Tell us about the "property
of your dreams", indicate all your requirements
and desires, and we will send you a selection of suitable properties.
You can wonder why asking an estate agent to help you to find
a property, when buying direct from the owner would save you
money ? |
- because we will understand what you are really looking
for and thus save you time and energy.
- because you are our client, not the owner,
as in our region it is the buyer that pays the estate agent
fees. We will give you advice, negociate the best possible
price and help you in any administrative or banking procedure (insurance, loan, utilities...).
- because even after the deed of sale, we will go on helping
and advising you. You can count on us.
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Once you have visited and chosen a property,
we will negociate the purchase price and the conditions of the
sale. When both parties agree, you will have to sign a preliminary purchase contract.
Necessary searches (paid for by the seller) for the presence of
lead, asbestos, termites, as well as surveys of electricity (DPE) and septic tank, must have been carried out by then.
You will also be asked to pay to the notaire a deposit of usually 10% of the purchase price, that will be held in an
escrow account.
A notaire is a publicly appointed French government
official who is highly qualified in the French legal system and
able to advise you in specific areas of law, such as property
and family law.The state confers on the notaire powers to legalise
property purchase agreements and provides through him security
to the contracts he supervises and liability for his professional
acts. A notaire is responsible for assuring the property has good
title (i.e, no irregularities in the ownership) and that the purchase
is correctly transacted. Because notaires are personally responsible
for the contracts drawn up they must be objective in their advice
and impartial in their dealings with the parties concerned. Indeed
a notaire represents neither the seller nor the buyer but the
French Government. It is usual and simpler that the same notaire
acts for both the vendor and the purchaser, but you can appoint
your own notaire if you wish. The fees (paid by the purchaser
and fixed by law) will be split between the two notaires. |
| There are 3 main categories of preliminary contracts : |
- The promesse de vente and the promesse d'achat,
which are unilateral contracts, rather like
options, whereby you or your seller respectively enter into
a commitment to sell or buy, but the other party is not bound.
- and the compromis de vente which is a bilateral contract binding both parties and setting out
the terms and price of the sale. We recommend to
use this kind of contract. Let-out clauses (Clauses Suspensives) can be inserted into this contract making
the purchase subject to certain conditions. These clauses
are quite important, for your deposit will be forfeited if
you withdraw from the purchase for any conditions not covered
by the contract.
Usual clauses are:
- The purchaser cannot obtain a mortgage or property loan
- Pre-emption by the French Land Commission (SAFER)
- An unsatisfactory Certificat d'Urbanisme, assessment
of planning status of the property.
|
| Cooling Off Period : you have seven days after
the signing of the contract to withdraw from the purchase, without
penalty. This seven day 'cooling off' period includes week-ends
and Bank Holidays. |
| Once the initial contract has been signed the
property is taken off the market and there follows a period
of generally 3 months in which all searches
and other contractual matters are carried out by the notaire : |
- Once the contract is signed, the notaire will obtain the
equivalent of a Land Registry search from the Bureau de Conservation
des Hypothèques. This search will disclose any restrictions
on the seller’s right to convey title and the existence
of mortgages.
- A Certificat d’Urbanisme or Note de Renseignements
d’Urbanisme is obtained. This is a document from the
local authority that declares the future use of the land and
administrative restrictions or requirements which apply. The
Certificat d'urbanisme also gives information on whether building
is allowed, the density and other details of development.
If the Certificat is positive, the planning authorities may
not refuse planning permission, which is obligatory before
any building work starts.
- For property sales involving more than 1 hectare (2.471
acres) of land, the notaire is obliged to inform the S.A.F.E.R. (Societe d'Amenagement Foncier et d'Etablissement Rural).
This is a governmental body with the right of pre-emption
over the sale. They are more concerned with large tracts of
agricultural land and rarely intervene with private sales.
If pre-emption occurs the compromis is deemed null and void
and your deposit is returned.
- During this period, you will be required to resolve
the financing of the purchase and may need to raise finance.
We will help you at this stage (meetings with bankers, openning
an account, translations, etc...).
|
| French mortgages are available for the purchase, renovation
and construction of a property. |
- As a general rule, French lenders will allow you to borrow
up to 80% of the purchase price, exclusive of mortgage
arrangement fees, legal fees and attendant purchase expenses.
French mortgages are repayment loans and the maximum term
available is 20 years or up to the age of 70 years (whichever
is the shortest term).
