Selling French house from uk

[John]

Hi,

We are selling our house in France and have advertised it privately. If we manage to sell it without using an agent to another English couple, how easy is it to complete the transaction from the uk for both parties involved.

Regards John

[Sunday Driver]

The process is the same regardless of where you both live. 

You will need to appoint a notaire who will draw up a compromis de vente and sent it out to you for signature.  You return it to the notaire, who then sends it to the buyer for his signature. This commits the buyer to the purchase.  Once the signed compromis forms are returned to the notaire, he will then proceed with the conveyancing.  When the acte authentique is ready for final signature, he will invite both parties to attend for the signing.  You can also give the notaire power of attorney to have the acte document signed on your behalf if you prefer not to travel to France for the signing.

As the seller, you will have to arrange for the mandatory inspections for asbestos/termites etc to take place and for copies of the reports to be provided to the buyer/notaire. If the property is not your principal residence, then the notaire will deduct the capital gains tax due from the sale proceeds.

From the buyer's perspective, they will need to make their own arrangements with the notaire concerning their status with regards to potential inheritance liability, any additional planning permissions, etc.