French mortgage - how small?

[Chris]

This might seem a really strange question, but how small a mortgage can one get in France?

We have most of our capital for our hoped-for purchase, but might need say 40K euros maximum to make the purchase comfortably. I need to be able to cover this with an existing UK insurance policy, since I became an 'unattractive insurance prospect' after recovering from Something Nasty four years ago.

People are keen to lend me a lot of money, but it could be more than I want or need (or afford to repay).[:-))]

Any thoughts, anybody, please?

Chris

[Iceni]

Sorry Chris you have completely the wrong attitude to borrowing. Grab as much as they will lend you (preferably on credit cards at stupid interest rates), squander it on short term high living etc and then complain when the interest rates go up. Better still, get into really deep doo-doo and appear on satellite tv so that the rest of us can snigger. This is what keeps Britain Great. [:D]

I would only borrow what I really, really needed but none of us can tell you what you should do.

John

not

[ebaynut]

Chris,

IMHO you would be best to go with a personal unsecured loan in the UK.

If your credit history is good, you should be able to get one for about 6.0% fixed for life of loan, for up to £25K over seven years. DO NOT take out payment protection with it however.

Advantages, no set up fees, small early repayment charge if you do pay up before the end, and you will know your life policy will cover it from the UK.

Down side is, its in pounds, but changing this amount would not cost much, and of course you will have a Nationwide account to help with this.

If you take a Mortgage in France, you will have to supply all sorts of paperwork, pay the lender a set up fee, which would include a valuation, pay the Notaire a fee for registering the mortgage,  wait around for weeks/months while all this is done. If you wanted to repay early the fee would most likely be quite high. Also you would need life insurance, and it is highly unlikely that they would accept your UK policy for this. As you state you have had health issues, you know what this will mean.

Of course I don't know your personal situation, and this may change this somewhat.

[Chris]

Thank you, for these replies.

To the first - yes, right,OK: I'm in a job where being bankrupt is a sacking offence, and, since my house is supplied with the job, I don't plan to spend the rest of my life in a hut in Paraguay avoiding my creditors! [:-))] I know I plan to do more gardening in retirement, but the fascination of the jungle flora might be spoiled by worries about the jungle fauna!

To the second - interesting angle, and I'll give this some thought.[I]  Looking just now, though, the cheapest rate I can find seems to be nearly 8%!

And to you both, seriously - thanks again: I knew there would be ideas out there!

Chris

[ebaynut]

Chris,

Try looking at www.moneysavingexpert.com.  

A leaflet came with my magazine last week from A+L offering 6.4%.

Try also phoning the many lender around, some will haggle over rates, there are lots to choose from.

Also if the Bank of England does drop rates soon, then this will make  loans cheaper, but the best thing is, they are fixed for life.

Good luck.

 

 

[cartref]

Hi Chris,

As a single 60 year old lady, I needed a small mortgage to afford somewhere half decent in France. I contacted several lenders who wouldn't lend anything under 50,000€. So I checked some of the advertisers here on Living France magazine and found one www.cafpi.net who were brilliant. The counsellor was bi-lingual, communication was weekly either by phone or e-mail and the amount was well below the 50k€ from other lenders. And the interest rate was below 4%. Couldn't better it if  I tried. As  is usual to say on these forums I have no connections with this company only as a very satisfied customer.

Bon chance

roseysan

[powerdesal]

[quote user="ebaynut"]

If you take a Mortgage in France, you will have to supply all sorts of paperwork, pay the lender a set up fee, which would include a valuation, pay the Notaire a fee for registering the mortgage,  wait around for weeks/months while all this is done. If you wanted to repay early the fee would most likely be quite high. Also you would need life insurance, and it is highly unlikely that they would accept your UK policy for this. As you state you have had health issues, you know what this will mean.

[/quote]

Not my experience of getting a mortgage in France, very little paperwork, no set up fee, no notaire fee, done in literally a few days, no life insurance requirement, low fixed rate of interest (fixed for the ten year life of the mortgage). Mortgage with CIN in Normandy, Villedieu branch.

[cartref]

I would also add that I didnot at anytime have to furnish my lender with anything other than what you would have had to do in the UK. Passport copy, utility bill and proof of income. Easy as pie.

cartref

[Llwyncelyn]

Hi Steve sorry but my experience of obtaining a mortgage in France does not align with yours.

We are moving from Normandie for a number of valid reasons and going further south.  For inheritance reasons as in no children and with my wife having two from previous marriages thought to re-jig our funding and thus apply for a very small mortgage.

It was like pulling teeth and as I had to supply all bank statements including UK ones some bright spark herecame up with an address in the UK and then we were going through hide and seek.  It was our old home before we moved in the UK and then bought some investment property as well as a new home in the UK which is too rented.

All of this was disclosed by our UK Solicitor but this one address caused great problems and it took a further sworn document to allay their fears.

In the end I funded it from resources for yes it is important not to go down the route of six times earnings but this truly was minimal and both as a lawyer and one time Regional Director of a UK bank I hopefully know what I am doing?

If you are ever flying from the Emirates to say Bordeaux or whatever please come and see us.

Christian sends his regards.  Incidentally he has painted the brocante!

rdgs

 

[Llwyncelyn]

Cartref as in Welsh?

[powerdesal]

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]

If you are ever flying from the Emirates to say Bordeaux or whatever please come and see us.

Christian sends his regards.  Incidentally he has painted the brocante!

rdgs

[/quote]

I certainly will visit if in the area. Regards to Linda.

How on earth will I recognise Christians place now???? It must be the first lick of paint in ?? years. It will be next year before I see him, maybe the "newness" will have worn off by then!

[mint]

[quote user="Llwyncelyn"]Cartref as in Welsh?[/quote]

Don't you mean Cartref as in "home"?

[cartref]

Cartref as in name of my sister former home!!!

thanks

[Paul Bradford]

Hi Chris,

I'm not sure how low they go, but I would imagine quite low seeing some of the prices that you can obtain properties for. Anyway my wife has just taken out a mortgage to buy a plot of land next to our house. It was for €30,000. She applied for a mortgage here, as releasing funds in the UK was going to take too long. The bank (Banque Populaire) were quite happy to lend. The land was just arable land, which we were planning to just keep as meadow. (Since applying for the mortgage, CU has been granted on the land. We didn't want this, but the Notaire made it a condition of sale! It made no difference to the price paid.) The rate was 4.4% which the Bank Manager apologised for as she said it had only just gone up. It is over 15 years, but I think it would have been quite easy to get longer if we had wanted. There are no penalties for early redemption. They wanted proof of income. I had to sign to say that I would pay if my wife defaulted! We had to take out a small insurance policy. There was no valuation fee. The Notaire's charge was normal. The Bank Manager took us out to lunch as well! She was astounded at the interest rates in the UK.

I forgot to mention this rate is fixed for the full term, which is not unusual here. Apparently people like to know they have a regular amount going out each month.

Hope this helps,

Paul