What should I know once I've found a property?

[stevec4117]

We are travelling at the weekend to view a property found privately on the internet from an English family.  It is also advertised with a local agent who will showing us around.  If we like it in person we will probably want to go ahead and purchase.

It's in an area with few Brits (so little local help).  Some help from all your experience would be much appreciated.

What I understand so far:

-  the transaction will be performed by a Notaire who will represent both parties.

-  this will be in French (ours is at holiday level and nowhere near good enough to handle this)

-  we will need to commit within a week of any offer by signing the "compromis".

-  in addtion to the quoted price there will be further fees due.

-  we will need to have paid the full amount to the Notaire ahead of a meeting which we would call completion.

-  we don't need a mortgage but would consider one if this makes sense.

 

So questions so far:

-  what additonal help should we get?  A UK solicitor?  Our own Notaire?  Just a friend who is fluent in French?

-  what's the view on organisations such as VEF?

-  what do they do (for what looks like a significnat price) more than those I've mentioned above.

-  do they offer guarantees in the way an English solicitor would if they mess up?

-  the most critical issue is the satisfactory transfer of title.  Is there anything peculiar about this issue in France?

-  What fees in addition to the cost price will we need to pay as part of the transaction?

-  Should we consider a mortgage for say €75,000?

-  If so, should we do this in France or the UK?

-  Any advice about a French bank account?

 

Think that's it!  anything else?  Thanks very much.

 

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

[PaulT]

[quote user="stevec4117"]

We are travelling at the weekend to view a property found privately on the internet from an English family.  It is also advertised with a local agent who will showing us around.  If we like it in person we will probably want to go ahead and purchase.

It's in an area with few Brits (so little local help).  Some help from all your experience would be much appreciated.

What I understand so far:

-  the transaction will be performed by a Notaire who will represent both parties.

They can represent both paties or you can elect to have your own. In reality the Notaire represents the government and does not offer advice as a UK solicitor would to a buyer or seller

-  this will be in French (ours is at holiday level and nowhere near good enough to handle this)

choose your own Notaire who can speak English - search on www. notaires.fr for those in your area who speak English. Our completion was conducted in English (buyer, seller and agent all English) with our Notaire translating into French for the sellers notaire who did not speak English. There are no extra fees for having two Notaires

-  we will need to commit within a week of any offer by signing the "compromis".

Unaware of the 'week' rule but you will be expected to sign the compris fairly soon after an offer has been accepted

-  in addtion to the quoted price there will be further fees due.

If the agents price does not include their fees then these, the notaires and the taxes

-  we will need to have paid the full amount to the Notaire ahead of a meeting which we would call completion.

Yes - perhaps best not to leave it too fine in case hiccups occur and the money is not in place at the time of completion

-  we don't need a mortgage but would consider one if this makes sense.

?

 

So questions so far:

-  what additonal help should we get?  A UK solicitor?  Our own Notaire?  Just a friend who is fluent in French?

minimum of an English speaking Notaire. If you use a UK solicitor then they must be fully conversant with the French system

-  what's the view on organisations such as VEF?

-  what do they do (for what looks like a significnat price) more than those I've mentioned above.

-  do they offer guarantees in the way an English solicitor would if they mess up?

-  the most critical issue is the satisfactory transfer of title.  Is there anything peculiar about this issue in France?

-  What fees in addition to the cost price will we need to pay as part of the transaction?

See above

-  Should we consider a mortgage for say €75,000?

-  If so, should we do this in France or the UK?

-  Any advice about a French bank account?

Open one. There are fees - cards, internet access etc. Some of the banks have an English service. Personally thought a local bank best forcing us to pick up the French terms etc and to speak French

 

Think that's it!  anything else?  Thanks very much.

 

Steve

Paul

 

 

 

 

[/quote]

[darnsarf]

Not much to add to the previous post but my take would be...

Whilst many on this forum would disagree, I would certainly get a UK Solicitor who is experienced in French property issues. It'll increase your costs of course, but IMHO worth it. In particular you need to be aware of inheritance issues, which can be very complicated (and expensive!) depending on your circumstances.

You need to see the plan cadastrale (available at the Mairie) to check what you're buying is in line with records. Also useful to check whether land nearby is listed as being available for development/building etc.

