It's necessary to have a financing plan ready before you sign the preliminary contract, (Promesse de vente). The facts about whether you will take a bank loan or not have to be stated in this particular contract. The French banks normally grant a loan up to 70% of the purchase sum, excluding the costs for the solicitor, (Notaire).
However, like any bank, the local French banks will need proof of your financial assets before they will authorise a loan.

The interest rate is currently just above 5% for a 15-year mortgage loan. We have good contacts with French banks, for example Crédit Agricole, and if you wish we can easily arrange a meeting for you with one of them.

French law requires that the property is insured, and that this insurance cover must be arranged before the final purchase contract is signed. The law states the minimum cover for fire and third party insurance. We can recommend some reliable insurance companies, such as SWISS Life and Pacifica.

Every owner of property must pay a land tax (taxe foncière). It's payable by the owner of the property on the 1st of January of the current year. Note: It's determined for all owned property; house, apartment or land.

However when the final purchase contract is being signed the solicitor explains to the new owner that he/she is liable to pay this tax as from the date of the signature, even if the former owner has already paid for the whole year. This results in a settlement of accounts between seller and buyer during the act of signing the final purchase contract.
The land tax (taxe foncière) varies from town to town but rarely exceeds 700 Euro for an ordinary house.

A dwelling tax (taxe d'habitation) is levied on the number of people who live in the house or in the apartment, no matter whether they're owners or tenants. This tax is paid for the whole year by the person/people occupying the property on the 1st of January. Please note that this tax is non-refundable.

Both taxes mentioned above are due for payment in October/November every year. In both cases it's recommended not to pay too late, since a penalty fee of 10% is debited promptly.