Found your dream home in France? More tips on the buying process...

So you found your dream home in France - congratulations!

Here are some more tips on what to expect.

If you've read my previous post, you'll know that some weeks or even months may have passed since you had your offer accepted - this is the time for the canny buyer to do their homework and sort out finances.  

In the meantime, you should receive a copy of the "diagnostique" carried out on the house - these are required by French law and are incredibly useful.  

Carried out by a professional who has looked the house over, the diagnostique will identify any asbestos, lead, gas, electrical or other major defects.  

It may look something like Nettie's:

You will also be notified whether the house is connected to main sewers, and be given maps that show whether the property is subject to flooding, subsidence, or earthquake risk.  You will be told if there are any nuclear or other polluting installations nearby, or things like wind farms and quarries and any major new developments.  You will also be recommended to get a dry rot survey.

You will be given an extract of the local "plan cadastral" showing the location of the property - here's Netties!

Once you feel ready to proceed, you will be invited to a signing ceremony in which you and the buyer will sign the contract to sell (the "promesse" or "compromise de vente").

You will be able to eyeball your seller across the table at that point, and ask any further questions you may have. 

You can expect the compromise to cover these basic elements:

• The seller and the buyer’s personal details.  Their "civil status" - married, divorced etc.
• The object of the contract – the house, its location and a brief description of the rooms. Any furniture, and whether the property is a residence. 
• The “delai” – when the sale is expected to complete.  Generally, this is when the deposit and fees have been paid, any conditions have been met (loans or planning permission obtained, for example - you may insist on these).  
• The town hall's right of pre-emption - that is, the option to buy the property themselves.

You'll be glad to know this is rarely exercised!

• A declaration by the seller that the house will be sold to you free of any rights or restrictions like tenancies or mortgages.
• The price and any fees.
• Guarantees by the seller that there is no litigation involving the property, no prohibitions against improvements, no other people with rights to the property, and no mortgages.
• Any "servitudes" like rights of way will be identified. 
• That other than hidden defects, you are buying the property "as is". 
• A summary of the findings from the diagnostique, and a list of what fittings etc are included in the sale. 
• Your cancellation right (you will be able to back out of the sale even after signing the documents for a short period).

After the signing has taken place, you are bound to buy the property (unless you cancel) and the seller is bound to sell it to you.  There will now be a delay of a month or so while the notary completes the final searches to confirm rights of way and other "servitudes", and allow the Mairie the option to buy.

That's it!  I wish you the best of luck in your forever French home!

Friendly disclaimer: I've provided this information very much as an amateur - I am not a property professional or French lawyer and you should, of course, take your own independent advice!