Compromis de Vente

Today we have exchanged contracts on a piece of building land. Although we have bought several houses, this is the first piece of building land we have bought and I wondered if the procedure would be the same as for bricks and mortar. This is also the first time that we have bought anything direct from a notaire (solicitors, employed by the government to act for both the vendor and the purchaser). In the past we have bought through estate agents.

We arrived at the notaires' office, an ugly building with very obtrusive pale green shutters on the out shirts of the town. We waited in the reception while the harassed receptionist answered telephone calls, tried to free the photocopier of a paper jam, dealt with a couple looking to buy a house with 3 bedrooms and a garden suitable for a dog and got up every time someone entered or left the building as the front door never seemed to close properly.

We were soon ushered into the notaires' office, a room with a high ceiling, a large window but so obscured with security bars that it lets in little light and white walls. There is very little furniture, a large desk, three chairs and an open wardrobe which is used as the filing cabinet.

We know the notaire reasonably well as we have used him in all of our previous acquisitions. The Compromis de Vente (sale agreement) is shorter than those we have signed in the past.. 7 pages rather than 13 !!... We explain that we hope, in time, to build three or four houses on the land and that we have met with the Marie, the geometre (land surveyors) and a soil testing company and they have all agreed, that in principle, this is achievable.

We ask for a clause to be inserted into the sale agreement that says that if the soil tests confirm that it is not possible to build on the land then we are not obliged to complete the sale. The notaire agrees wholeheartedly with our suggestion and goes one step further and inserts another clause that states the we are not obliged to complete the sale if it is not possible to build four houses on the land !!.

After signing each page of the Compromis de Vente, we hand over a cheque for the deposit and we were on our way, ensuring that we firmly closed the door on the way out !!