Loan Application Not Consistent with the Preliminary Sales Agreement
A preliminary sales agreement was entered into subject to the condition precedent of obtaining a loan in the amount of €241,000, repayable over two years. Since the sale ultimately did not take place, the seller demanded that the buyer pay a sum under the penalty clause. To no avail. Upon review of the dispute, the Court of Cassation noted that the buyer cannot be held at fault for having applied to banks for a loan that did not comply with the contract’s terms, since the bank would have denied the loan in any case due to the buyer’s insufficient financial capacity. It further added that an agreement in principle given by a bank does not constitute a firm and unconditional offer guaranteeing the granting of a loan. Therefore, in this case, the failure to complete the sale cannot be attributed to the buyer.
