Buying French Property Advice

Ensure your dream of buying a home in France goes smoothly and happily ever after!
If you follow the guidelines below, you won't go wrong.

Advice on Buying Property in France

Buying French property can be very simple and safe.

Being handled entirely by a Notaire, an official licensed by the French Government, there is no
possibility of anything untoward occurring. Conveyancing is centrally controlled in France; it is not
handled by private lawyers as it is in many countries.
Here are the steps involved.
There are seven of them and they are not very difficult to do at all.

SELECT THE PROPERTY you wish to purchase, having viewed it in person or by proxy and having asked all the usual important questions. We will provide a checklist to get you going.

REAL ESTATE AGENT NEEDED? It is NOT necessary to buy through a real estate agent but DO ensure that you use a NOTAIRE to handle all legalities and payments: this is the law in France - there is no private or independent conveyancing. We can advise you which notaires to use for all properties on sale on this site. If you do go to an agent then they will ask you to sign a BON DE VISITE which basically means that you cannot legally approach the owner of that house independently to make a direct deal for a reduced price. You are bound to use the agent with whom you signed the BON DE VISITE if you decide to buy the property.
So if you do want to use an agent, don't sign with two agents for the one property!

CONVEYANCING ALWAYS HANDLED BY GOVERNMENT APPOINTED NOTAIRE. There is no private conveyancing in France. So, once you have decided to buy, go to the Notaire of your choice. If you buy with us then we go with you. Both the BUYER and the SELLER sign the ‘Compromis de Vente’ or pre-sale contract. At this meeting you can also sign a document called a ‘PROCURATION’ which is simply a Power of Attorney authorising the Notaire’s clerk to sign the final ‘Acte de Vente’ (Formal Settlement) document for you so you don’t have to come back again later to do this yourself. Pay the deposit (usually 10%). This is held in trust by the Notaire.

A WAITING PERIOD NOW OCCURS. This is about two to three months while the Notaire follows up all the required formal procedures including the inspection of the house, technical check, check for any caveats or existing mortgages and certification of its being fit for sale.

SIGN THE SETTLEMENT OR 'ACTE DE VENTE' sale Document. This is done for you by the Notaire’s clerk if you have previously given them Power of Attorney. The balance is paid at this time (90% normally) and you become the new owner.

FINAL TITLE: Four to six months later you will receive the formal title by registered post or you can collect it in person.

MAKE SURE YOU OPEN A FRENCH BANK ACCOUNT. You will need to do this to pay your normal bills such as rates, electricity, gas, water and other charges for the property. To make this headache-free you should set up automatic payments for each of these called PRELEVEMENTS AUTOMATIQUES.

Be aware of the following points ...

INHERITANCE PLANNING
The laws of France apply to your property not those of your home country. You cannot leave your property to anyone you please without inheritance tax consequences. Normally the system encourages you to leave it to your children or close family to pay minimal tax. Get advice about this from the notaire you use.
RENOVATION COSTS
This can be very expensive with cheaper, run-down properties and extremely frustrating and time-consuming. A cheap house in France can end up being much more expensive (double or even triple) by the time it is fixed up. Some of the bargains seen in Real Estate windows are not bargains at all at the end of the day. Some buyers often end up performing some of the work themselves (remember "A Year In Provence"?). It is not uncommon for the work to be done badly creating constant problems for the future. If you buy with us then you can be confident that all this work has been done correctly for you and that you will have very few problems of only the minor types you expect with all houses.
(trickling toilet cistern for example)

Address

759 Rathdowne Street
North Carlton 3054
Victoria
Australia

Contacts

Email:
contact@your-home-in-france.com
Phone: +61 (3)8657 4550