THE OBLIGATION BREACH OF PAYING THE PRICE IN THE SPHERE OF BUYING & SELLING PROPERTIES DUE TO THE INABILITY TO OBTAIN FINANCING.
Keywords:
ECONOMIC CRISIS, CREDIT CRUNCH, SUPERVENING IMPOSSIBILITY, CONTRACTUAL TERMINATION, REBUS SIC STANTIBUS CLAUSEAbstract
Before the current economic crisis, which has especially affected the real estate sector, many buyers conducted property contracts in which the parties agreed that the buyer would pay an initial amount -at the moment of signing the private contract- against the full price. The rest of the price, which would be paid at the moment of the public deed conferment, would be obtained by taking out a mortgage loan or through the subrogation in the contract that the developer already had granted. However, due to the credit crunch, financial institutions commonly have been refusing to grant mortgages or even subrogating in the place of the promoter in the mortgage that had already been granted. With this situation, scores of complaints have been brought before the courts with buyers requesting to terminate their contracts, alleging that payment is no longer obligatory due to the supervening impossibility of obtaining financing. Therefore, it must be determined if any resolution or amendment to the contract is necessary, or if the buyer must comply with all the terms of the contract.