Ask a lawyer on the topic of Banking law

First a loan approval, then a rejection.

September 2, 2009 | 20,00 EUR | answered by Andreas Scholz

Hello,

we have the following case:

In June, we were looking for a new real estate loan to take advantage of the low market interest rates and to carry out refinancing. We approached the representative we have trusted for a long time, who has also taken care of our insurance matters.

This representative then made us a lucrative offer in July. He proposed a variable loan with a built-in interest cap, which would have resulted in a rapid decrease in our monthly expenses. He calculated the new monthly expense for us, to which we agreed, and the evaluation phase could begin. After some time, he informed us that the approval had been given, which he repeated to us (with 3 witnesses), so we could start asking the previous banks and other creditors for the redemption amounts. He naturally supported us and took care of the necessary formalities regarding the sending of the redemption amounts, so that there was never a doubt that the approval was on shaky ground. Based on this trust, our previous real estate banks sent the redemption amounts, so that only the redemption step was missing. But now the development this month:

The representative now said that the bank no longer financed the amount agreed upon 3 months ago, as there were problems with the loan-to-value ratio. The initial calculation, which resulted in a monthly expense of €680, now increased to €1076+x, so we now had an additional burden of over €400 to expect, even though initially everything was expected to be €680 without a doubt. In trust, we did not continue to look for alternatives and relied on the repeated assurances that everything would go smoothly, but now the opposite is true.

How can we proceed? Do we have claims for damages against the representative? We are now in a very difficult situation with our previous banks, to whom we have made flawless payments so far, but they certainly have a different impression of us now.

We kindly request your support.

Andreas Scholz

Dear questioner,

I assume that you did not conclude the contract with the bank under these conditions.

There was a contractual relationship between you and the representative, in which the representative owed you the mediation of a favorable financing opportunity. However the contractual relationship is to be classified, you are entitled to damages in case of poor performance.

However, you must have actually suffered a loss for this. If a promised loan agreement did not materialize as agreed, you would not have to pay any commission or other compensation to the representative.

Expenses that you incurred in reliance on the conclusion of the contract and which you were reasonably entitled to make can also be reimbursed.

If you have not suffered any monetary damage so far except for a possible loss of reputation, you also do not have a claim for compensation against the representative.

You cannot force the representative to conclude the promised loan agreement (with the intended conditions).

In conclusion, you do not owe the representative any compensation.

You can only claim damages if you have actually suffered such (monetary) damages.

Expenses that you incurred in reliance on the conclusion of the contract can also be claimed back from the representative.

I hope I have been able to provide you with an initial legal orientation. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

Best regards,

Andreas Scholz, Attorney