Money transfer to Notaire before signing the act

[Chris T]

We have been advised by our notaire that we need to transfer the balance of funds for our purchase to the notaire's account 10 days before the signing. Is this normal? I was assuming as long as the funds were there on the day, then this would be OK. Any advice?

Thanks

[gosub]

I think it's a reasonable request, they need to know the funds are cleared before getting everybody together for the signing. Unless you are taking cash of course[:D]

[Benjamin]

Or you could tell the notaire beforehand that you'll be bringing a bank draft from XYZ (French) bank. We just turned up on the day with ours and it was accepted without question.

That way you get to keep your money for a bit longer.

I know that gosub put a [:D] in his posting but you cannot pay more than 3.500€ in cash in France.

[Will]

Allowing 10 days (i.e. 7-8 working days) is quite usual. Notaires' accounts are at the Trésor Public rather than at a clearing bank, so that can often add an extra transfer, and extra time, if the funds have to go from your bank (or from your bank to that used by a currency exchange house) then to whichever French high street bank they have an arrangement with, and then to the notaire's account. Some exchange brokers have supposedly more rapid transfer arrangements but these cannot always be relied upon, so it is recommended to err on the side of caution.

But don't worry unduly; there was a recent topic here about money that had not arrived in time. If the notaire is happy that the buyer has sent the funds then he will usually allow the signing to go ahead, but may not release the keys etc until the money is actually there. But nine times out of ten the cash does seem to arrive at the last minute.

 

[ams]

A friend recently purchased (december 2007), his bank sent the transfer and the notaire got it 30 minutes later. That was € to €, not sure what the £ to € situation is.

 

ams

[AnOther]

We transferred ours about 3 weeks before the due date because our signing was in January and we didn't want to risk any Christmas/New Year hiccups.

To cover any unexpected expenses we also overpaid by about 400 Euros which our Notaire repaid at the signing by way of a cheque which we promptly used to open or French bank A/C.

I know some people prefer to hang on to the last miute to get that final £1 interest though [;-)]

[Anton Redman]

If it is out of a French bank account and you have internet banking then subject to setting the notaire up as an authorised payee for the deposit I cannot see why you cannot do the final payment that way.   

[Will]

Most people opt to use a currency exchange company to transfer the money direct from their British (or other foreign) accounts, because (at least up to now) they feel they get a better exchange rate and make the most of better interest rates by leaving it there for the longest possible time. I agree that transferring from a French account is probably the most foolproof - but many would say it is not the most cost-effective.