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Office Notarial de Baillargues
340 rue des Écoles
34670 BAILLARGUES
Tel. (33) 04 67 87 66 15
Fax (33) 04 67 70 06 51
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| The house-buying process in France is quite straightforward, but it’s different to the UK system in several ways. A notary will guide you through it...
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The stages involved in buying French properties |
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1. The pre-contract
“I’ve found my dream house in the south of France”
The first stage in the buying process is the “avant-contrat” (pre-contract), which is a kind of holding agreement signed by both parties.
As the buyer, you will probably be asked to pay a deposit at this stage (often 10%). If the seller backs out, they generally have to pay you double your deposit. If you back out, you may lose your deposit – but the law gives you a ‘cooling off period’ to change your mind. To find out more, read our article: Protection of the house buyer
The buyer and seller agree on a timescale for completing all the sale formalities. In general, it takes three months from signing the pre-contract to signing the final sale deed. This is the time needed to carry out searches on the house and arrange finance.
The notary has a lot of work to do, establishing the origin of the house and making sure there are no outstanding mortgages or encumbrances on the property (an encumbrance is something that may prevent the buyer from taking legal title or possession). In total, there are around 100 legal and tax points which need to be checked, and the notary sees to all this meticulously.
2. The sale
“We’re signing”
The notary draws up the deed of sale (“acte de vente"), which is signed by the buyer and seller in the notary’s presence. The notary keeps the original. The deed is the final sale contract and has the force of law: it is legally binding on both sides.
3. After-sale formalities
“What! It’s not finished yet?”
After the sale contract is signed, the notary carries out all the financial administration and deals with registering the property, VAT and any taxes.
The notary has two months to register the signed sale deed with the land registry. It can take from a few weeks to several months for the registry to issue the new deeds of ownership to the property. In the meantime, the notary will supply you with a document to prove that you are the new owner.
You should keep in touch with the notary to find out when all the formalities have been completed. Only then can the final accounts for the sale be drawn up.
If you have overpaid the notary, you will receive the property deeds and the balance owing to you. If you have underpaid, you will be asked to pay the rest and will then receive your deeds on payment.
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immobilier |
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Villa 5 pièces et plus - |
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Réf: 1155 |
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| Prix: 330 950 € |
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Terrain A bâtir - |
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Réf: 400 |
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Terrain A bâtir - |
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Réf: 475 |
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| Prix: 155 000 € |
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Villa 5 pièces et plus - |
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Réf: 523 |
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| Prix: 551 400 € |
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Villa 5 pièces et plus - |
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Réf: 862 |
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| Prix: 516 320 € |
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