Purchase of condominium

Viewing an ad

Real Estate Sale Listing presents the main features of the apartment.

It provides the following information:

• Sales price
• Condominium building, number of lots

• Annual amount of expenses of the provisional budget paid by seller
• Foreseeable expenditure listed in the energy performance diagnosis
• Possible procedures related to financial difficulties of co-ownership

It also directs you to the Georisques site where you can find out about the presence of natural and technological risks that may affect the property.

If a professional (real estate agent, notary...) is mandated by the owner to find a buyer, the advertisement specifies the amount of its fees and if they are at your or the seller's expense.

Visit the property

The on-site visit allows you not only to discover the characteristics of the accommodation, but also to see the state of maintenance of the common areas (staircase, elevator, bicycle storage, garbage bin...).

You can also visit the area to learn about possible environmental constraints.

Consult the City Hall

To find out about the foreseeable evolution of the neighborhood, public easements (for example, proximity to a historic monument) or city planning constraints applicable to the housing, you can ask the city planning department of the city hall.

You can forward an offer to purchase to the seller. This step is optional, it allows you to formalize your offer and its amount in writing.

To be valid, it must contain these indications:

• Date
• Period of validity
• Mention of the apartment concerned
• Price offered

If the owner accepts it, you're hired.

The signature of a promise of sale is not mandatory. It determines the price and conditions of the sale.

The promise can be fulfilled under one of the following 2 forms:

• Act under private signature
• Authentic instrument, this form is compulsory where the seller is a natural person and the period of validity of the compromise exceeds 18 months

At the latest, on the date the promise to sell is signed, the seller will provide you with documents and diagnostics. They inform you about the characteristics of the property. They shall be annexed to the promise to sell.

Information on the organization and operation of the co-ownership 

• Synthetic card on the organization, operation, technical and financial characteristics of the co-ownership
• Co-ownership Regulation and description of division of the building and the published amending acts
• Minutes of general meetings of the last 3 years
• Maintenance Log building
• Conclusions of the comprehensive technical diagnosis (DTG) if available
• Information notice on the rights and obligations of the co-owners and the operation of the condominium pool

Information on the financial situation of the condominium

1. Current Expense Amounts for provisional budget and charges outside the planned budget paid by the selling co-owner for the 2 fiscal years prior to the sale
2. Where it exists, the amount of the works fund attached to the lot and the last contribution paid by the selling co-owner
3. Amounts the buyer may owe to the joint owners' union for example, amount of a cash advance
4. Overall Status of unpaid charges within the joint owners' union and debt to suppliers

Building condition information (technical diagnostic case)

One technical diagnostic file must be delivered to you at the same time as the promise to sell.

It includes the following elements:

• Energy Performance Diagnostic (EDP)
• Lead Risk Assessment (Crep) of the private part
• Condition indicating the presence or absence of asbestos (asbestos diagnosis)
• State of indoor electricity installation if the installation of the private part is more than 15 years old
• State of indoor gas installation if the installation of the private part is more than 15 years old
• Status of the non-communal sewage facility if the condominium is not connected to the public sewage system
• Report on the monitoring of the connection to the public network of mandatory collective sanitation in 71 municipalities in Île-de-France to improve water quality for the 2024 Olympic Games freestyle and triathlon events
• Status of termites of the private part
• Condition relating to the risk of grouse if the building is in an area, determined by a prefectural decree, where the presence of grouse has been reported in the town hall (see with the town hall)
• Risk and pollution status (natural, mining, technological, seismic, radon...)
• Noise Diagnosis when the property is in a noise zone defined by an aerodrome noise exposure plan
• Certificate attesting the conformity of the wood-burning appliance with the installation and emission rules laid down by the prefect in the department when the property is located within the perimeter of an atmospheric protection plan
• Housing Information Booklet (CIL)
• Private area of the co-ownership lot (Loi Carrez)

Delivery of documents

The documents are delivered to you by mail, by hand or by a dematerialized process (USB key, mail). In the latter case, you agree in writing to this method of transmission.

You attest to the delivery by signing the promise of sale in front of a notary.

When the promise is drafted and signed without the presence of a notary ( the document is drawn up under private name ), you attest to the delivery of the documents in a dated and signed written form.

Dated Report

Before the sale, a dated report is transmitted by the liquidator to the notary.

