Buying a house in France (1)
Many people dream of owning a home in France: an old Provençal or Charentais farmhouse, a seaside home in Brittany or an apartment in a town or city. Perhaps you have browsed in the windows of local estate agents while you are on holiday and been amazed at how much more you get for your money in France. You may even have started to think about buying and arranged to view a few houses that look interesting possibilities.
When you walk through the door of a French estate agency, you are venturing into dangerous territory. Buying a house in France is very different from buying a house in England.
A binding contract is signed at a much earlier stage before you have even arranged your finance. The contract, known as a compromis de vente, is often prepared by the estate agent, and you may be asked to sign one soon after you have viewed a property and said you like it. Never sign anything until you have had an opportunity to think about the details of the transaction, especially if you are on holiday at the time. Sunshine and the local wine do not always lead to sensible decisions. Although French law provides a cooling off period after the contract has been signed, it is only seven days, so if you sign a contract near the beginning of your holiday, it will be too late to withdraw when you arrive home ten days later.
Surveys are virtually unheard of in France and you will get a frosty reception if you suggest that you need one. You buy as seen. On the other hand, the vendor is obliged to give you a certificate that the property is free of termites and other pests.
The contract must provide a period for you to arrange finance; if you cannot obtain a mortgage in the time agreed, you can cancel the contract and ask for your deposit back. Although you can state that you do not require finance (in a clause which you must write into the contract by hand in French) this is not advisable. Always keep your options open.
Although you sign the contract at early stage, it will be two or three months before you can complete your purchase. Partly this is to allow the notaire to make searches and enquiries, and partly to allow certain public authorities with rights of pre-emption to decide whether they wish to buy the property from the vendor. If you are pre-empted, tough. Start looking for another house.
The notaire is the lawyer who deals with the conveyancing, but he or she does not work on the same basis as an English solicitor. For a start he acts for both parties. And he is also an officer of the French state, responsible for collecting stamp duties and registering the purchase. He will advise the parties, but do not expect him to take your side in arguments over fixtures and fittings.
You have to attend the notaire’s office on completion. If you are unable to go to France in person you will have to sign a power of attorney (which the notaire will prepare) to enable the purchase to be completed in your absence. But it is better to be there. You can check the property before you complete and you will be able to collect the keys and arrange the transfer of utilities.
It is important to consider the effect of French inheritance laws before you complete the purchase.
We recommend that you take advice before you sign any contract to purchase property in France. For further information and advice please contact Chris Wallworth at our City Centre office.
For information about French inheritance laws, click here