You shouldn't feel pressurised at all into signing the Compromis quickly. It is pretty much like exchanging in the UK. Giving yourself some time to include some clauses (suspensives) in the Compromis is an important 'get out of jail card' should you find any out later on (like for example, not sourcing a mortgage, validation of boundary etc. Just remember you're the buyer. Unless there's another offer on the table, take as long as you want! Don't sign before seeing a Solicitor. Consider a survey too (English Surveyors in France can be found on the web)

Open up a french bank account ASAP - it takes a while to sort the paperwork. Preferably get one with internet capability so you can transfer funds into it and pay some bills. Also, find a decent foreign exchange broker such as Moneycorp - you'll need that to get decent rates and to transfer the money to the Notaire.

Euro mortgage interest rates are pretty cheap compared with the UK though you are then of course vulnerable to Euro/sterling currency fluctuation. But why get a mortgage and pay any interest if you don't need to?

Good luck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Will]

As above. I think the bit about the week for the compromis de vente (initial contract) stems from the fact that after signing it (or more precisely, after receiving your copy of the document signed by all parties) you have seven days before it becomes final, i.e. a legally-enforcable document. At the end of this seven days you will customarily pay a deposit of 10% (can be varied, or waived, but not normally unless you are well known to the vendor, agent or notaire), this being the sum you would pay as a penalty if you default on the contract. So it pays to get the wording right, and not to commit to anything you are not prepared to see through. In particular, if the property has not been habitable after a couple of years or so before the purchase - and remember that the French idea of 'habitable' is not necessarily the same as the English idea, and the fact that it may have been lived once upon a time is irrelevant - make sure that the purchase is conditional on getting a positive CU (certificat d'urbanisme - outline permission to make it habitable).

The compromis should include a copy of the plan cadastrale, unless there are new boundaries which need to be established, in which case you may be expected to contribute towards the cost of an official surveyor (geometre).

Notaires, as mentioned above, are impartial. That means a smoother transaction in that you will not get time-consuming and expensive arguments between solicitors. But although many notaires are very helpful, they are not obliged, in the same way as a solicitor would be, to tell you of matters that may adversely affect the purchase other than things that come up on the rather cursory French searches. It is unlikely that an English solicitor would find those either, unless he was very familiar with your particular piece of France, so you need to do some of your own homework, asking at the mairie or in local bars, reading local papers, and looking for roadside protest notices, about, e.g. landfill sites, electricity lines, TGV routes etc. If you do ask a specific question of a notaire, he is bound to answer you honestly to the best of his knowledge (but some can be forgetful at times).

If you have been introduced by the agent, then you have to pay the agent's fee. If you have gone direct to the seller, then unless the seller has an exclusive agreement with the agent, there will be no agency fee payable. This fee can be anything from about 4% to 10% or more, so it is worth remembering.

Having said that, because you pay the agent you can expect a lot of help from the agent (though you may not necessarily get it in all cases) including provision of translation. This is mainly the sort of service that some British companies charge extra for. They can do so because they are in Britain - in France, such charges over and above the quoted agency fee would not be considered legal.

Notaire fees and taxes, which have to be added to any sale (except those advertised as 'fully inclusive', in which case they are often somewhat over-estimated) will account for a further 8% or so on an average house - there are on-line calculators you can use to get a close approximation.

[stevec4117]

Thanks everyone for your prompt and helpful answers.  Certainly makes sense to avoid feeling pressurised into committing too soon however much we may want the property.

 

Any more help gratefully received!

 

Steve 

[united]

Steve,

A lot of sound advice.

We used Moneycorp and bought a futures contract for the Euros. This is where you can say I need x euros in say 3 months they quote you a rate, you pay 10% and the balance at the end of 3 months or whatever period you choose.

The benefit is that you remove any exchange rate fluctuations from your purchase and you have the use of the 90% meantime. The downside is that if the exchange rate moves in your favour ie the £ becomes stronger you do not gain. 

You will of course need some Euros for your deposit which should only be paid to the notaire. This will be a separate transaction.

I satisfied myself that Moneycorp were sound financially you may wish to do the same.

I think VEF offer a package and do not unbundle elements.

You can also use the search facility on this site as most questions have been raised at one time or another.

Hope all goes well.

[somme man]

I have used Moneycorp for the purchase and the ongoing transfer of funds and have found them to be excellent.

I bank with HSBC who offer an English speaking service at certain branches.

I used an English speaking Paris based lawyer to liaise with the notaire on my behalf and brief me prior to signing the compromis and the final purchase documents however I believe that the notaire must supply a translator at your expense if you language skills are not great.

Be aware that the Immo may ask you to sign a document prior to letting you see the house, this is to ensure that they get the commission if you purchase.