What are the contracts offered by an apartment hunter?
Do you want to entrust the search for your future property to an apartment hunter? This is a great idea! The savings of time and money as well as more serenity and security are yours. But before the professional can start doing research, pre-visits and other procedures, you need to sign a contract. So what are the contracts offered by the apartment hunter? There is the simple search mandate and the exclusive search mandate.
What is a warrant under the law?
Under the terms of article 1984 of the Civil Code, “a mandate or power of attorney is an act by which one person gives another person the power to do something for and on behalf of the grantor.”
For the search for real estate, a mandate is a written document by which the “mandatary” — a natural or legal person holding a professional card issued by the CCI (Chamber of Commerce and Industry) — is entrusted with the search for a property by his acquiring client then called “principal”.
As explained in the introduction, there are two types of mandates: the simple version and the exclusive version.
Main difference between simple mandate and exclusive mandate
With a simple mandate, the client is completely free to search for properties in parallel. It is then recommended to include a mention of this type:
“As the Principal is free to continue his research in parallel with this mandate, in the event of discovery by himself or by another agent of an asset corresponding to the description given above, he will immediately notify, by registered letter with request for acknowledgement of receipt, the Mandatory so that the latter can stop his research.”
With an exclusive search mandate, the client (principal) is prohibited from looking for a property without going through the agent. It is then recommended to include a mention of this type:
“The Principal is prohibited, throughout the duration of the Research Mandate and that of its renewal, from conducting its research by itself or via another intermediary and from negotiating with any seller presented or not by the Agent.”
Research mandates: duration and mandatory information
Do you want to opt for an exclusive research mandate? The duration of it is limited to three months. After this period, it is possible to denounce it “with fifteen days' notice by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt”. Regarding the simple mandate, it just has to be limited in time. For example, you can choose a duration of three months and include a tacit renewal clause that can be withdrawn. “fifteen days before the due date, by registered letter with acknowledgement of receipt”. Attention, whether it is a simple or exclusive mandate, tacit renewal must be limited in time.
What about mandatory information? First of all, the mandate must be numbered and recorded in a register. It must also indicate the contact details of the two parties (agent and principal) as well as the description of the property (FAI budget, surface area...). Its duration must also be specified as well as the terms of renunciation, renewal or termination. Not to mention, the remuneration conditions.
Finally, the date, the number of originals, the place and the signatures of both parties must appear with the words “read and approved, good for mandate” for the principal and “mandate accepted” for the mandatary. These are the types of contracts offered by an apartment hunter.
