A sales agreement for a real estate purchase contains suspensive clauses. Among them, obtaining a real estate loan. But if it is the buyer who refuses the loan, can he recover the amounts deposited? The answer is yes. Explanations.
The buyer of real estate who obtains a credit less than the maximum amount provided for by the suspensive condition of the promise of sale is no longer required to purchase the property. The buyer is not forced to accept a credit offer of a lower amount, the Court of Cassation ruled on December 14, 2022.
This story, relayed by The world, began in 2018. The suspensive condition required a buyer to find a loan of a maximum amount of 414,000 euros repayable in 25 years at 2%. However, the bank did not have offered only 407,000 euros.
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The condition could not be fulfilled, so the buyer requested to abandon the operation and request the return of the deposited sums: 38,600 euros. The seller opposed this, considering that the buyer was obliged to accept the bank’s offer, in accordance with the contract and had prevented the fulfillment of the suspensive condition. The latter should therefore be considered fulfilled.
The Créteil judicial court found the buyer wrong but the Paris Court of Appeal overturned the decision on October 22, 2021. The Court of Cassation confirmed this latest judgment on December 14, 2022, finding that the buyer cannot be forced to accept an insufficient offer, if he does not have an additional individual contribution allowing the financing to be completed.
Real estate purchase: the suspensive conditions not to be forgotten