When you buy a house, you start a multi-step process. It is important to know each step to complete the operation in the best possible way. Let’s see in particular what the purchase proposal and the preliminary contract are.

The purchase proposal

The purchase proposal is the declaration of the buyer wishing to buy an asset at a given price. Typically, this is a pre-printed form provided by the real estate agency, along with the payment of a sum of money as a deposit. Signed, the purchase proposal contains commitments already binding for the buyer, while the seller remains free to evaluate the other offers. The purchase proposal commits only the party who signed it. Once accepted by the seller, the purchase proposal is automatically converted into a preliminary contract.

The preliminary contract

The preliminary contract (or compromise) is a real contract that obliges both parties to sign the final contract. The preliminary must indicate the main elements of the sale: the price, the house to buy, the address, a precise description with the cadastre data and the date of the final contract.

In the case of the sale of buildings under construction, special rules are defined for the preparation of the preliminary contract. It is not mandatory that the preliminary contract be stipulated by a notary, but it is good to specify with the notary what the resulting obligations are. The transcript is valid as a real reservation of the purchase of the property, this means that the seller cannot sell the property to anyone else, nor grant a mortgage on the property, nor constitute a passive servitude or any other prejudicial right. The potential creditors of the seller will not be able to register a mortgage on the property promised for sale or seize it.

From the moment of the transcription of the preliminary contract, the property is “reserved” to the future purchaser, and any transcription or recording would have no effect on him.

When registering the preliminary contract, the following taxes must be paid and will be recovered at the time of finalization:

• 0.50% on the deposit
• 3% of the amounts paid as down payment.