Your foreclosure lawyer in Paris

Professional difficulties, illness, divorce… There are many possible causes of financial default. On average, there are almost 15,000 property seizures every year in France. In practice, these often concern debtors who are no longer able to make their monthly mortgage payments or repay their consumer loans. Whether you are a debtor in difficulty or an aggrieved creditor, call on your lawyer! If you have received a summons to pay in the form of a seizure order or if property seizure proceedings have been initiated against you, you need to act quickly! If you are an unpaid creditor, your lawyer will assist you throughout the process to help you win your case quickly. Talk to your Paris property lawyer.

What is a seizure of property?

When a debtor fails to pay his debts, the creditor can call on a lawyer to set up a protective measure. In addition to taking protective measures to freeze a movable or financial item in the debtor’s assets, the creditor can have recourse to a property seizure.

Property seizure is a form of forced execution. Its purpose is to sell the property of a defaulting debtor in order to pay his creditors. It is a complex procedure that requires the involvement of a bailiff and a lawyer.

Here’s how it works:

• The creditor provides proof of a writ of execution stating that the debt is due.
• The court commissioner (formerly a bailiff) serves the debtor with a summons to pay for the purpose of seizing the property. The debtor is then obliged to pay the creditor within 8 days.
• If payment is not made within 8 days, the property is seized. The summons to pay for the seizure of the property is published in the property register of the mortgage office, making the seized property unavailable.
• The owner is no longer authorised to sell the property freely, but retains the right to use it provided that he or she does not perform any physical act likely to reduce its value.

Goldwin avocats assists both unpaid creditors and defaulting debtors during the seizure of property procedure, working in conjunction with the court commissioner. It also conducts the orientation hearing and handles the conditions of sale of the seized property.

What property can be seized?

The seizure of property may relate to :

• Land;
• a building, house or flat
• rights in rem that the debtor has over the property, such as a long lease or building lease.

On the other hand, the principal residence of a sole trader is exempt from seizure, as are all the assets in his personal estate that he has declared exempt from seizure in connection with his business activity. Similarly, minors and protected adults benefit from special protection, as their real estate cannot be seized until the movable property has been seized.

The writ of execution enabling you to seize property with your lawyer

The writ of execution establishes a debt:

• Certain and indisputable
• Liquid, i.e. assessable in money;
• Due and payable, i.e. due for payment on the due date.

To be admissible, the writ of execution must contain certain mandatory information:

• The amount of the claim, together with costs and interest;
• The date and nature of the enforcement order;
• The debtor must be informed of thepossibility of referring the matter to the Commission de surendettement des particuliers (Private Individuals’ Over-indebtedness Commission );
• the appointment of a lawyer to represent the creditors.

The orientation hearing with your property seizure lawyer

If the debt is not paid within the period set out in the summons to pay, it is published in the mortgage office within two months of the end of the 8-day period. The debtor then receives a summons to appear before the court.

At the orientation hearing, the court judge will rule on the seizure after hearing both parties, the debtor and the creditor(s). It is important for your property lawyer to be present to represent you before the judge and to file any claims or objections with the clerk’s office. It is at this point that the court decides how to proceed with the seizure of the property.

During this time, the debtor is stripped of his rights over his property, which he cannot sell or rent out. The owner may, however, remain in the property if it is their principal residence, provided that eviction is not requested in the summons to pay.

There are several ways of dealing with a property seizure with the help of your lawyer

Out-of-court sale

If the procedure leads to an out-of-court sale, the debtor must take steps to sell the property within 4 months. The judge sets a minimum price, corresponding to the amount of the debts and interest. If the debtor signs a provisional sale agreement within this period, he must finalise the transaction within 3 months at the latest in order to repay his creditor. If they sell their property for more than the minimum price set by the court, they can keep the remaining sum. If the property is not sold within the time limit, the judge will order a forced sale.

Forced sale by auction

This procedure often involves a sale by auction. The creditors are responsible for setting the hammer price and publishing the advertisement. However, the advertising costs are borne by the debtor. If there are no bidders, the creditors must purchase the property up to the amount of the reserve price.

Suspension of the foreclosure procedure

Lastly, the procedure may be interrupted. This may be adefinitive halt to the seizure procedure on the grounds that it is pointless. The debtor’s defence lawyer may raise substantive defects that justify ending the seizure. This would be the case, for example, if the seizure erroneously concerned property that did not belong to the debtor. A challenge by the debtor’s lawyer may also justify a temporary halt to the proceedings. This would be the case, for example, with an order to pay that is invalid because the court commissioner has not respected the procedural time limits.

Contact your property lawyer for personalised advice on property seizures.