Purchase agreement and warranty obligations of the seller
If you sell your detached house after 30 years of intensive use, time will certainly have taken its toll. It will likely have various defects, and in principle, you would be liable to the buyer for these defects. However, if all defects are meticulously listed in the purchase agreement, the situation is quite different. It is definitely worthwhile to have the purchase agreement thoroughly reviewed by an expert to ensure that any warranty claims are legally excluded.
The purchase agreement for the sale of a property is usually drawn up by a notary. However, sellers should not blindly assume that everything is correctly regulated in their favor. It is important to understand the precise meaning of certain clauses.
"Sold as seen" – a crucial clause
To protect yourself as the seller of a used property against subsequent warranty claims from the buyer, all known defects must be explicitly listed in the purchase agreement. Since the buyer inspected the property before purchasing it, they also had the opportunity to identify these defects themselves. This is expressed in the purchase agreement by the clause "sold as seen." This clause signifies the buyer's waiver of the right to hold the seller liable for remedying the identified defects after the purchase agreement has been concluded. Such a warranty disclaimer is, of course, of paramount importance for property sellers. However, laypersons reading a purchase agreement often fail to grasp the implications of this and other seemingly minor clauses. An experienced real estate agent can advise you on these matters and provide clarification if you are unsure.
Concealing defects? – a very bad strategy
If the purchase agreement contains a complete list of defects and the buyer accepts it by signing and agreeing to sell the property "as is," you as the seller can usually breathe a sigh of relief. However, this does not apply if you concealed hidden defects in the property from the buyer during the viewing, such as mold under the wallpaper, or if you even deliberately concealed such defects to deceive the buyer. Such actions are considered fraud and are not covered by the warranty disclaimer in the purchase agreement. Generally, it is advisable to openly address any defects in your property during every viewing – or to rectify them before the sale. The latter can be worthwhile in many cases, as the achievable increase in price is often higher than the invested repair and renovation costs.
The purchase agreement should also include all inventory being taken over by the buyer, from built-in wardrobes and any heating oil supplies to the garden sprinkler system. A complete inventory is crucial here to avoid future disputes. As you can see, there's a lot to consider before signing the purchase agreement. It's no coincidence that the completed agreement should be sent to both parties at least two weeks before the notary appointment. Use this time to review everything again, ideally with the assistance of a lawyer. However, your real estate agent, as a professional in the field, also knows precisely which details are particularly important and can provide excellent advice.
Do you have questions about drawing up the purchase agreement? Contact us! We'd be happy to advise you.
You need further information:
https://www.anwalt.de/rechtstipps/kaufvertrag_immobilie
Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice for any specific case. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your individual situation.
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About the author
Harry Mohr
Real estate agent (Chamber of Industry and Commerce)Harry Mohr, author of this article