- Life assurance cover is usually required (and included in your monthly repayments) for the duration
of the loan. Existing life policies in other countries are
not taken into consideration.
- Monthly repayments are usually by means of direct
debit from a French bank account.
- In France, lenders are obliged to ensure that any person
applying for a mortgage is financially able to meet the repayments
and proof of income and expenditure will be required.The
general guideline is that of a net monthly income, 33% should
cover existing expenditure and the monthly repayment of the
mortgage. Outgoings taken into consideration are
liabilities such as other mortgage or rent, personal loans
and maintenance commitments. If you are employed,
the lender will base income on evidence of payslips and
the amount that is credited to your bank account, monthly. If self-employed, income is assessed as the average of the
past three years net income, additional income such
as that from investments or rentals will also be considered.
- The mortgage is secured on the property.
- Arrangement fees are charged by the lender and are normally
one percent of the total mortgage subject to a minimum and
maximum charge which vary according to the lender. The fee
is usually payable when you return your acceptance of the
mortgage offer.
- The mortgage funds, when requested by the notaire,
will be released by the lender for the completion.
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| When the Notaire is satisfied that there is nothing
of significance revealed by his searches and enquiries affecting
the property, the acte de vente (deed of sale) which he has prepared
can be signed. |
- It is the point when the payment of the balance
of the purchase price plus any other payments, such
as the estate agent's fees and frais de Notaire, are due.
If a mortgage has been arranged, the bank will then transfer
the money direct to the notaire.
- The legal fees, known as frais
de Notaire include the notaire's professional fees,
stamp duty, land registry charges, local and regional taxes
and VAT. The fees, paid for by the purchaser, amount to approximately
3-5% for a new property and approximately 7-10% for an older
property (properties older than 5 years are subject to stamp
duty).The fees may also include any surveyor's costs that
might have been incurred such as establishing or repositioning
boundaries and preparing plans for the Acte de Vente. If a
French mortgate is being used for the purchase of the property
then a further cost of approximately 1% will be added by the
notaire for registering the loan with the land registry.
These fees are called the Provision pour frais d'acte
d'achat, which means provisional fees for the act
of buying, and include an estimate of the registration taxes
to be paid to the government. These fees are paid to the notaire
on the day of signing the Acte de Vente with the balance of
the purchase price.
A few months after the property has been purchased and the
sale of the french property has been lodged with the French
government, the exact amount of registration tax will be calculated
by the French tax services. Depending on the initial estimate
(it can be over or under estimated), the purchaser may receive
or have to pay a small additional payment.
- It is usual for both parties to be present when
the deed of sale is read, signed and witnessed by the notaire. Each page has to be initialled by both the seller
and the buyer and both must sign the last page after writing
in French "bon pour accord" which means they have
understood and accepted the terms.
- If you are unable to attend completion in person you can appoint any person you wish to execute the
Acte de Vente on your behalf using a Power of Attorney
or Procuration. This document must be drawn in French,
signed before a Notary Public and forwarded, for British citizens,
to the Foreign & Commonwealth Office where a certificate
(l'Apostille) is annexed to give legal effect in France.
|
| Once the acte de vente is signed, title to your property
is registered by the Notaire at the Bureau de Conservation des
Hypothèques, the equivalent of the English Land
Registry. After it has been registered, the acte de vente is kept
in the Notaire’s archives and only one official copy is
provided as evidence of your title. If you require proof of ownership
immediately after completion in order to subscribe to the utilities
or sort out insurance, for example, the Notaire will give you
a statement (Attestation) confirming that you are the owner. The
registration process itself often takes several months to complete. |
| After signing the Acte de Vente : |
- you are responsible for the insurance of the buildings.
We can help you to get your property insured, as well as to
ask for all the contractual changes (water, electricity, telephone...)
- you will be required to pay the taxe d’habitation
and the taxe foncière, yearly taxes due every
1st January.
- The taxe foncière is a land tax.
The size of the property determines how much is paid and
owners of new properties are exempt for the first two years.
The tax is paid by the person owning the property on 1st
January of each year, with payment due in the final quarter
of the year. When acquiring a new property, it is customary,
if you buy in the course of the year, to give a pro-rated
percentage of the yearly tax to the seller.
- The taxe d'habitation is a local services
tax. It covers the services and maintenance provided by
the local council and is payable annually in the last quarter
of the year.
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| The
French house is finally yours ! You can enjoy a fine glass of champagne...
and have a little siesta ! |
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