There are 3 main stages.

Once you have found the property and you can get the mortgage you want, an agreement is negotiated between you and the seller. This initial contract is called a sous-seing privé if drawn up by an estate agent or a compromis de vente if prepared by a notaire (sollicitor), who acts as an independent official. It is legally binding and you pay a deposit of 2.5% to 10% of the purchase price into a special account held by the notaire [This amount will be deducted to the amount paid to the solicitor. If at the end of the day you don't want to buy the property, you will loose that amount. On the other hand, if you are not successful in getting a mortgage, you will get a refund].

Check the document carefully before signing. French law provides for the inclusion of a number of suspensive clauses, which allow the buyer to pull out without financial penalty if a problem is discovered.
[A seven-day cooling-off period was introduced in which a buyer can pull out even after signing the final contract, albeit with the loss of the standard deposit]

Surveys are unusual in France. It's more usual for the bank to take an hypothèque (warranty) on the accommodation itself and you are free to ask artisans the conditions of the roof (for a house) or walls and so on. However there is nothing to stop you having a proper survey done. Also, considering making checks at the mairie (town-hall) for any planned development in the area. But make sure you do all these things before signing thr sous-seing privé or compromis de vente (or promesse d'achat).

In the second stage, there generally follows a period of 6 to 8 weeks in which checks are carried out by the independent notaire to establish whether there are any charges on the property, any adverse planning restriction, any-third party rights of way, or any claim on the property by the local authority. Documentation is now prepared, and the buyers secures finance for the purchase (the ability to secure a mortgage is a mandatory suspensive clause).

The final stage is the contract: the acte de vente is signed at the notaire's office. You may pay the balance of the purchase price to the notaire who passes it to the seller: You must provide a copy of your birth and marriage certificates. The buyer also pays the legal and registration fees (though not the estate agent fees) which are around 7% of the purchase price.

It is now time to get to know you neighbours (quite a decent thing to do and the French way!) and register to the town-hall, if not already done.

http:///ar.pap.fr is the well-known website for De Particulier à Particuliers, the number one real-estate group in France which also publish a series of booklet. The site is both in French and English.

You can also visit the website A Vendre:
http://www.minitelorama.com/index_neuf.htm

Mortgage

When you want to buy accommodation, you will need to contact a financial company (or several) for the mortgage. The mortgage cannot exceed 33% (or 38%) of your monthly net wage (e.g. 1830 €/month borrow 603 € to 695 €. You must remove all current credits (such as car credit, etc). The best mortgages are often provided by broker agencies (agences de courtage); you can consult CAFPI (http://www.cafpi.fr) but they don't offer a full guarantee on the mortgage in case you cannot afford the payment anymore (up to 75% usually instead of 100% guaranteed from a bank). If you want to simulate a mortgage, you can consult http://www.laposte.fr

The average duration of a mortgage is between 10 and 15 years. You can find a lot of information at: http://www.cil-leaders.fr/ocil.

 Share: 

	Sponsored Links