Withdrawal of a Purchase Offer

October 10, 2022 5-minute read
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Rétractation d’une offre d’achat

When you’ve viewed a property you like and decide to move forward with the purchase, you can submit a purchase offer to the seller. This is a proposal you make to the seller based on your terms, which confirms your interest in purchasing the property that’s for sale. It’s a way to express your intent to buy by specifying the amount you’re willing to pay for the property—either at the seller’s asking price or at a lower price. The seller, of course, has the right to reject your purchase offer if it does not meet their expectations. However, if they accept and countersign it, they are committed to selling the property to you.

Withdrawing from a Purchase Offer: Is It Possible?

Is it possible to back out after accepting a purchase offer?

Our real estate agency in Paris's 16th arrondissement provides insight into the ins and outs of a real estate purchase offer, including the commitments it entails for both the seller and the buyer.

As a reminder, a purchase offer is a way to reserve a property under terms set by the buyer. The buyer commits to purchasing the property if the seller accepts the offer. A purchase offer that is extended through the signing of a preliminary contract is intended to lead to the signing of a bill of sale.
A purchase offer is a written document in the form of a letter of intent to purchase, which must include the following information:

  • Property Description
  • Offer Date
  • Price set by the buyer and financing arrangements (cash, loan, etc.)
  • Offer Validity Period

Once the purchase offer has been submitted to the seller, it can no longer be modified, and once the seller has accepted the offer, the cooling-off or withdrawal period no longer applies.

Note:

  • A real estate purchase offer sent to the seller by email is entirely possible and legally valid. To be valid, it must be firm and clearly state the intention to purchase the property, leaving no room for ambiguity on the part of the seller.
  • However, a verbal purchase offer has no legal standing with the seller.

Once the seller has received an offer to purchase a property, several options are available to them:

  • He may decide to accept the purchase offer at the proposed price; however, he is not obligated to accept an offer at that price.
  • He may decline the offer.
  • The seller may also make a counteroffer if he or she believes that the price offered by the buyer is not sufficient. The seller has the right to negotiate and propose adjustments to the buyer.

How do you withdraw from a real estate purchase offer?

From the seller's perspective:

The seller’s acceptance of the buyer’s purchase offer does not allow the seller to back out once the offer has been accepted in writing, even if the seller has since received a more favorable offer or decides not to sell the property after all.

If the seller withdraws a purchase offer, the seller may face legal action requiring them to sell the apartment to the buyer whose purchase offer was accepted. The buyer has the right to sue the seller to obtain compensation or even to initiate a forced sale; however, the process can be lengthy and costly.

From the buyer's perspective:

If an offer to purchase is accepted by the owner of the property being sold, the buyer is contractually obligated, until the preliminary contract is signed, to complete the transaction upon receipt of the seller’s written consent.. In fact, once the seller has accepted the offer to purchase the property, the buyer’s commitment becomes binding, and the buyer can no longer withdraw from the sale (except during the legally mandated cooling-off period following the signing of the preliminary sales agreement, which we will discuss in more detail below).

On the other hand, if the seller declines your offer to purchase the property, the agreement between the two parties becomes null and void, and you are released from any contractual obligation to the owner. The same applies if you specified a deadline for a written response in your purchase offer and the seller fails to meet that deadline; in this case, the purchase offer is invalidated, and the buyer is released from any obligation to the seller.

Another possibility is that the seller declines your purchase offer and makes you a counteroffer at an intermediate price. If the seller is not satisfied with some of your terms of sale, they have the right to negotiate by proposing adjustments. In the event of a counteroffer, your initial purchase offer becomes void, and you are released from any obligation to the seller.  

How long do you have to withdraw from a purchase offer?

An offer to buy is not a completely binding commitment.

In theory, the buyer is contractually obligated to complete the transaction if the seller accepts the buyer’s offer and is required to sign a preliminary sales agreement.

A preliminary sales agreement is a preliminary contract in which both parties—the seller and the buyer—agree on the terms under which the real estate transaction will take place; it has a much stronger legal binding force than a purchase offer.

However, the buyer is entitled to a right of withdrawal 10 days from the date of notification by certified mail with return receipt of the preliminary sales agreement. You therefore have 10 days to withdraw from the accepted purchase without providing a reason or incurring a penalty. To do so, you must send the owner a letter of cancellation by certified mail with return receipt requested before the deadline. Once this legal deadline has passed, the seller is entitled to claim damages from you.

For any additional information, our team is here to answer all your questions about your real estate purchase plans. Please feel free to contact our two real estate agencies, CENTURY 21 Auteuil Immobilier and CENTURY 21 Auteuil Seine, by phone at 01 42 15 16 21 or 01 56 07 16 21, or by email: auteuil@century21.fr or auteuilseine@century21.fr

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