This document obligatory informs you of the accounting status of the lot vis-à-vis the condominium. It also allows you to know calls for funds that you will have to pay after the purchase.

Make a deposit 

If the promise of sale provides for the payment of a deposit, it is paid at the end of the withdrawal period 10 days.

However, before the end of the withdrawal period, a remittance request can only be authorized if you are in any of the following:

• Promise made through a professional authorized to contribute to the sale (for example, a notary or real estate agent)
• Or a deposit made with a professional who has a financial guarantee dedicated to the refund of the funds deposited (recommended even in the absence of a request for payment before the end of the withdrawal period)

The prepayment amount is generally fixed between 5% and 10% the selling price. He is deducted from the total price on signature of the definitive act sales.

After signing a promise of sale, you must have a period of time to withdraw from your commitment without reason and without compensation to be paid: the withdrawal period.

Thereafter, only one condition included in the compromise allows you to opt out without penalty if it proves impracticable: it is a suspensive condition.

At the time of sale, the home insurance contract from the seller is automatically transferred to you. This prevents the home from remaining uninsured, even for a short period of time.

After the sale, you have the option, like the insurer, to cancel the transferred contract.

The trustee subscribes to a insurance contract for the common parts of the condominium.

In order to secure the sale, the entire sale price must be paid into the notary's account before the signature of the authentic instrument.

If you have a contribution, you must make a transfer to the notary's account.

The payment of the amount of a loan is requested directly by the notary to your bank.

The costs of notarial deeds are also paid upon signature of the bill of sale.

You can estimate the acquisition cost using this simulator:

Calculate the amount of the costs of acquiring a property

The authentic deed of sale is signed before a notary whom you choose. If the seller also wants the intervention of his notary, the 2 notaries share the costs without additional cost for you.

The notary may establish a power of attorney at a distance when the parties cannot go to his study to sign the deed. It may obtain their consent and signature by electronic means.

When you sign it, you must have received the following valid documents:

• Risk finding for lead exposure
• Condition indicating the presence or absence of materials or products containing asbestos (asbestos diagnosis)
• Report on the presence of termites in buildings
• State of indoor gas installation
• State of indoor electricity installation
• Control report of the non-collective sanitation or collective sanitation facility in areas where sewage and storm water discharges may affect the Olympic freestyle and triathlon events in the Seine

In the absence of any of these documents, the seller must guarantee the corresponding hidden defect.

In the absence of the state of natural and technological risks, mining, natural foreseeable, you can request cancelation of the contract or a reduction of the price if the house is located in a risk area.

The authentic bill of sale must include the registration number of the condominium in the register of condominiums.

The notary then ensures the publication of the deed of sale to the land advertising service.

The keys of the property are given to you after the signature of the definitive act.

The notary then ensures the publication of the bill of sale to the land advertising service. He'll notify a copy of the deed of ownership by hand, by letter RAR: titleContent or by a Commissioner of Justice.

This copy, bearing the stamps of the tax authorities, shall constitute the title to property.

The time limit for receiving this copy isapproximately 6 months after the signature of the bill of sale.

The trustee must be informed by the notary, the seller or by yourself of the change of ownership as soon as the sale has been signed at the notary.

Notification sent to the liquidator, preferably by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt, must specify the following information:

• Your full name and address and, subject to your consent, your e-mail address
• Surname, forenames and domicile of the representative provided as part of a good sold in division or usufruct if necessary and, subject to its agreement, its e-mail address
• Refund Terms of collective borrowing in progress, subscribed by the co-owners' union. This loan finances work within the condominium. At the time of the sale, the amounts remaining due become immediately payable. However, the repayment obligation may be passed on to the new co-owner following an agreement between the seller and you.

After notification of the sale to the liquidator, expense claims are paid by the seller or by you depending on the nature of the expenditure.

Seller pays the accrued provision due from provisional budget. These expenses correspond to the current expenditure on maintenance, operation and administration of the parts and common equipment of the building.

On the other hand, the payment of provisions for expenditure not included in the provisional budget shall be borne by the co-owner at the time when they become due. These include charges for improvement and non-maintenance work.

If too much or less of the charges related to the batch are collected at the time of the annual adjustment of the charges, the refund or payment of the difference shall be made to the person who is the co-owner at the date of approval of the accounts.