Question: Once I have signed a sales contract on a house, do I have the opportunity to change my mind and withdraw the offer?

Kenneth Kavanagh

Answer: Once you and the vendor have signed the contract for a property you will be required to send a deposit – normally 10 per cent of the purchase price on resale property and between 2 and 5 per cent on new off-plan property.

You should then receive notification that you have a seven-day cooling-off period during which you can change your mind and withdraw from the purchase without having to give any reason.

If you decide to withdraw, you would need to send a recorded delivery letter to the notaire confirming that you wish to withdraw within this time. I would suggest that you also email the notaire and/or agent so that they can see that the letter is on its way and perhaps send it by special next-day delivery.

It must be received by post; an email or fax on its own will not do and it must be addressed to the notaire who is named on your contract. The notaire will then arrange to return your deposit to the account he received it from. If you are buying an off-plan property you should also send a recorded delivery letter to the developer, cancelling the purchase.

If you sign the contract but don’t pay the deposit and then change your mind, you will find that you will be contacted by the notaire as he will require a letter from you before he can cancel the contract. This should not be confused with making an offer, if you make an offer and a contract is drawn up for you but you decide not to proceed before signing it, you just need to let the agent know that you have had a change of heart.

Once the seven days are over you are then committed to the purchase. However the contract may be subject to certain conditions. If you are applying for a mortgage from a French bank, the contract will be subject to the mortgage being approved within the terms stated on the contract. If your application is turned down, you will need to send the letter from the bank confirming they will not lend you the money, together with your letter withdrawing from the sale, by recorded delivery to the notaire who will then arrange for your deposit to be returned and will cancel the sale.

Local searches

In some cases the contract might be conditional on getting a certificat d’urbanisme which is required if you wish to turn a building previously used for animal housing, ie a barn, into living accommodation. However,

if you want to have a survey you will need to get this done within the seven days as it is not a standard condition that is acceptable on a contract.

If all goes well, you complete on the purchase by going to the notaire’s office along with your agent and the vendors; the notaire will then report to you on the various aspects that he has looked into.

He will have done local searches, checked any plans for the property you are purchasing, checked that there are no outstanding loans on the property and that the vendors are the true owners. He will have collected reports from the vendor on termites, lead, asbestos etc.

If any of these reports bring up a situation which makes the property differ vastly from the one you thought you were buying, ie the sizes of the living space or a recently discovered termite infestation, and the situation cannot be resolved then you would have the right to withdraw from the sale at this time.

If you pull out of the sale for none of these reasons you will lose your deposit and in certain cases, the vendor may have reason to take action against you to reclaim any further losses he may have due to the broken agreement. By the same token, should the vendor pull out you will get your deposit back plus an equivalent amount from the vendor.