English
FrançaisI have a copy of the title deed of my leaseback property signed by the French Notaire at the time of purchase. I have been trying to find out from the Notaire whether or not he possesses the original title deed. I have sent may e mails to his firm and have also telephoned them because noone was responding to my e mails. The person I spoke to said he would look into the matter and get back to me which he hasn't.
I am very suspicious about this refusal to contact me. Does anyone have any idea what I can do next. Fabien - I see you are posting in this forum. Do you have any advice?
We are having a problem somewhat like yours. We cannot get Accelis Gestion to give us a statement of the rent we have been paid for the past 12 months and as a result are unable to sell the property to a buyer who is interested. I know this is not the same situation as you are in but its seems to be the same response - professionals who do not respond to your requests by e.mall, telephone etc. I am in despair and have engaged a lawyer but its becoming quite costly.
The common problem as you say is the total lack of response from these people which makes you think they have something to hide. Odalys which owns our resort and SGIT Gestion which manages it. and surprise surprise is a wholly owned subsidiary of Odalys are exactly the same. I have never come across such contempt for customer service in all my life and we think there are some bad ones in the UK!!! Quite honestly when you look at all the goings on with regard to leaseback they all look like a bunch of scammers and crooks.
Could you as a last resort not use your bank statements as evidence of recept of the rent?
The original Deeds is kept at the notaire's office and notaires are supposed to mail property owners a duplicate original Deeds once the Land Registry has recorded the transaction. This usually happens within 6-9 months depending on how busy the relevant local Land Registry office is.
The problem you describe is partly due to notaires' poor communication skills... The profession includes talented experienced individuals, but I understand that foreign languages and the use of email usually is not their forte. I would advise you to send Mr Pujol's offices a formal written request by registered mail (with a receipt for the addressee to sign.) The letter should be in French I am afraid. I can draft a template letter and post it on this forum if you wish.
If the above fails, then a formal complaint should be filed with the notaire's professional body, the Chambres Departementale des Notaires.
Another avenue consists in filing a document search with the Land Registry. This requires 2 successive forms to be filed and the Land Registry's costs are 14 € and 17 € respectively.
I hope the above is of assistance.
F Cordiez
www.corlegal.com
Thanks Fabien - much appreciated. All my e mails to M Pujol have been in French (thank goodness for Google translate!!) so they could certainly be understood. I will try one more time and then send a formal letter.
You are of course welcome.
Your email and, if necessary, a formal letter sent by registered mail, should normally prompt the notaire to forward you the Deed.
Regards,
Fabien