trainman Posted October 1, 2009 Share Posted October 1, 2009 Maybe this has been asked before but can anyone tell me when purchasing a house in France, what a "freehold" is?Thanks for the helpTrainman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pads Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 I think its Pleine propriété but Im sure a better frenchn speaker will come along soon and tell you for sure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 [quote user="trainman"]Maybe this has been asked before but can anyone tell me when purchasing a house in France, what a "freehold" is?[/quote]Pleine propriété would get my vote. However, I suspect that the reason that everyone hasn't jumped in on this one is that it would be VERY unusual to come across anything that ISN'T either freehold or else in the case of apartments and the like, the French version of commonhold (ie with an apartment, although you own the apartment outright, you jointly own the common parts of the building or development with all the other owners). The English concept of leasehold, where the land is owned by someone else who leases it to you on a very long-term lease for building purposes, would be extremely rare if not unknown, I believe.RegardsPickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
La Guerriere Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 There may be historical reasons for this: many large French landowners were shortened a couple of hundred years ago .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NormanH Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 First: always beware of seeking a direct translation between languages. Sometimes not only the words are different, but also the concept., for example an 'overdraft' in English and a 'découvert' in French.It is possible in France to separate the 'usufruit' or 'right to live in/use the property' (see Usufruct in English) from the 'Nue propriété', the ownership of the property The person with the usufruit pays the taxes on the property, and must pay certain costs of upkeep but doesn't pay a rent to the owner.The usufruitier can also rent it out, but must keep it in good order and bear the costs and risks of rentalThe owner has no taxes to pay, including 'Impôts sur la fortune', but has to pay certain major repairs provided they haven't been caused by a failure to maintain it.The term for this separation (a bit grisly to English ears) is "démembrement"On the other hand, as with a lease, the usufruit can come back to the owner. This is known as ' demembrement temporaire', and the date should have been fixed at the beginning.Most people here won't be concerned by the distinction, both are usually sold together, but it could crop up if you by 'en viager' . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 The other thing that occurred to me was that if one were interested in buying a business - eg a hotel - then one would need to distinguish between buying just the business (fonds) versus buying the building (murs) and both (murs et fonds).If one buys the fonds, one is simply buying the business and the right to occupy the property on a lease from the owner (for which you pay rent).If one buys the murs, then one owns the property but not necessarily the business (if it is a going concern!) - in which case the propooerty is essentially an investment, producing rents. If it is not a going concern, or there is no business operating it, then you have effectively bought the murs and fonds, ie you own the property and the business.However, my guess is that all this is WAY beyond what the original poster was asking about, who probably wants to know if he is likely to end up paying ground rent and having restrictive clauses in a ground rent leasehold.RegardsPickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody234 Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 In the uk freehold means you own the land and leasehold is a 999 year lease but in france the house is owned by a family so they have a freehold because family generations live in the same house but in the uk you have to sell the house when you die, to pay capital gains tax Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LEO Posted October 6, 2009 Share Posted October 6, 2009 [quote user="woody234"]In the uk freehold means you own the land and leasehold is a 999 year lease but in france the house is owned by a family so they have a freehold because family generations live in the same house but in the uk you have to sell the house when you die, to pay capital gains tax [/quote]This post above doesn't make any sense to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maricopa Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 [quote user="woody234"]In the uk freehold means you own the land and leasehold is a 999 year lease but in france the house is owned by a family so they have a freehold because family generations live in the same house but in the uk you have to sell the house when you die, to pay capital gains tax [/quote][8-)] And it wasn't even late at night[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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