> This isn’t uncommon. If you see a house advertised for sale at $500,000, the owners aren’t obligated to sell you the house for $500,000 or even to sell the ho

> This isn’t uncommon. If you see a house advertised for sale at $500,000, the owners aren’t obligated to sell you the house for $500,000 or even to sell the house at any price. In France, they do. If someone shows up and offers the advertised price, the deal is sealed as well. Even for $5m that you don’t have. If they offer a lower price with conditions and the owner says yes, it is also binding. It can be on a simple free paper, and going through a notary is optional, even if recommended. The only exception is that the purchaser has 10 days of legal withdrawal after signing the contract (only €300 notary costs). The seller can’t withdraw, unless conditions were manually specified. I wasn’t aware of that when I made an offer by email, fortunately the landlord explained me that I should list the exceptions/conditions in my own interest…