Scammed or not?

  • Erstellt am 2015-12-11 11:13:25

sauerpeter

2015-12-11 11:13:25
  • #1
Hello everyone,

some of you might know that we were briefly about to purchase a plot of land. However, it dragged on because we then happened to find tons of tar-containing roofing felt. We canceled the notary appointment, which was scheduled for three days later. Not because we didn’t want to anymore, but because we wanted the owners to dispose of it. Apparently, no one knew about it; the real estate agent dismissed this huge pile as a trivial matter.
In addition, we also found asbestos parts hidden under leaves (probably overgrown over the years) as well as an old oil barrel. Broken in the middle and empty. It could generally have been empty or also in the ground. Last but not least, a locked bucket with white powder, no idea what that was. All of this was quite well hidden under the overgrown grass.

Well, that’s the short backstory. We then negotiated directly with the three owners regarding cost coverage or how to proceed. The agent was not capable of or didn’t want to handle this. I don’t know.
The end of the story was that one owner withdrew from the sale and the other one copied him like in kindergarten. It simply took too long for them.

Now the invoice from the notary has landed with us. Since there are two owners, there are two drafts of the purchase contract, which means about 400 euros each that we have to pay. We wanted to go through with the purchase until the very end, as is clear from the communication via email. Even when they backed out, we still tried to convince them otherwise.
The curious thing now is that the plot has been sold shortly after. We think they were playing both sides; unfortunately, the agent is a snake. The new buyer apparently paid more than we did, so they rejected us.

And now we have to bear the costs?
That’s absolute rip-off...
Then I could also pretend to purchase a property 100 times, have the owner commission the notary, and then back out, so that they incur the costs... Where would that lead us to? What kind of regulations are these?

The draft contract itself states that the party who exercises the right of withdrawal has to bear the costs. But the caseworker just said that doesn’t apply because the contract has not been signed yet.
But if it were signed, then there wouldn’t be any way to withdraw from the contract anymore. Not to mention, I’m not paying the real estate transfer tax or anything like that.

Do you know anything about this or has anyone had similar experiences? My legal expenses insurance doesn’t help because they have excluded such a case from their coverage. I’m with the Bauherren-Schutzbund. Does that help me?
What can I do?
I can’t pay that crap just because they think someone else will pay them more money... or because it took them too long or whatever...
 

sauerpeter

2015-12-11 11:17:43
  • #2
I know that the person who commissioned the notary bears the notary costs. Nothing in my emails indicates that I explicitly commissioned him. I only wrote that we bought at that price back then (before we found all the rubbish). I signed something with the broker, but I don’t remember exactly what it was. I lost the paper but requested a new copy from the broker. I read everything carefully back then, but I really forgot if that was it... The broker selected the notary and fixed it from the very beginning.
 

nordanney

2015-12-11 11:25:52
  • #3
Lay opinion: Whoever orders the music pays - it is as you commissioned the notary (that's how I understood it). That the sales contract did not come about is primarily your fault, as you let the appointment fall through (even if the reasons for this lie with the property).
 

MarcWen

2015-12-11 11:43:12
  • #4
First, let's see exactly what you signed, meaning which contractual obligations you have entered into. For example, two days ago we signed a "reservation order for the conclusion of a notarized purchase contract." We paid 500 euros as a deposit for this. If we withdraw, the 500 euros are lost; if the contract is concluded, they are credited. In addition, we have to pay the applicable notary pre-contract fees if we change our mind.

So the question remains, what exactly did you sign with the real estate agent and who backed out? It would certainly have been wiser to wait for the preliminary contract. It usually contains a clause saying "free of encumbrances..."
 

sauerpeter

2015-12-11 11:50:35
  • #5
How to wait for the preliminary contract? That was a draft contract. Before we found all that, everyone agreed on the contract and the broker then scheduled the notary appointment. And the contract that everyone agreed on would then have been signed. There was no preliminary contract. The clause "free of encumbrances" would be good. Rather, it said "the property is bought as it is and as it lies" or something similar...
 

sauerpeter

2015-12-14 13:50:59
  • #6
Our legal protection doesn't cover a cent here, as it seems. We were referred to Paragraph 3 in the [AGBs], which states that everything related to the purchase of real estate is not covered or insured. Crap... then we'll probably have to bear the costs ourselves... great lesson learned... because of greedy grandpas... I could puke... and that especially now when a child is on the way :(
 

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