the essential
A retiree accuses Foncia of having undervalued his property sold in Toulouse by taking advantage of his lack of mastery of French. The real estate group defends itself by claiming to have respected the law and its ethical charter in this transaction.
Abdellaziz Beji may have lived in France for around thirty years, but he has little mastery of the language of Molière orally. In writing, this retired house painter struggles to decipher a handful of simple words. Convinced that Foncia exploited these linguistic deficiencies, this 78-year-old Franco-Tunisian believes that his accommodation was undervalued and certain services overcharged.
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On July 28, 2021, Abdellaziz Beji sold his four-room apartment located at 1 rue Déodora, in the Busca district of Toulouse, for 170,000 euros. The apartment, with an area of 66 m², includes a living room with loggia, two bedrooms, and a cellar. Abdellaziz and his ex-wife had to pay 11,000 euros in agency fees and pay 3,368.48 euros for work on the stairwell.
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Exiled to a cramped apartment in Launaget, where he rents a two-room apartment without comfort, the retiree bitterly dwells on this transaction which he considers unfair. Abdel Ferchichi, his nephew, speaks for his uncle’s anger. “It is obvious that the property was undervalued. If we take into account Foncia’s commission, which I consider totally exorbitant, his home was sold well below the market price. This is scandalous, and we can legitimately ask ourselves if there was no collusion between the buyer and the real estate agent!”
Foncia right in her boots
The price gap between Mr. Beji’s home and similar apartments in the same building is significant. For example, a 64 m² four-room apartment sold for 241,205 euros net seller on August 27, 2021, or 71,205 euros more than his. Three weeks later, a comparable property traded at 256,165 euros, a difference of 86,165 euros. In 2024, prices have increased further: on January 19, a 58 m² apartment was sold for 271,000 euros, surpassing Mr. Beji’s transaction by 101,000 euros. Abdellaziz Beji hopes to obtain substantial compensation from Foncia. To do this, he made an appointment with his nephew at the Maison de Justice et du Droit Toulouse Sud in order to seek advice from a lawyer before possibly filing a complaint against the real estate giant.
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Foncia assures that “the sale of this property was carried out within the legal framework and in compliance with the internal ethics and professional conduct charter.” The group’s management specifies that “before any sales procedures, Mr. Beji was accompanied and advised by a notary and recalls that the negotiations were carried out in accordance with the rules over a period of six months. Foncia indicates that it has always informed the seller that the amount of the fees would be deducted from the final sale price.” In this context, on April 24, 2021, a fee invoice for an amount of 11,000 euros was sent to the septuagenarian, a few months before the transaction was completed.
