Selling your house in Veules-les-Roses : the steps through to completion

The sale of a house follows a precise legal process, from preparing the file to signing the authentic deed at the notary’s office. To sell your house in Veules-les-Roses under good conditions, you mainly need to anticipate the documents, choose the right preliminary contract and identify early any issues likely to delay the sale.

On the Alabaster Coast, many properties are old, sometimes altered over time, located on estates, subject to easements or fitted with a drainage system whose condition must be evidenced. These factors do not prevent the sale, but they must be dealt with rigorously so that the notary can prepare the final deed without avoidable difficulty.

Key points to remember

• The deed of sale for an existing property must legally be drawn up and signed before a notary.
• If a preliminary contract or promise has already been signed, the non-professional buyer will in principle already have benefited from a 10-day withdrawal period.
• In the absence of a preliminary contract, the non-professional buyer has a 10-calendar-day cooling-off period before signing the authentic deed, and no sum may be requested during this period.
• A unilateral promise under private signature must be registered within 10 days, and this registration costs €125.
• After signing, the notary will in principle pay the price to the seller within a period not exceeding 1 month, then the buyer will receive their title deed approximately 6 months after the sale.

Prepare the sale file before signing anything

The first step is to gather the documents describing the house and your situation. A complete file streamlines the promise, the preliminary agreement and then the final deed.

For a detached house, you will generally need to allow for:

• an identity document and, depending on the circumstances, the marriage certificate or civil solidarity pact agreement;
• a copy of the title deed ;
• plans, cadastral references, planning permission, works authorisations and certificate of conformity, if they exist;
• documents relating to easements;
• if the property is occupied by a third party, the current leases or documents proving the departure of the former tenants;
• items relating to sanitation;
• structural damage insurance when it is still valid;
• the technical diagnostic file valid on the date of the promise or preliminary agreement.

In Veules-les-Roses and the neighbouring communes, it is advisable to investigate planning permissions early, particularly for an extension, a converted outbuilding or older works. The same applies to documents relating to drainage and rights of way or rights to light.

If you are wondering about the property’s value, particularly in the event of an inheritance, gift or partition, a property valuation at market value may be useful. For an initial assessment, you can request a free, no-obligation valuation.

Check the information that must be disclosed to the buyer

The seller does not merely provide documents: they must also disclose to the buyer information they know that may be decisive for the buyer's consent. According to Service Public, this may concern the content of the contract, the status of the parties or the characteristics of the property.

This may include, for example:

• significant cracks;
• of a structural problem;
• of a flood risk;
• of a costly works project in the co-ownership.

A failure to fulfil this duty to provide information may lead to the contract being cancelled. It is therefore better to clearly report a known difficulty rather than allow doubt to remain until signing.

This caution is useful for older houses, properties received by inheritance or houses in housing developments or attached to a property owners' association. If the house is a second home, take the time to gather the records beforehand.

Choosing the preliminary contract: unilateral promise or sale agreement

Before the final deed, it is possible to sign a unilateral promise of sale or a preliminary sale agreement. The two forms do not have the same effects.

Under a unilateral promise, the seller reserves the property for a beneficiary who retains a purchase option for the agreed period. If this promise is made under private signature, it must be registered within 10 days of its acceptance by the buyer. The registration fee is €125. Failing this, the promise is void.

The preliminary sale agreement records the seller’s and buyer’s mutual agreement on the sale. The promise or preliminary sale agreement must in particular specify the essential elements: the parties’ identities, a description of the property, title history, any mortgage or easement, the price, payment terms, the deadline for signing the final deed, the property’s availability and, if a professional is involved, the amount of their fees and the party responsible for paying them.

Deadlines, withdrawal and conditions precedent: what really matters

After signing the preliminary contract, several time limits overlap. They must be clearly distinguished.

The buyer’s cooling-off period

A non-professional buyer of a property for residential use has a 10-calendar-day cooling-off period after notification of the promise or preliminary contract. This period begins on the day after the first presentation of the registered letter notifying the deed. Withdrawal must be notified to the seller by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt.

