Be careful when signing a house sale contract
Attorney Yin:
I am going to buy a house in Shanghai through an intermediary recently.
For a working-class like me, buying a house can be described as a "life event", and I have some concerns.
What are the key issues that I need to pay attention to when buying a house?
Shanghai reader Mr. Wu
Mr Wu:
Hello!
For ordinary people, buying a house is indeed a "life event".
Many homebuyers often have to drain their savings to afford a down payment on a home.
However, in reality, buying a home often comes with other risks besides the high purchase price.
There are several issues that need special attention here.
■ Signing the contract is deemed to agree to all the terms
Buying a home is a major act for families.
Considering factors such as time cost and handling procedures, most home buyers will buy houses through intermediaries.
In practice, most of the house purchase contracts provided by intermediaries are texts in a fixed format. There are different options for how to deal with the situation that the loan has not been approved successfully. Special attention needs to be paid to this point. Give yourself room to seek remediation in case the loan doesn't come out on time.
In addition, there are standard provisions in the house purchase contract, such as the standard of liquidated damages for overdue payment, the agreed right to rescind the overdue payment, and the standard of breach of contract after the contract is rescinded, all of which are standard clauses in the standard text.
For the above clauses, as long as the buyer signs the contract, it is deemed that he agrees or approves the contents of all the clauses. The seller requests to terminate the contract according to the contract, and demand to pay compensation and liquidated damages according to the contract.
■ Pay special attention to the liability for breach of contract in the standard terms
Article 470 of the Civil Code stipulates that there are 8 main clauses in a contract, and the liability for breach of contract is one of them.
In the housing sales contracts provided by many intermediaries, the standard of liquidated damages for overdue payment and the standard of liquidated damages for breach of contract resulting in breach of contract will be agreed in the form of standard clauses.
There was such a dispute case. In the purchase contract signed by the buyer and the seller, the standard of liquidated damages for overdue payment (5/10,000 of the total house price) and the standard of liquidated damages for the breach of contract caused by breach of contract (20% of the total house price) , which is the standard terms of the standard contract provided by the intermediary agency.
To be clear here, the standard terms are not unmodifiable.
When actually buying a house, the buyer and the seller can negotiate on the main clauses of the contract, and make a specific agreement in the supplementary agreement. This agreement is regarded as a supplementary agreement, and the standard clauses in the standard contract can be changed.
Therefore, when the buyer and the seller think that the terms in the standard contract are unreasonable, they can be adjusted and changed through the supplementary agreement as long as they reach an agreement through negotiation.
In practice, if the overdue payment stipulates liquidated damages, the liquidated damages are generally calculated based on the overdue payment amount rather than the total contract price.
If the buyer thinks that the standard and calculation base are too high, they must raise an objection.
■ How to protect your best interests when buying or selling a home
In the past cases of house purchase disputes, it is very beneficial to protect one's rights and interests if a lawyer participates in the whole process of contract signing, performance and dispute resolution.
If every important step is guided and supported by professional lawyers, for example, the seller collects evidence when the buyer fails to pay in full and on time, and issues a written notice of rescission when the contractual right to rescind is established, etc., the chain of evidence can be ensured. Be specific and complete.
The so-called "laying people watch the fun, experts watching the doorway", for ordinary people, selling and buying a house can easily cost several million yuan, which is not only a major property disposal behavior of the family, but also a major legal act.
How to do due diligence, how to sign a contract, perform a contract, how to perform contractual obligations flawlessly, collect evidence in a timely manner when rights are violated, and legally safeguard rights are very critical. Professionals are needed to help review and check, and we cannot take any chances.
(Yin Hongzhi, senior partner and lawyer of Beijing Leijie Zhanda Law Firm)
Mr. Wu