Ask a lawyer on the topic of Contract law

Sale of a house

December 5, 2009 | 40,00 EUR | answered by Andreas Scholz

Dear Sir, Madam,

In October, I wanted to sell my multi-family house and had found a buyer. However, the potential buyer backed out due to a right of way issue. Since my loan agreement had expired, I decided to keep the house and signed a new loan agreement with a term of 10 years, and started renovating one of the apartments.

Shortly after signing the loan agreement, I received a call from the former interested party, stating that they were still interested in buying the house. As a result, I exercised my right of withdrawal on the last possible day. The potential buyer had originally planned to finalize the matter in December, but due to scheduling conflicts (notary, bank, etc.), it did not work out.

Since the potential buyer will be abroad from January until the end of February and a notary appointment will only be possible in early March, I would like to ask you the following questions:

- How can I protect myself (I am missing rental income from 3 months and potential payments from my withdrawal)?
- How do I draft a potential preliminary contract?

I am a regular employee and buying the house back then was a huge mistake.

Andreas Scholz

Dear inquirer,

Your issue could be resolved by securing a buyer's offer. However, this would require notarial certification. In the buyer's offer, the potential buyer commits to purchasing the property and also agrees that the offer will be valid until a certain deadline. By making this commitment, the buyer is bound to the offer until the specified deadline, and is obligated to purchase the property if you accept the offer within that timeframe through notarial certification.

Such an offer - and the process as a whole - is only binding when declared before a notary. Since the buyer is still in the country, arranging a notarial appointment in the near future seems feasible.

In conclusion, I recommend insisting on a buyer's offer for full legal certainty. Once a notarial offer is in place, you will not face any risks, as the sale will then depend solely on your decision.

I hope this information is helpful to you. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Best regards,

Andreas Scholz, Attorney at Law