Once you have found the property of your choice and agreed upon a purchase price, you will be required to enter into a written agreement, either by signing a preliminary sales contract for old property and “contrat de réservation” when buying new property.
The conveyancing for the sale takes place through the offices of a notary. The French notary is a publicly appointed official.
As a part of a long-established French legal profession, the notary has full professional indemnity cover which offers you added protection in the unlikely event of the negligence. It is his responsibility to see if the property has good title, the sale is correctly transacted, absence preferential rights, sellers obligation to obtain necessary documentation concerning asbestos, lead poisoning etc...
The notary will undertake to complete all the necessary formalities, however, the exact cost associated with the purchase of each property will vary slightly depending on the work undertaken and where the property is situated, etc...
As an approximate guideline you should expect to pay the following conveyancing costs:
- Between 6% and 7% of the agreed purchase price for properties more than 5 years old
- Between 2% and 3% of the agreed purchase price for properties less than 5 years old
Traditionally these costs are payable by the purchaser.
So far, we have only looked at buying fully built properties.
There are however a number of developers offering condominium type properties in a building development, you are usually obliged to buy it off plan (VEFA) i.e. before it is built.
This type of purchase should not be confused with "Time Share".
The preliminary contract is known as “contrat de réservation” and it is subject to a cooling off period of seven days.
Taxes and costs:
The notary will give you the relevant details as the costs relating to the property being purchased vary according to the "commune" in which you live.
- “Taxe foncière”: is a real estate property tax.
- “Taxe d’habitation”: residential, occupancy or dwelling tax. This tax is computed on the basis of the property’s rental value.
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