A BRIEF GUIDE TO BUYING PROPERTY IN FRANCE

You want to buy a French holiday home, or you want to move to France to start a new way of life?

The first thing to do when you have made a decision to buy a French property is to ask yourself a few questions:

• What type of property? A cottage in the country, a town apartment, a fermette, a chateau!

• Where in France? France is so varied, that you really need to know what area to begin your search – are you looking for a holiday home by the sea – do you want the hot climate of Languedoc or the more English climate of Brittany, or maybe the continental climate of the Centre region.

• Can I afford it? If you have sold your UK home, it is quite likely you have a reasonable lump sum of money - beware - it can run out very quickly if you buy a place to renovate. You need to consider your income once you have established yourself in France. Finding work in France is not easy - so think very carefully before doing anything. Consider renting a French property before hand - French rentals are considerable cheaper than in the UK. (From just 200€ a month - minimum 3 month contract and usually long term if required).

• Should I consider a French Mortgage? Getting a mortgage may be a sensible option for you, particularly if you are not sure whether to sell your own home in the UK. You can get a French mortgage from 7 years to 20 years. It is quite an easy process and very soon more details will be added.

Once you have selected your key areas its time to make a property search.

There are hundreds of websites now with properties being advertised from all over France.

Property may be sold through estate agents or private sales. French properties that are sold through estate agents normally command a fee of 10% to 15% on top of the seller’s asking price (this is normally included in the advertised selling price). So, if you are on a budget, you should seriously consider the Private Sale. On the other hand - buying through an Estate Agent can have additional and helpful resources such as they take you through the whole process. There are many estate agents now that offer English speaking assistance.

There is another fee that is normally charged on top of the final selling price – the Notaire’s fee – and that is around 7% of the final selling price.

Once you have selected a number of properties to go and see, you need to get out here to France as quickly as you can – as properties can sell very quickly. It has been often quoted that prospective buyers have lined up 5 or 6 properties to view and found out on arrival in France that they are all sold. This can be very frustrating if you again are on a budget, or have very limited time off work to come and view properties.

If you are not restricted by job commitments, it is recommended that you come to France for maybe 2 to 3 weeks or even longer. You can normally get very good rates in low season (October to May) from gite owners (typically around £150 a week and sometimes monthly rates of around £300). And it is good to see properties in their "worst light" so to speak - visiting on a rainy day can reveal a properties true nature!

Taking a few weeks will give you enough time to view plenty of properties, and if you are lucky enough to find your ideal property, then you will be available to sign the first formal piece of paperwork – the Compromis de Vente – which is drawn up by the Notaire handling the sale (or by the Estate Agent) and both parties sign. This is legally binding – you have a one week “cooling off period” and then you are expected to pay a 10% deposit. Once you have signed this contract you are obliged to buy – apart from only a few “get out clauses” (explained later).

If you pull out of the purchase for any other reason than the clauses stated in the contract, you will lose your deposit. On the plus side, once this contract has been signed, the seller is not permitted to show anyone else the property. It then takes about 2 to 3 months for the Notaire to complete searches and draw up the final contract which you should be present for to sign. It is quite normal to be shown the property on the day of the final signing as the property is “sold as seen”.

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