The seller, however, does not have this right: under both a unilateral promise and a compromis, they are definitively committed to selling as soon as it is signed and cannot, in principle, withdraw, unless the deed provides for a withdrawal or forfeiture clause.

Conditions precedent

The preliminary contract may include conditions precedent, for example:

• obtaining a mortgage;
• obtaining a town-planning certificate;
• works to be carried out by the seller;
• the removal of a pre-emption right.

The parties are free to set the period for fulfilling these conditions. The only exception is the condition relating to obtaining a mortgage, for which a minimum period of 1 month is required.

Sums paid before completion

In a unilateral promise, a lock-in indemnity may be provided for. When the promise lasts longer than 18 months, this indemnity becomes mandatory and its minimum amount is 5 % of the sale price. In practice, its amount is between 5 % and 10 % of the price, and it is customary to pay it into the notary's escrow account rather than directly to the seller.

In a preliminary agreement, the deposit generally corresponds to 10 % of the sale price. Whether it is a lock-in indemnity or a deposit, what happens to the sum depends on what follows from the preliminary contract:

• if a condition precedent is not fulfilled without the buyer being responsible, the sum is returned to them in full;
• if the non-professional buyer withdraws within the 10-day period, the sum is returned to them within a maximum period of 21 days from the day after withdrawal; during this 10-day period, payment is moreover only permitted if the preliminary contract is concluded through an appointed professional and the sum is handed over to a professional with a financial guarantee;
• if the buyer withdraws from the purchase after this period even though the conditions precedent have been fulfilled, and without a legitimate reason such as fault by the seller, it is in principle retained by the seller;
• if the sale is completed, it is deducted from the price.

The notary's work before the final deed

Between the preliminary contract and the sale, the notary checks the legal status of the parties and the property. This step is essential to secure the authentic deed.

The notary checks in particular:

• the identity of the parties;
• their capacity to sign;
• compliance of any power of attorney ;
• the buyer’s criminal record in order to check that they are not subject to a ban on acquiring residential accommodation;
• the seller’s title to the property;
• the mortgage status;
• the applicable planning rules;
• any pre-emption rights;
• the co-owners’ pre-emption right in the event of joint ownership.

The final deed must then include useful information about the parties, the property, the payment terms, the availability date, any suspensive conditions, as well as the amount of the fees charged by the person handling the sale and the party responsible for them.

It is often at this stage that practical difficulties emerge: a shared courtyard, a right of way benefiting a neighbour, a house inherited through succession, a housing development or an incomplete drainage file. If in doubt, a notary or, depending on the circumstances, ADIL can help you assess the issue in question.

Signing the deed and what happens immediately afterwards

The deed of sale must be signed by the seller and buyer before a notary. If one of them is absent, they may be represented by proxy. The deed may be drawn up on paper or electronically. In all cases, the notary reads it out before signature.

On the day of the sale, the buyer pays the full price and notary fees. These sums, both the price and the fees, must be paid by bank transfer when they exceed €3,000. The notary gives the buyer a receipt.

The seller has no cooling-off period. However, where no preliminary contract has been signed, the non-professional buyer has a cooling-off period of 10 calendar days before the deed. During this period, no sum may be requested and the deed may not be signed. If the last day falls on a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday or non-working day, the period is extended until the following working day.

After signing:

• the notary gives the buyer a certificate of ownership ;
• it registers a copy of the deed of sale with the land registration service and the land registry;
• it then transfers the price to the seller, in principle within a period not exceeding 1 month.

The title deed is sent to the buyer approximately 6 months after signing. For a paper deed, the original, known as the minute, is kept for 75 years at the notary's office before being transferred to the public archives.

If you use a professional, check that the amount of the fees and the person responsible for them are clearly stated in the preliminary contract and then in the deed. In Veules-les-Roses, Cabinet Soudey handles sales of traditional country houses, longères, thatched cottages and flats on the Alabaster Coast; you can also consult the properties currently offered for sale to get an idea of the types of properties handled by the agency.

Frequently asked questions