Hello to you all. We have just completed a house sale that took 10 months from the time the offer was accepted to the time of completion. It took 6 months for the 'compromis' to be signed !!
No reason for this delay, all surveys, documents etc were submitted, no problems, it should have been a straight forward sale. From the very start the notaire was unresponsive, and on a number of occasions misleading with info. Is there any way we can lodge a complaint against him to stop this happening to other people ?
No, not at all, it was a straight forward sale, all paperwork was ready, geometre, diagnostic etc, it was simply the notaire, very slow. And often told me the delays were due to other parties but when I checked with them they had done as they were asked straight away. It was a shambles.
The site you get to with David's link is also available in English. At the top right of the page you should see FR. If you pass the cursor over this you will get a drop-down menu where you click on EN. See Useful Links/Legal Aid.
It often seems everybody wishes! Some friends, not 'foreigners' but well educated and knowledgeable French people, bought a piece of land from a neighbouring farmer to extend their own to its natural boundary. Everything seemed fine, all arrangements made and agreed, the geometre came and did all of the measurements and put in the markers. Three months later they contacted the notaire together with the farmer. She said that she had none of the paperwork although both couples had sat at her desk signing together, the geometre had taken his paperwork in personally and given it to her rather than the secretary and therefore it need no more than a few minutes for it to be completed. Nothing was found and then she had the audacity to say it would all have to be done again including the geometre going out to redo his work because in her opinion what he done would need to be revalidated in case of changes. That would have meant them paying him again. Their complaint to the prefecture was responded to with a kind of 'mistakes happen and we should accept that' letter.
I am sure SFN people will come up with many more comparable accounts and no solution about what to do so easily. Ironically, my OH is just off to see a local notaire who is normally exceptionally good who has dithered on a compromis de vente for at least two weeks more than is necessary with the would be buyer arriving from Vienna this weekend hoping to sign then go home next Wednesday.