transferring from pounds to euros to pounds for a house sale - is it necessary ??

[caroline]

Hello

I am buying a house in France from a woman who has returned to Britain. The estate agents have told me that the money on the day has to be in Euros. However it will waste funds because I will have to have it converted to euros, and the seller will then convert it back. I was wondering if there is some way of having the money in an account, and showing the equivalence in euros on paper, but returning to its value before the conversion - for the seller ? Has anyone done this please - ?

thank you for your comments

[zeb]

You pay the deposit, then the balance to Notaire (definitely not to the agent) in France, so it has to be in euros. The notaire they makes deductions for legal expenses, taxes due etc, and then sends the balance to the vendor.

Use moneybookers or another transfer company.

[Nick Trollope]

In theory at least, you can pay the notaire his dues in Euros, and the vendor in Sterling. BUT (big BUT) you will need a) a UK Solicitor willing to work with a Notaire and b) Notaire willing to work with a UK Solicitor. Probably cost you more than the losses in the conversions.

As the buyer, it isn't your problem anyway. You must have agreed a price in Euros, surely?

[allanb]

If the price was agreed in sterling, is there any reason why it can't be settled in sterling?  French banks are quite capable of opening accounts in currencies other than the euro.

I can see that the notary would want his fees and expenses in euros, but apart from that I don't see why he would object, although it might be an unusual transaction.

Nick says you would need a UK solicitor - but why?

[virginia.c]

something similar was suggested to me recently.  I was going to be buying from a woman also returning to England who suggested that I give her the price in sterling (I would have had to pay the agent fee and the notaire fee in euros though).  I was using a solicitor in the UK who told me it would very much depend on the Notaire and it would be his/her decision.  The solicitor believed that the Notaire may think some "money laundering/dodgy dealings/tax evasion" may be taking place.  As the purchase fell apart for other reasons we never got to the point of asking the Notaire if he/she would agree to a part purchase in sterling.   Could you try asking the Notaire?

Best of luck!

[allanb]

[quote user="virginia.c"]The solicitor believed that the Notaire may think some "money laundering/dodgy dealings/tax evasion" may be taking place. [/quote]The solicitor didn't know what he was talking about. The currency in which a price is fixed has nothing to do with "money laundering/dodgy dealings/tax evasion".  The source of the funds may have something to do with those activities.

[virginia.c]

Thank you  for that Alan. 

 You may have a different opinion from me -  you may want to express it.  You may even have some specialised knowledge which might help Caroline.  But please, please, try to remain courteous, as do most on this forum, regardless of their opinions of what they read.

[Chancer]

To me belief  is not the same thing as knowledge.

One can believe something without knowing what one is talking about.

Take faith for instance[:)]

[hoverfrog]

at the end of the day the money has to be in the notaire's account before he will act on your behalf as a buyer (i. e. when your money is in the notaire's account then he will do everything in his power to complete the sale)

If your seller happens to be English, same as you, well you don't get any advantages under french law. The sale of a french house, in france, under french law, means you have to do it according to the law as it stands, in that place at the time. In effect, if you want to buy/sell a house in France you have to do it according to the current legistlation.

There are no short-cuts - if you want to pay the seller in UKP and they are OK with that then AFAIK the whole deal still has to go via the notaire (and they usually only deal in euros!).

YMMV, but that's the situation as I see it (and how it's been proven to work round here!).

[Nicos]

This was e-mailes to us the other day.

http://www.frenchentree.com/french-law/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=29313

Hope that helps??

[Will]

There is a British law practice that can handle what you want to do: http://www.sykesanderson.com/service_france/articles/french_sale_in_sterling.asp

(I suspect the link above may give very similar information).

Note that you need a notaire in France (one that is willing to work this way - most are not), plus two English solicitors, one to represent each party. So unless it is a very expensive house, what you save on currency exchange is likely to be absorbed in legal costs.

 

[allanb]

[quote user="virginia.c"]

Thank you  for that Alan. 

 You may have a different opinion from me -  you may want to express it.  You may even have some specialised knowledge which might help Caroline.  But please, please, try to remain courteous, as do most on this forum, regardless of their opinions of what they read.

[/quote]

I'm sorry if you took offence, but I meant no discourtesy to you.  You were quoting the opinion of a professional adviser, and a professional who gives bad advice deserves criticism. 

[virginia.c]

Thank you for your apology Alan.  Accepted with good grace.  The ultimate advice of the professional in question, however, was to discuss the matter with the Notaire - and this is what we would have done had the purchase progressed.  In my opinion this was sensible advice, clearly it did not accord with your opinion, but thankfully, we are all entitled to our views and can choose to take what advice we feel most helpful in any given circumstance.  What is bad advice to you may be helpful to another.  It is my opinion (there's that word again) that it is more helpful simply not to take advice that we do not agree with than to declare it "bad".  Certainly it is less confrontational (in my opinion).

Please pm me Alan if you would like to discuss further - we may otherwise be banned for boring everyone else to tears!

[allanb]

I'll risk another public message just to point out that throughout this forum (and others) you will find plenty of disrespectful comments on mistaken or silly opinions expressed by professional advisers : bankers, electricians, builders, estate agents, insurance agents, etc.  Solicitors who express silly opinions are not immune.

However, I will modify my wording.  Next time, instead of saying he doesn't know what he's talking about, I will say he is insufficiently informed about his subject matter.   People will still know what I mean.

(By the way, you misrepresent me.  His advice "to discuss the matter with the Notaire" was not in conflict with my opinion - you didn't mention that the first time.  I happen to think that was good advice.)

[phylisbide]

Hi

When we bought our friends' share of our French house, all the Notaire wanted to see was the money confirmed in the English Bank account. Organised a letter from their Bank, gave it to the Notaire and then paid his bill separately. No difficulty at all. Hope that helps. Phylis