Re: Follow up for Guermantes
thank you for your explantion.. the requirment to keep the forest for example.. please detail.. Euro amounts approx, liability, history, , also approximate taxes on the porperty, post sale. thank you
----- Original Message ----
From: FIGEROU edouard.figerou.75024@paris.notaires.fr
To: jeeproject@yahoo.com
Cc: MDEBOISSESON@DARROISVILLEY.COM; AMAILLOT@DARROISVILLEY.COM; CPARPET@DARROISVILLEY.COM; ygrolleaud@DARROISVILLEY.COM; DKIESQ@aol.com; michel.degroux@degroux-brugere.com
Sent: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 5:16:28 AM
Subject: Follow up for Guermantes
Dear Mr Epstein,
Following your questions to Mr de Boisseson and the email of Mr Indyke, I would like to come back on the following points:
1)- Conditions of the contract:
We must distinguish :
The general conditions of the contract which mainly give information on the status of the property and which are for most of them fulfilled or will be fulfilled at the signature of the preliminary contract (regular chain of ownership, no mortgage or lien on the property, no urbanism risk whatsoever and technical surveys),
The specific conditions which could theoritically be inserted on a contractual basis in a preliminary contract (such as authorization for the works, satisfaction with the neighbours activities etc.).
Unfortunately, the vendors waived the principle of inserting such specific conditions. The main reason being probably tax issues.
The approximate 60 days period between the signing of the promesse de vente and the completion of the sale is only required for the preemptive right of the agricultural organisation also called SAFER and could not be used to retreive back.
There will be no escape way during that period unless you accept to risk to loose the down payment.
If you still need to make up your mind on that project of sale, you actually have until March 15 (latest date accepted by the vendors for the signing of the préliminary contract). Before that date you may request whatever inspections (environmental report, marketability, improvments estimate...) you could think appropriate. The best way being probably direct talk between Mr Molyneux and the agent of the seller (Mr Henri d'Ormesson).
But I cannot guarantee what effect such additional requests may have on the negociations. It should furthermore be noted that some of your concerns are not, from a legal standpoint, related to the property (neighbours) or not involved with the sale (list of additional furnitures, hiring of housekeeper).
- Signing of the promissory of sale :
The deadline for the signing of that preliminary contract is March 15, 2007. Meanwhile you could juge appropriate to confirm your interest in that property to the vendors by paying through my accountability the 10% deposit and disclosing the agreement you signed last week or, in signing the pre-sale contract before the deadline abovementionned.
It has never been said the down payment will be of 5% since when we discussed that issue I was not in contact with the vendors. However, it is true there is a usual pratice for important amount to split the down payment in two. Half is paid at the signing of the provisionnal agreement and the remaining half whatever happens at the time of the date of the sale completion. Regarding the length of the dealings, the vendors now ask for 10 %.
We can organize to make interest on the down payment (maximum of 2 or 3%/ year) if you wire transfer the money but due to french administrative process we need some time to do so.
3- In that general context, I am glad to answer to the following questions raised by Mr Indyke:
The SAFER Preemption Right is the possibility for that agricultural administration within two months to buy the property by priority to any other bidder.
We hear from Mr Molyneux major works will be undertaken in the chateau without any other precisions. As, he of course know, in such historical buildings the approval of such works must be given by the architect in charge of those protected buildings and by the minister of the culture himslef. It probably takes a minimum of 6 months to get such approvals.
We will get the technical surveys for asbestos, lead, energy consumption (...) before the signing of the preliminary contract. Those are only information given to the buyer thanks to our request but are not legally compulsory. Concerning environmental surveys, it can eventually be done prior to the preliminiary contract but it could never be a condition of the sale with regard of the reluctance of the vendors with any others conditions.
As far as we know today, based on the documents we were able to review, the property will be free and clear of encoumbrances except for the renters who are legally entitled to remain on the parcels they rent. They are legally protected pursuant to Act 1989 (loi sur le bail d'habitation). As such, there is no legal way to ask to have the house free of leases and occupancy. The only way to have the house free is six months before the lease expiration to notify the renter your wish to sell the property, or to put somebody of your family inside. If nothing is done, then the contract is automatically renewed.
When we say the file is almost complete we mean there is almost nothing else to require from a legal standpoint (we have the title of ownership, the lease, a mortgage statement, copies of the decision of classification (for historical buildings...)).
An investigation can be done to check the events undertaken by the neighbours are satisfactory and the vendors are ready to give us as much information as possible for that. However such satisfaction cannot be a condition of the contract of sale with regard of the vendors attitude.
There is no other issues we know that could effect title. However we cannot give you any information regarding marketability or improvments. You should eventually contact Mr Molyneux who dealt with the commercial and esthetic aspects of the transaction.
4- But again all those points should be elements in your decision making process before March 15th the latest and cannot, unfortunately be conditions inserted in a preliminary contract due to the specificity of that transaction (tax consideration, hitorical buildings, lengthy preliminary negociations etc.).
I will thus appreciate to receive instructions to determine if you want to sign on March 15th and if you wish menawhile to confirm your interest (after having eventually proceeded to further preliminary inquiries direct ly through Mr Molyneux).
With my best regards,
Bertrand Chardon/ Edouard Figerou
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