In order to facilitate for our clients we have translated several legal documents into English. You should never sign anything unless you are sure of what you are signing.

Through our help and through our real estate agency contacts we will help you finding the property or apartment you're looking for. If you use our "search profile" feature the process of finding what you really want increases considerably. Once we know your wishes we select 5 - 6 different possible properties to visit. If you find the house/apartment of your dreams immediately that's great, however, the first selection normally aims to further define the specific wishes you might have.

Let's assume that you have found a house you like. That's when the price negotiation starts. In France, as anywhere else, the buyer wants to pay as little as possible and the seller wants to sell at the highest price possible. Today's situation is turning out to be more and more the seller's market, it's unlikely you will be able to push the price down very much.

When buyer and seller are in agreement the real estate agency draws up a preliminary purchase contract, (Promesse de vente). It's a contract that basically works as a purchase contract, a commitment from buyer and seller, where the buyer only pays a down payment, usually 10% of the agreed price.
Both parties' sign and the documents are sent to a solicitor, (Notaire). The solicitor will then take a closer look at the details of the deal. This takes approximately 2 months and during this period the solicitor makes sure there aren't any outstanding rights on the property, that the local authorities don't have any specific development plans in mind which could mean expropriation, etc. The solicitor will also see to it that there isn't any old mortgage on the property that hasn't come out into the open.

When the solicitor has done his work the final purchase contract is drawn up, the rest of the agreed sum is paid, and then you are owner of the property!

It's very important to keep in mind that if the potential buyer changes his/her mind and doesn't want to follow through with the acquisition, the down payment goes to the seller, unless an alternative arrangement was agreed and written in to the preliminary purchase contract (Promesse de vente). The potential buyer might even be liable to pay the real estate agency fee. It's therefore very important to be sure of what You want as a potential buyer. The French laws are relentless in these cases. However, if the solicitor finds irregularities with the property, the buyer can back out and also gets the down payment back.

Consequently, buying property in France could be a long story, but it also means that no bad surprise will hit you afterwards. All transactions are very thorough and most people find that very reassuring. For the work the solicitor puts in the buyer pays a fee, a so called (frais notaire). It's calculated as a percentage of the purchase sum and can vary, depending on the price. Count on approximately 6-9%. If you have agreed on paying 150 000 Euro for the house you will pay approximately 10 000 Euro on top of the 150 000 Euro. In France it's the seller who pays the real estate agency fees.
Franska Hus closely assists the clients during this whole process.