scrubbedexpat056

Hi All,
I saw this as part of an advert for a house in Carcassonne. Googling it, it appears to mean a house sold on behalf of joint inheritors. Have I got that right? Without having seen it, the house is very reasonably priced. Possibly too reasonably. Is there a potential problem with a sale of this sort? Does the Notaire's responsibilities include checking that all those with a possible interest in a house have been duly consulted? I have read at least one horror story on BE where the buyers turned up with a lorry full of belongings to find the sister of the seller legally ensconced and refusing to move out.

dmu

Hi, the Notaire should check that all the heirs are in agreement and all must come to sign the Compromis de Vente, but I personally would be wary of buying a joint inheritance, in case the deceased died intestate and one of the rightful heirs remained unknown to the Notaire (e.g. an estranged daughter).
Was it an advert placed by a Notaire, an Agent, or a private individual? The former would be more likely to give all the details, the latter two more likely to keep quiet about any potential problems....
The fact of the house being very reasonably priced might also be telling.... Is it by chance a Vente aux Enchères (Sale by Auction)? These always start at a low price.
HTH

scrubbedexpat056

Hi dmu,
It's a private sale and not at auction. I'm only mildly interested since we are at the stage of just searching the internet before heading to Carcassonne in our boat where we'll do a proper search on foot. From the layout it looks a little like a former shop that has been slightly strangely converted with a bathroom downstairs off the main, L shaped room and a kitchen upstairs along with the bedrooms. Either way this may account for the price.
In the worst case scenario, what redress would I have should a rightful heir pop up once I have invested time and limited money in a house? Is there any insurance that could be taken out against this? Surely it must happen often enough here in France for there to be some sort of system?

cyrian

It is a normal practice in France for both seller and buyer to use the same notaire.
However, there is nothing to stop you from using another notaire if you wish.
The fees are the same either way - the notaires don't like it because they only get half the fee each.
You can check what is possible - or not - with the notaire.
We used our own notaire for advice regarding inheritance tax in France and for the property purchase.
HTH

dmu

Can't help there, some one more in the know will come along, or find out about a possible "system" from the Notaire before signing the Compromis.
What was the outcome of the horror story on BE that you mentioned?

scrubbedexpat056

I can't remember the outcome exactly. They actually felt sorry for the woman who refused to leave since they could sympathise with her predicament. The agent helped sort out free, or at least cheap, storage for their stuff and cheap, local accommodation while they tried to sort out the mess. I think they ended up buying something else. It was a thread off a thread and I can't remember even how I got to the original. Maybe someone else remembers the story.

Annetje

We have bought twice (first a house and me on my own a plot of land) a succession property with multiple heirs. The only problem was that, the first time, one of the sellers went on holiday without warning so we had to wait for her to come back. Maybe we were lucky ?

Novocastrian

It's over 10 years ago so I'd forgotten, but the house I'm typing from now was also bought from a succession. The owner had moved in with his second wife who jointly inherited his house in Normandy (this one) together with the 2 adult children from his first marriage. The 2 "children" hated the second wife's guts and they weren't even on speaking terms, but all three parties just wanted shot of this place and to get their mitts on the lolly. We got a good deal because of that, so no regrets.