Pay attention to the wording of a suspensive condition

It is sufficient for the buyer to obtain credit of a lower amount for the condition to be met, observes the Court of Cassation.

A seller refused to sign the sale of his house with the notary because his buyer could not prove having obtained a loan of 725.000 euros from a bank, as provided for in the sales agreement under the suspensive conditions.

This seller is wrong, the judges corrected, because it is specified in the compromise that the buyer must find a credit of a "maximum amount" of 725.000 euros, for a "maximum duration" of 20 years, at a "rate maximum interest of..."

And these formulations are not useless, explained the Court. They are also not only intended to protect the buyer from a possibly too greedy lender who would impose a repayment period that is too long, too much credit, or an interest rate that is too expensive. They also apply to the seller who cannot refuse his sale, as this one did, on the pretext that the credit granted was only 500.000 euros. The credit of 500.000 euros complied with the requirement of a maximum credit of 725.000, the court said.

It is then up to the buyer to be able to pay the promised amount, on the scheduled day, in front of the notary.

(Cass. Civil 3, 14.1.2021, P 20-11.224).