted I think.

Thanks.

[bubbles]

Hi, Nectarine.

Don't think there's any secret.

And I dont like to be cocky at the moment since I am just too scared the deal will collapse.

Will give all the gruesome details when and if the deal is sealed.

[idun]

We sold ours whilst we were in the UK.

We spoke to the notaire immediately there was the sign of a sale and they sorted all the paperwork out etc and liased with the estate agent. The notaire signed on our behalf.

Don't forget to say that you want the money immediately. IF you don't they have quite some leeway as to how long they hang on to it, as my neighbours sister found out.

[bubbles]

Thanks, Idun.

I'm taking note of all these gems.

Keep 'em coming.

[P-D de Rouffignac]

In order to keep the process running smoothly, talk to your Notaire about what is happening regarding any CGT payable - in the case that this was a second home. P-D de R.

[bubbles]

Thanks, PD - it is our primary residence and we pay our taxes in France so we won't be liable to CGT in France or in England.

Well, that's what we've been told anyway.

And, would you believe it, one of the other agents we signed up with has now found a buyer too - offering the same price.

What should I do - get them to fight it out? or stick with the first one since I sent a fax agreeing in principle to accept their offer?

What if the second buyer increases his offer to the full price? Would I then be legally bound to accept it because of the mandat?

Nice problem I suppose.