Have you found your dream house Senegal and are you ready to take the plunge? Before you can call this property home, a crucial step awaits: making an offer to purchase . This legal process expresses your intention to acquire a property at a price set by the seller or at a slightly lower price. What is an offer to purchase in Senegal ? What are the implications of such an offer and what can its consequences be? How do you go about making a purchase offer? In this article, we will clarify these points to help you understand this process.
Purchase offers in the Senegalese real estate sector: a unilateral commitment
A purchase offer , also called a " proposal ," is a formal agreement by which a potential buyer promises the seller to purchase a property at a predetermined price. In the Senegalese real estate context, this promise to purchase is recognized as a legal document that allows the person making the promise, the promisor, to express to the seller their intention to buy the property at the agreed price.
As a prospective buyer, you can use this offer to "reserve" a property you're particularly interested in. If the property in question is also attracting the attention of other potential buyers, it's in your best interest to quickly submit an offer to maximize your chances. By doing so, you can get ahead of the competition and secure the purchase of the property you so desire.
The offer to purchase real estate in Senegal: a binding commitment for the buyer
The distinctive feature of a purchase offer lies in its unilateral nature; that is, it binds only the buyer. In other words, as soon as you decide to make a purchase offer for a property in Senegal, you formally commit to acquiring the property that is the subject of the offer. Once this intention to purchase is expressed through the purchase offer, only you, the potential buyer, are bound. For their part, the seller has several options:
- Rejecting the offer : in this case, the unilateral promise to purchase becomes null and void and is cancelled.
- Making a counter-offer : for example, if the price offered by the potential buyer is not acceptable to you. In this case, you, as the potential buyer, have the right to reject or accept the counter-offer.
- Accepting the purchase offer : in this situation, the seller will in turn have to draw up a promise of sale, thus committing to sell the property to the buyer.
When the seller accepts the offer to purchase, this marks the beginning of the real estate transaction. If the seller does not respond to the offer to purchase or does not follow up within the specified timeframe, the offer to purchase is cancelled, as the seller's silence is interpreted as a refusal.
How do I make a purchase offer?
The purchase offer must be in writing to be legally valid. It can be sent by registered mail with return receipt requested or by email to the seller. You can also deliver your purchase offer in person to the seller. Although it is possible to make a purchase offer verbally, this has no legal value and does not bind the buyer. It is therefore preferable and strongly recommended to put your offer in writing.
Information to include in the purchase agreement
For your real estate purchase agreement in Senegal to be valid, it must include a certain amount of essential information.
- Seller and buyer identification : This information should include the full names, addresses and, where applicable, contact details of the buyer and seller.
- Detailed description of the property : This description should be as precise as possible, including the type of property (house, apartment, land, etc.), its area, the number of rooms and any other relevant details.
- The purchase price : The price at which you, as a potential buyer, wish to acquire the property must be clearly stated.
- Validity period of the purchase offer : It is essential to specify that if the seller does not respond within the specified period, the offer becomes void.
- Seller's response method : It should be specified whether the seller must respond through a bailiff or by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt.
- Conditions precedent to the offer : These are the conditions under which the transaction could not be completed. For example, if you, as a potential buyer, do not obtain the necessary real estate financing, or if the building permit is not obtained, etc.
The withdrawal period in the context of a purchase offer
As a prospective buyer, you cannot cancel a purchase agreement once it has been accepted by the seller. However, you have a 10-day cooling-off period after signing the preliminary contract. During this period, you can still cancel the transaction without incurring penalties or adverse consequences.
Furthermore, when you submit your offer to purchase to the seller, you can give them one week, or at most two, to accept or reject your proposal. If the seller does not respond or responds after the specified deadline, you can cite the failure to meet these deadlines to consider your offer invalid.
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