1 - Sales Mandate:

Obligation to hold a mandate:

The real estate agent cannot negotiate or engage in a transaction operation (the rule also applies to management activity) without holding a mandate.

Furthermore, they cannot collect a commission without a mandate and are subject to criminal penalties if they contravene this rule.

This mandate must comply with the formal and substantive conditions set by the Hoguet Law and its implementing decree.

Possibility of holding a double mandate:

The real estate agent can be mandated by both the seller and the purchaser, whom they will bring together for the sale of the building or business. The Court of Cassation has indeed admitted the validity of this double mandate, which allows the intermediary to receive double remuneration for the same operation.

Obligation to register the mandate in the specific register:

All mandates must be listed in chronological order in a register of mandates conforming to a model set by decree (Arr. 15 Sept. 1972, ann. II: JO, 28 Sept., rect. 17 Nov.). This obligation applies to the agent whether or not they collect sums of money.

The registration number in the mandate register is recorded on the copy of the mandate that remains in the possession of the principal (mandant). This register is pre-numbered continuously and bound. It must be kept for 10 years.

2 - Visit Slip (Bon de visite):

The visit slip is an alternative devised by professionals to prove their intervention in the completion of the transactions entrusted to them. It has become essential for the real estate agent to be able to justify their steps, both towards unethical buyers and towards principals anxious to know if due diligence is being carried out in accordance with the granted mandate.

The visit slip typically mentions three sets of information:

 
• the identity of the purchaser or the persons for whom the agent carries out the visit;
 
• the address of the visited property, its summary description, and its characteristics;
 
• the mention of the mandate number allowing the agent to conduct the visit.

3 - Offer to Purchase and Unilateral Promise to Purchase:

The unilateral promise to purchase is the agreement by which the promising party undertakes to acquire, for a fixed price, a property belonging to the beneficiary of the commitment. It allows differentiating the promise to purchase from the offer to purchase, which contains only a simple proposition to acquire the property.

4 - Sales Promise:

When the purchaser agrees with the seller on the conditions of the sale, particularly the price, they may sign:

 
• if it is an existing home (ancien) or a new home already completed, a preliminary sales agreement (compromis de vente), in order to lock the transaction and allow the Notary time to gather all the essential documents for the preparation of the authentic deed. This preliminary sales agreement can be signed with the intervention of a Notary, but this is not an obligation.

5 - A Withdrawal Period:

Since June 1, 2001, if you buy a new or an existing home, you benefit from either a right of withdrawal (délai de rétractation) or a cooling-off period (