# Connecting To The Main Drains.



## TommyTW

I have a question for the Forum. My wife and I are purchasing a house in Magnac-Laval. We were only days away from signing the final papers with the Notary. Our real estate company who has assisted us in this purchase contacted us and two days ago now and informed us that the Notary had found that the house was not connected to the village's main drains. In the sales advertising for this house, it advertised the house was connected to the village main drains. In our sales contract that we and the present owner signed back in March it spelled out that the house was connected to the main drains. We signed a legally binding sales contract. We are not sure yet if the present owner will pay to have the house connected to the main drains. We have already paid in full and sent transferred the entire amount of funds to purchase the house and paid the Notary fee and the Agency fee. Our question is can we be held responsible to pay to have the house connected to the main drains if the owner refuses to pay for this to be done? We realize this is a legal question, but we would like to hear Forum members thoughts after hearing the details of this situation. Thank you very much.


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## kazoliver28

Hi, We have a similar situation but have only sent the deposit and signed compromis. We found out there is no mains drainage certificate and the Marie won’t issue one unless a condemned fosse is inspected. We’ve been told erreur sur La chose can be used to withdraw from the sale and have our deposit returned. I think there is a clause about hidden defects which means you can take the seller to court for the money to connect to the mains if they won’t pay. But that’s only if you find out after signing. If you sign and hope for the best they could argue you signed even though you knew no mains. Why did you pay in full before signing? I think you should refuse to sign unless a clause is put in saying they will pay for the connection. Or you should get quote for mains connection and get them to reduce house price by that amount. Is there a fosse connected? If so you could be liable for a non conforming fosse! Erreur sur La chose should cover you if you want to threaten to withdraw from sale and have all your money refunded. but someone else may know more. Good luck !


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## TommyTW

kazoliver28 said:


> Hi, We have a similar situation but have only sent the deposit and signed compromis. We found out there is no mains drainage certificate and the Marie won’t issue one unless a condemned fosse is inspected. We’ve been told erreur sur La chose can be used to withdraw from the sale and have our deposit returned. I think there is a clause about hidden defects which means you can take the seller to court for the money to connect to the mains if they won’t pay. But that’s only if you find out after signing. If you sign and hope for the best they could argue you signed even though you knew no mains. Why did you pay in full before signing? I think you should refuse to sign unless a clause is put in saying they will pay for the connection. Erreur sur La chose should cover you if you want to threaten to withdraw from sale and have money refunded. but someone else may know more. Good luck !


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## TommyTW

Thank you for the fast reply. Thank you for that information. We paid in full because right now the currency conversion rate is so favorable to us, and it saved us several thousand dollars to convert to Euros right now. Thanks Tommy & Hilde


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## kazoliver28

No problem but seriously don’t sign until it’s sorted one way or another. You must get any existing fosse checked, condemned and mains connected. The seller must finance all this. If not then walk with all your money returned.
Best wishes 
Karen


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## mohsel

your money is not at the seller yet, they are held by the notaire .. so it is all up to you whether to continue or not...
the notaire should help you understand your options.


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## TommyTW

mohsel said:


> your money is not at the seller yet, they are held by the notaire .. so it is all up to you whether to continue or not...
> the notaire should help you understand your options.


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## TommyTW

Thank you very much for that information. If this whole deal folds up would you think we would get all our money back including the Notary fee and the agency fee or just the money, we have paid for the house? Thank you


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## ccm47

It is possible to renegotiate whilst at the notaires. We bought a property to rent out which was one of two adjacent terraced houses. The mairie did not like the drainage arrangement between the two, so a €3000 reduction was offered in the office by the owner, which we thought was very reasonable. It eventually cost a mere €75 to sort plus labour.
I think you'll find that the agency fee is not due to be paid until a house sale is completed, so NO sale, No fee. In this region, if not elsewhere, all agency fees are paid by the vendor not the purchaser.
The notaire's fees would also be much reduced as these normally include the sales taxes so No sale, No tax. I'm not sure of the legal situation regarding work done on contract preparation.
Best of luck with sorting out this hurdle to your satisfaction.


