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Hi,  We are thinking of buying a house in France initially to use as a holidayhome, with a view to retiring there.  Can anyone advise what sort of expenses we would incur: local taxes,rates fuel charges etc.  We are tempted to buy now as we are worried prices might have shot up by the time we are able to move permanantly.

Hi Sonya.

Buying a property in France its the opposite to buying in the UK - the buyer pays the fee's & tax's!

Legal costs are normally 6/7% plus the agent charges anything up to a massive 10% - try not to use one if you can.

Local tax is about a 2 thirds of what you pay in the UK - Fuel is cheaper but not by much.

Property in our area is still going up by 20% a year! Plus any improvements you do to the property.

I hope this helps.

Sonya,

it's always smarter to take out a mortgage here in France. The loan rate's cheaper than the UK by up to 3%. I'm not sure that the French banks will be over keen to lend you the dosh though if you're not going to live here 'en permanance', as it were. Have you tried raising finance through the UK divisions of major French banks?

Don't forget that you can engage the services of 'courtiers' (mortgage brokers) that will search for the best rates for you on your behalf. Our courtier found us a better rate than the best bank rate we found. Ok, it was only 0.25%, but better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick! 

Try www.ucb-french-mortgage.com which is the UK version of BNP Paribas, for instance, as a starting point for info. It's entirely your choice whether you use an agent over here or not. It's true that some agents will charge up to 10% of the property's value as their fee. It's then up to you to get the most value from them for your 10%. Make THEM do the legwork, let them introduce you to the Maire, the school (if needs be), and let them make sure that all utilities are in place and on the correct tarrifs. Sometimes, given the mire that is French Beurocracy, this is well worth the extra that you'll pay. All of the notaires in France work pretty much on fixed price guidelines, so they'll almost always charge you the same amount of money for their services. That's why a French Immobilliere (estate agent) can quote you the price so accurately, as they know what they in turn will pay to the notaire on your behalf! A notaire is essentially a collector of taxes on behalf of the French government. If you need any more info, just drop me a line. My e-mail link is below.

Where are you looking at properties?

Bon Chance!

Quote: Originally posted by Juravan on 06/10/2006

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Be careful - apparently there are rules that unless you do something in the paperwork when you buy your children/family won't necessarily inherit the house. Get a good solicitor!

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Not sure that's true. Most French homes are automatically inherited by next of kin. That's why there are so many left derelict as the family can't agree to sell. There are ways to circumvent this. One of which is to buy (as we did) by the creation of a small company. (SCI - Societe Civile Immobilliere). You don't necessarily need a solicitor either as the Notaire acts both on your behalf, AND the government's. They are regulated by a governing body. They are NOT allowed to accept payments 'under the table' as some would want you to do.

My advice is do the research as we did before taking the plunge. It can be very straightforward to buy here. It can be a nightmare if you choose not to engage professional help.

Hi Floydfan - you know much more about it than I do of course but I found info on a reputable french property website some time ago when friends were buying. The legal section states:

"The full service includes the basic service elements but is open-ended. It will include succession planning (French inheritance laws define who must inherit property), "

and I know that you have to be aware of this (though it is easy to get round). agree totally that you need good legal advice!

Hi Stu,  couldn't get email link to work.  Our situation is that we own our uk property outright and would be looking to borrow less than 50% of the purchase price.  We are wondering how currency fluctuations would affect a Euro mortgage and would we need to get a survey done.  Does the Notaire work on our behalf as well as the seller or would we be better off engaging our own?  We have read  that on completing the sale we have to provide copies of our birth and marriage certificates translated into French.  If so can we do this ourselves or does it have to be done officially?  We are looking around Deux Sevres and Limousin as we want to be within 100 miles of the coast.

Cheers Sonya

Hi Sonya,

currency fluctuations really do affect the price you pay. Make sure you shop around for the best deal you can get. One that guarantees to beat the others is Worldwide Currencies. We have used them since moving to France and found them to be faultless. They work with Barclays in the UK, so they have enormous buying power. If you use them, please mention us?

You can have surveys done here, they're usually carried out by an architect. There are plenty of English speaking architects around. Look on the various info Forums & websites around. A survey WILL cost you money, BUT it's peace of mind. As a matter of course here in France, the seller MUST commission a survey on his property for lead, asbestos and termites. The further south you go, the more likely an infestation of termites. But it isn't usual, so don't worry too much about it. The seller pays for and publishes the report to a prospective buyer. This is carried out only after the 7-day cooling off period after signing the Compromis de Vente. This is literally a 'Promise to buy'. You can have your Notaire, who can act on behalf of both the buyer & the seller, to insert a clause in the contract to the effect that 'should you not raise the mortgage, or should there be a problem with the survey etc.', then you're allowed to 'renege' on the deal at no loss to yourself financially. If you do NOT have this type of clause, and decide to pull out, you WILL lose your deposit.

We were never asked by our Notaire for copies of birth certs etc. The bank obviously did when signing for the mortgage, so whether this info was passed on to the Notaire, I dunno. When we've taken our birth certificates anywhere, (registering for French Healthcare for instance), we've never had to have them translated.

The Deux Sevres is just below us, as is Limousin, and we believe that prices are increasing down there by around 10% year on year. So, hurry up! If you look on our website, there's a Contact Us page where you can e-mail us direct. If we can help in any way, give us a shout!

Hello Sonya we are looking to buy in Deux Sevres too! but for a permanent home - the local council website there has a page devoted to helping 'newcomers' settle in and its in English too

http://www.gatine.org/index.asp?page=http://www.intragatine.org/PaysGatine/Portail/newcomers/newcomers.asp

Good luck with your search...!