A good agent will ask all these questions and you need to be honest with them to make sure you get the best advice.
Let’s start with the budget
In France, a property cannot be offered for sale with a price of “Offers in the region of” etc. The price shown will usually be inclusive of the agency fee (FAI – Frais Agence Inclus) but check to make sure.
That doesn't mean that the price is not negotiable. The price negotiated by your agent will not include “Notaire's fees” which includes the fee for the transfer of the title and all the duties payable to the French government. These are usually 7% to 8% of the property price so allow for this in your budget. When talking to your agent, it's advisable to ask them for an approximate calculation of all fees to avoid a nasty shock later in the process!
That brings us to the transfer of your new home
Only a Notaire can do the legal transfer of a property and they are totally impartial. Unlike the UK, where buyer and seller have their own solicitors, the Notaire takes total responsibility for the legal transfer and payment of duties, therefore there is no requirement for each party to use a different notaire. As in the UK, the transfer is in two parts; the initial contract (Compromis de Vente) and the final contract (Acte de Vente).
The Compromis de Vente
is an initial draft of what will become the Acte de Vente laying out all the conditions and obligations between the seller and buyer. This will include details of mortgages, rights of way etc. and all the required surveys (you’ll find details in the January issue of The Good Life France Magazine).
The Acte de Vente
will include details of the previous owners and transfers giving a paper trail that proves ownership. These documents will be in French but don't be afraid to ask your agent for an English translation of the Compromis.
That's a brief view of how your purchase in France will work. In future editions we'll look at other questions such as where to buy, what to look for.
If you have any questions about buying property in France that you'd like Tim to answer, send them to: [email protected]
Tim can be contacted at: [email protected]