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## Bevdeforges

Just FYI - the notaire is actually a legal officer of the court who is there to assure that all the legalities of the sale are observed. The notaire does not represent one or the other "side" in the sale. You should probably consult the notaire directly to see what he or she advises doing in this case. (You do mention that it was the notaire who advised your real estate agent of the circumstances - so do ask them directly what your legal options are.)


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## mohsel

TommyTW said:


> Thank you very much for that information. If this whole deal folds up would you think we would get all our money back including the Notary fee and the agency fee or just the money, we have paid for the house? Thank you


I think you should... you were buying something but the reality is different, this is why the notaire notified you .. in fact the notaire's role is to make sure everything is correct ... anyway, go to the notaire, discuss your options and ask all the questions you have ... and do not sign anything until you settle up everything


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## TommyTW

We thank each of you who responded to our question. Each reply was very helpful. This Forum is so very helpful, and we are glad it is here and helps others also. Thank you, Tommy & Hilde.


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## Peter A

We live in Magnac Laval and love the place. Hope everything works out for you and we get to meet you once you’ve settled in. There’s a brilliant Facebook group called Strictly Legal France that has loads of resources covering issues like yours and a forum. Strongly suggest you join and get some advice. Peter and John


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## TommyTW

Thank you Peter & John for the kind words. We are very much looking forward to our move and living in Magnac-Laval. If you would not mind, we would like to contact you through our private e-mail .( I have been advised to remove my e-mail so hope we can connect in private) It would be of great help to us in answering some questions we have concerning the area. If you could drop us a mail we will respond back. Thank you so much and it's a pleasure to have met you. Cheers Tommy & Hilde


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## suein56

Tommy it's not a good idea to post your private email on an open forum.
Perhaps you could remove it ?

If not then hopefully Bev will be along soon to snip it out.


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## TommyTW

suein56 said:


> Tommy it's not a good idea to post your private email on an open forum.
> Perhaps you could remove it ?
> 
> If not then hopefully Bev will be along soon to snip it out.


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## TommyTW

Consider it done!!


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## BackinFrance

You can private message in the forum via the conversation function. Click on the Avatar of the person you want to message and select conversation.


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## TommyTW

Thank you very much!!


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## Lalla

Peter A said:


> We live in Magnac Laval and love the place. Hope everything works out for you and we get to meet you once you’ve settled in. There’s a brilliant Facebook group called Strictly Legal France that has loads of resources covering issues like yours and a forum. Strongly suggest you join and get some advice. Peter and John


A bit off the thread topic, but I've looked at houses in Magnac Laval myself, and I'm wondering, what things do you especially like about the place?

Cheers 👍


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## TommyTW

We thank you for the question. Of course, what we think is appealing might not appeal to you. But here you go. In our research of Magnac-Laval before we decided to purchase a house there, we found that the location was appealing. Not too far north but not too far south either. A nice midway point in France. Magnac-Laval is a small peaceful French village where the pace of life is slow and easy, real French style. Other positives are that only a few kilometers away is the larger village of Bellac with its weekly markets and small cafes and shops. Also, within a very short distance is La Dorat which has the SNCF, Frances national railroad and direct service to Paris and most all points in France. And then very close only a short drive is lomoges France a major French City with its international airport with flights to Paris, Brussels, London and many other destination's. We were very fortunate to have met two longtime 17 yearlong residents of Magnac-Laval right here on the EXPAT FORUM. The information they passed along to us about life in Magnac-Laval really helped us feel our decision to purchase a house was a good move and an excellent choice. I guess one of the things that sealed it for us when they told us the residents of Magnac-Laval are kind and considerate and very welcoming to new residents who want to call Magnac-Laval home. Hope this helps answer your question. Very best of luck to you. Tommy & Hilde Wilkens


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