Gillian
I don't understand how you will lose deposit money to a broker. Brokers may take a deposit to secure a rate but the money is yours not theirs . You may lose the rate of exchange and perhaps a fee for them holding the rate but I've never heard of a broker doing that.
Or are you saying the potential change in the rate could lose you E6000. That's different.
Maybe I have misunderstood.
Oh dear sorry to hear that Gillian. Yes I think it is pretty normal...and as everyone says - its holiday time so things tend to come to a standstill, which is very frustrating.
Sorry I don't have time to read all the other replies. One thing that might help though if you need to leave the country on a specific date is that you can give someone else permission to sign the acte de vente for you, meaning you don't have to be in the country. I once did this as I was unable to be in France at the time of buying a house, I gave permission to the estate agent who would be at the signing anyway. She didn't charge me anything for this as far as I can remember. Just a thought.
Bon courage!
x
Firstly DON'T PANIC I bought in Scotland years ago and am reasonably certain that under the Scottish System you will find the same applies that you should complete the purchase on the 15th but if you can't then the seller is entitled to interest on the money owed to them at a rate above the banks base rate until the sale is completed. Obviously this will cost you but means you can still get the apartment. I think it is possible to buy in Scotland under the English System in which case until you exchange any party can just walk away. If you lost your buyer then even if you lost the apartment, there will be others and you could rent if you had to move.
I agree to buy a property in France about 24 years ago, the compromis was all signed, money ready, SCI formed etc and construction work arranged when I received a casual letter about two weeks before the place was due to be mine saying that the Mairie had exercised their right of pre-emtion. I asked an independent lawyer to check it out and found that the Mairie had not followed the correct procedure, but as I needed planning permission I decided to withdraw if they paid all my costs incurred- about £7000 at the time. They initially refused but I demanded the right to address a meeting of all the councillors who, after a few solid anglo saxon epithets had been aimed at them, agreed and did pay me. As I had asked the Maire before I made an offer if he wanted to buy the place and he said no I was more than fed up. However these things sometimes happen in the UK as well; an example is that my family bought two properties in London nearly five years ago and we found out that they had never been registered in our name with the Land Registry. Another firm of lawyers is now sorting it out but it's an unholy mess. In fact taken over the long term I was lucky not to buy the old convent- it was eventually bought by a succession of British developers and builders, and still, 24 years later- it's not finished! It was used as the Gestapo headquarters locally and I think, looking back, it was jinxed.
The Compromis includes a date by which the Acte should be concluded at the latest, but may be signed before.
If your Acte states 24 July as the latest date and if it is not signed on that date you are entitled to substantial damages. If it were a flexible date, there would be no point putting it in a contract.
There may be a proviso saying that the contract is void if the purchaser is not able to raise a mortgage, or some other.
If the 24th was a convenient date before the final date of conclusions, then obviously there is no contractual obligation on the other party to sign on that date.
I have bought and sold two French properties and in these cases the Acte was signed by agreement before the final date specified in the Compromis.
However an acquaintance of mine buying a French property who was not able to complete on the date specified in the Compromis because of a delay in funding, was obliged to pay 10% of the agreed sale price to the seller, even though he still went ahead with the purchase a month later.
You would be best to check the wording of the Compromis and with the Notaire. If the sale date is specified in the Compromis as 24th, and there are no provisos then you, as far as I understand it, are entitled to compensation if it does not go ahead on that date.
Thanks for the replies. If only I'd known that this was normal, I wouldn't have made other arrangements. If they postponed only for a week it would still not inconvenience me, but the notaire's have said with this being the time of year when people are on holiday the Acte de Vente may not be completed next week or the week after - which means I lose 6,000 euros deposit to the currency broker (deadline 8th August). However, losing the flat I've had an offer accepted on in Scotland would be more devastating as I'd be homeless and the exchange date for that is 15th August. And it's difficult for me to phone the currency broker or solicitor in Scotland for advice, as they are going to say "what is the new date" and I don't have one. So, at the moment I'm not sleeping and being violently sick - at least I should lose some weight. And I've sold all my furniture, so can't stay on here anyway. Andrew, can you reassure me that at this late stage, the bank aren't likely to change their mind about giving the buyers a loan? That would be horrendous!
Unfortunately for you, Gillian, it's quite normal. The date for put in the compromis de vente for signing the acte authentique is just a rough guess/guide as they have to put some thing in but it's very often not that date (I've bought and sold 6 places here and never signed on the day we originally pencilled-in).
Bon chance !
It happens quite a lot, in all honesty, particularly at this time of year when people are on vacation.