You have a project to sell, purchase or rent a property. Following a death, you have to manage a succession of assets and decide to sell or rent all or part of a building or real estate asset that belongs to you, in full ownership, bare ownership or usufruct, or in joint ownership.

We can assist you in your project to sell, purchase or rent your property.

1. Your lawyer's activity as a real estate representative

Since 2009, the Rules of Procedure of the Paris Bar Association allow lawyers to act as real estate representatives on an accessory basis. In other words, your lawyer can, in addition to his traditional activity, act as a real estate representative. This mission is ancillary to his traditional activity of legal advice.

As early as the Hoguet Act (No. 70-9) of 2 January 1970, the legislator wanted lawyers to practice this activity without being subject to the scope of this Act, just like notaries, who have also been doing so for a long time.

Advantages

• Ethics and customised advice: the lawyer already assists you in the legal follow-up of your property and knows your needs and possible constraints. The lawyer's intervention as a representative is therefore a natural extension of his traditional legal assistance. In addition, the representative lawyer in real estate transactions is bound by an obligation to advise. As such, he provides legal added value in the implementation of your project, whether in the selection of co-contractors, in the analysis of the promise to sell, in the preparation and review of the letter of intent/offer to purchase, etc. The lawyer who receives a mandate to sell has no interest in "pushing" his client to accept a purchase offer at a lower price. Moreover, the lawyer acts solely in the interest of his client and avoids any conflict of interest.
• A single point of contact: when the lawyer acts as a representative in real estate transactions in addition to his traditional activity, the client has a single point of contact for his real estate problems.
• Professional secrecy: your lawyer is subject to professional secrecy during and after the transaction.
• Publicity or discreet communication: his or her networks (with colleagues, technicians or operational staff), the choice between publicity or, on the contrary, more confidential communication, make your lawyer a privileged contact to advise you, prepare and accompany you in the implementation of your project.
• Freedom: it is customary to give the lawyer - representative in real estate transactions an exclusive mandate of 3 months (for the sale) or 15 days (for the search). However, the client can terminate the mandate at any time, whereas he would be engaged with a real estate agency for a fixed period (usually between 6 and 12 months).

Your lawyer is thus present at all stages of the transaction.

For instance, if you have a flat, a villa or a plot of land to sell, your lawyer takes care of everything:

• we gather and analyze the documents regarding the civil status of the owners, the rights involved (full ownership, bare ownership, usufruct, joint ownership, etc.), the nature and condition of the property, its rental situation (vacant, rented, occupied with or without title, etc.) or the compulsory diagnostics;
• we make the link with the notary, the property manager, the surveyor, the valuation expert or even a colleague in tax law if necessary;
• after a first visit (when possible) of your property and if necessary after having called in a cleaning team, we manage the photographic report intended to illustrate the advertisement, prepare and distribute this advertisement according to the terms agreed in the mandate.
• we manage the visits according to the terms agreed in the mandate;
• we keep you informed of the progress of these steps;
• in a secure and transparent manner, we can find the purchaser you are looking for;
• when the buyer is identified, we accompany you in the preparation and review of the deeds (promise of sale, deed of sale drawn up by the notary, etc.) until the signature and payment of the funds in the presence of the notary. At the same time, on the day of the signing of the deed of sale, the fees as agreed in the mandate are paid to your lawyer.

2. The real estate transaction mandate and your lawyer's fees

In addition to the traditional advisory activity, which schematically constitutes the first part of the lawyer's assignment, the parties agree on a second part corresponding to the written mandate concerning the envisaged transaction:

• the first part of the assignment (corresponding to the traditional activity of the lawyer) is subject to a fixed fee. It is due regardless of the result of the deal. It corresponds to the work to be done for :
  • the analysis of the case ;
  • the preparation of the documents necessary for the deal
  • the preparation and drafting of the deeds of sale and all the steps necessary for the deal;
• the second part of the assignment details the mandate given for the property transaction (sale mandate/purchase mandate/search mandate/rental mandate). It involves a variable fee freely negotiated between the parties. This fee corresponds to a percentage of the sale price, which is usually degressive depending on the sale price. According to market practice, this rate is in the order of 5% to 10%. This fee is only due if the deal is successful. If the deal fails, only the fixed fee referred to in the first part is due. In the case of a mandate given to the lawyer by the seller, it is possible to contractually provide that the purchaser will ultimately bear this second part fee.

The mandate must specify in particular :

• the identity of the parties,
• the identification of the property,
• the purpose of the mandate,
• the conditions of the contemplated transaction,
• the steps expected of the lawyer as a representative in real estate transactions,
• the lawyer's remuneration,
• the term (with or without exclusivity),
• the end of the mandate and its consequences.

In practice, both parts of the assignment can be agreed in a single fee agreement.

In accordance with our professional ethics, our activity as a lawyer - representative in real estate transactions is declared to the Paris Bar Association.

If you have any questions regarding the sale, purchase or rental of your property, please do not hesitate to contact us. Déborah Boussemart, lawyer - representative in real estate transactions, is at your disposal to assist you in the realization of your project.