Time between the preliminary agreement and the notarized deed

September 6, 2022 7-minute read
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Délai entre compromis et acte authentique

Putting an apartment up for sale takes time. From publishing the listing to the final closing date at the notary’s office—including organizing showings and negotiating with buyers—certain administrative steps can extend the time it takes to sell. One of the most time-consuming steps is the period between the signing of the preliminary sales agreement or letter of intent to sell and the signing of the final deed of sale, which generally takes 3 months. This corresponds to the time needed to finalize the real estate purchase and enable the transfer of ownership. What exactly are the preliminary agreement and the deed of sale? Why this timeframe, our real estate agency CENTURY 21 Auteuil Immobilier in Paris's 16th arrondissement sheds light on the issue.

How much time should be allowed between the preliminary sales agreement and the final deed?

Preliminary Sales Agreement and Deed of Sale: A Quick Reminder

The preliminary sales agreement, or pre-contract of sale, is the first step in the sales process. The purpose is to bind the parties and establish all the terms under which the sale will take place, which will be final: full personal information of the respective parties, description of the property being sold, terms of the sale (purchase price, real estate agency commission, escrow), method of financing (cash or loan), report on mandatory inspections, and deadlines for completing the sale. It can be executed at the real estate agency or before a notary.

L’notarized deed of sale is the contract that definitively confirms all the terms of the sale of your apartment, as previously set forth in the preliminary sales agreement

signed by the seller and the buyer after acceptance of the offer. This is the final step in a real estate sale, during which the seller hands over the keys to the new home to the buyer.

Both of these contracts are drafted and signed at the notary's office, even though the The preliminary sales agreement may also be signed as a private document. These are legal documents that set forth all the terms and conditions of a real estate sale.

Timeframe from the signing of the preliminary sales agreement to the final deed

The average time between signing the preliminary sales agreement and the notarized deed—when you receive the funds—is about three months. This timeframe, which may seem long to you, is necessary for several reasons: 

The mandatory withdrawal period

  • In accordance with the legal provisions set forth at the time the preliminary sales agreement is signed, the buyer is entitled to a 10-day cooling-off period beginning on the date the preliminary sales agreement is signed. This cooling-off period is mandatory. The law provides the buyer with two options for withdrawing from the sale: the cooling-off period extended to ten dayssince the Macron Act and the failure to obtain mortgage required to finance the real estate purchase.
  • The buyer therefore has 10 days to cancel the purchase without giving a reason and without incurring a financial penalty. This means that if the buyer decides to withdraw during this period, the deposit (between 5 and 10% of the sale price) will be refunded to the buyer.

Verification of all documents related to the sales file and the technical inspection report file

  • When putting your apartment up for sale, you’ll need to provide several documents in order to prepare for the signing of the preliminary sales agreement and to provide the prospective buyer with complete information before the final deed of sale is signed. Certain preliminary checks are required, such as verifying whether a third party has a right of first refusal (which is the case if the property being sold is rented out), if you're selling a rented property, your tenant may have the first right to buy it, or the urban right of first refusal : The town hall may have a right of first refusal; in that case, your notary will have to notify the town hall of your intention to sell. The mayor has a maximum of 2 months to purchase the property if he or she has this right.
  • As soon as the preliminary sales agreement is signed, the notary will begin the process of verifying that all the documents required for the signing of the notarized deed—which have been submitted to the notary—are in order, including:
    – the title deed ;
    – the most recent expense statements;
    – the minutes ofgeneral meeting over the past three years;
    – property tax;
    – If the previous occupant was a tenant, a copy of the notice of termination received or the notice of termination
    provided to the tenant;
    – the Technical Asbestos Assessment (DTA) common areas;
    – the condition of pests in common areas;
    – the Building Maintenance Log;
    – the condominium bylaws;
    – Amendments to the Prospectus;
    – the mortgage statement;
    – the property manager's profile;
    – The preliminary statement dated and prepared by the property manager, which is a paid document and
    perishable.

Conditions Precedent and Loan Approval Timeline

  • The preliminary sales agreement must include at least four conditions precedent which must be resolved in order to proceed with the signing of the notarized deed:
    – The condition precedent regarding financing;
    – The mortgage statement;
    – The zoning certificate;
    – The urban right of first refusal;
  • The buyer is allowed a period of time to secure a loan. It is therefore necessary to give the buyer time to obtain a loan if the buyer is financing the purchase with a bank loan. Legally, a minimum period of 30 days is provided for starting from the signing of the preliminary sales agreement, but in reality, the situation is different. A financing offer within this timeframe is unlikely. In practice, the timeframe varies between 45 and 60 days.

Good to know:

  • To shorten the time between signing the preliminary sales agreement and the final deed, it is important to thoroughly prepare all the sale documents as soon as the property is listed.
  • If the buyer receives two loan denials, he or she is entitled to request thecancellation of the preliminary sales agreement without any financial penalty: his advance must be refunded to him.

Is it possible to speed up the signing of the notarized deed at the notary’s office, or to extend the time between the preliminary agreement and the deed of sale?

Are you considering extending or shortening the time between the preliminary sales agreement and the final deed? It is entirely possible to set a different timeframe, with the exception of two statutory deadlines, which do not depend on your notary’s responsiveness and cannot be changed:

  • the buyer’s right of withdrawal, which must be at least 10 days.
  • the period for waiving the city council's right of first refusal.

 However, by following a few guidelines, you can speed up the process:

  • by submitting all the documents required for the sale to your notary before signing the preliminary agreement, which will avoid numerous back-and-forth exchanges and save you time.
  • be responsive, if all issues are known and addressed at the time of signing the compromise or the preliminary sales agreement, you'll avoid wasting time once the preliminary agreement is signed.
  • It’s in your best interest not to set overly short deadlines for signing, because if, for example, the buyer doesn’t secure a loan by the deadline, you’ll have to start the entire sales process over again. 

Furthermore, once the preliminary sales agreement has been signed, it is possible to sign the final deed before the three-month deadline expires. To do so, the conditions precedent must be fulfilled, and the notary handling the sale must have completed all necessary procedures. It is also possible to agree to extend the deadline specified in the preliminary sales agreement, particularly if additional time is needed to secure a mortgage, but this extension cannot exceed 18 months.

In conclusion, while the minimum time between a preliminary agreement and the deed of sale is three months, in practice it may take longer. A notary’s responsiveness cannot shorten the legal timeframes, but it is possible to speed up the process by submitting all documents required for the sale as quickly as possible, provided they are in order and have been verified by the notary.

Please feel free to contact our real estate agencies CENTURY 21 Auteuil Immobilier and CENTURY 21 Auteuil Seine ; our transactions team is available to answer any questions you may have. You can contact us by phone at 01 42 15 16 21 or 01 56 07 16 21, or by email at: auteuil@century21.fr or auteuilseine@century21.fr

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