Buying Nettie - here's what I learned about snagging a house plus my top tip!
When you set your heart on that bijou French cottage for sale, nestling in the heart of a stunning and historic village surrounded by gorgeous countryside, I'll bet the last thing on your mind will be the nuts and bolts of the French legal process.
Likely you'll be dreaming of stripped floors, rugs and outdoor seating to enjoy the warm nights ahead; not pages and pages of hard-to-understand formal paperwork.
Even if you speak French, you may not be prepared for how formal it all is, and how scary that can feel in a foreign country.
In this post, I'm going to let you in on what I've learned about the house hunting process and the role of the notary, and give you some top tips on finding properties and playing detective.
It's really important that you find out as much as possible about your new home in France before you commit to the purchase.
How to find houses for sale
I've found that there are three good ways to find a house for sale in France.
The most popular way, at least for foreigners, seems to be via a real estate agent, either local or international. These agents advertise in local papers and magazines, the internet, and via their local offices in the area you are interested in. Some agents "aggregate" adverts from a number of different agents and act as a kind of broker between you and the selling agent.
Another way to find property for sale is via a notary or "notaire". This can be one of the best ways to buy a home in France; they often sell property that is on the market because they've been asked to sell a house on behalf of a client. Because estate agency is somewhat of a secondary function for them, their prices can sometimes be lower and they may offer houses outside their immediate region. This site offers property for sale by notaries throughout France.
A third way to find a house for sale is from a private seller, either by word of mouth, by asking around, or through a site like this one, or the famous Le Bon Coin. Buying a house privately can mean lower fees - more on that later.
What a notary does
A notary is basically an official of the French state, whose job it is to make sure that everyday things like house sales and inheritances are properly administered and recorded - and that everyone pays tax to the government!
They are akin to a family solicitor or attorney in English speaking countries - but don't be fooled - although the French property sales process does contain protections for buyers against making a bad deal, the notary's job is to administer the sale, not act as your advocate.
On those lines, it's very common for a single notary to handle both the selling and purchasing aspects of the sale, without the need for separate lawyers for each side. The notary will walk both sides through the process making sure that you all fully understand what's going on.
Fees
Buyer beware! You can expect to add up to 20% of the purchase price of your new home in fees.
There are two types of fees that apply, firstly the "negotiation" fees; these are basically agents' fees and cover their costs to market and sell the property. They are usually around the 5-10% mark, and are generally payable by the "acquereur" (you). It's usual for the advert to specify who is paying the fees (or "frais"), and whether these are included in the advertised price.
Both notaries and estate agents charge these "frais de negotiation", and they are on top of the notaries fees for handling the admin involved in the sale, as well as the taxes payable to the state. These notaries fees and taxes can add at least another 5-10% or more to the sale price.
You can avoid the negotiation fees by buying privately, but need to know that sometimes private sellers peg their prices to match the market prices which include the fees - so you need to be prepared to negotiate.
How to bag your new home
Once you've found your house, and swallowed the idea of the fees, it's now time to do a deal with the seller.
When buying Nettie, and also when helping friends with their purchases, I've found agents and notaries to be really helpful and open about what a buyer would be likely to accept. You may be asked to sign a formal offer letter, and your offer is then told to the buyer. Once they accept your offer, the house is taken off the market.
You will then have a short period of time before you are asked to sign a formal "compromise" or "promesse" and pay a deposit of around 10% of the purchase price.
My top tip
Remember I said that neither the notary nor an estate agent is your friend when buying a house in France? That's not to say that they can't be incredibly friendly and helpful - they can - but you're on your own when it comes to the sales process itself.
For that reason, if your French isn't that good, or if you want an independent person to help you, some people choose to get the help of an English speaking notary or other expert.
While hiring your own notary will not mean more fees (their fee will be split with the selling notary), you will have to pay a separate fee to your own expert or lawyer if you hire one.
Another aspect of the French process is that it's very much buyer beware when it comes to researching your new property. It's not common to use a surveyor in France, and in my experience, even when you do, reports can raise more questions than answers.
There's really no substitute for being your own detective, as well as finding someone to help you kick the tyres, maybe you could hire a local builder to walk around the property with you. Take a look at the inside and outside and take lots of photos. Can you see lots of cracks in the walls? Is there evidence of leaks? Does the house smell weird? Knock on the doors of neighbours and ask them about the property and the area? Go to the mairie, and ask them about what they know about the neighbourhood and the house you want to buy.
All of this is common sense of course, and common sense is your best friend.
Top tip alert
To help you, I've put together a list of questions that anyone thinking of buying a house in France should give either to the selling agent, the notary or the seller if it's a private sale, and covers everything from the condition of the house, to disputes with neighbours, and who is responsible for maintaining things like border walls and fences.
Some of the things on the list are covered in the sales process itself (more of that in a later post), but these questions will give the seller a heads up that you're serious about the sale and need clear and written answers to your questions.
Don't be put off if they huff and puff a bit, I've found that once they know you mean business they will gladly answer your questions, and respect you a bit more as someone just longing to have a little patch of France to call home
The list has upwards of 40 questions on it - if you'd like a copy that's no problem you can either:
- email me via the contact page or at general@tinyhouseinnormandy.net
- leave a comment with your address in the box below or
- DM me via Nettie's facebook page (link on the blog - don't forget to "like" the page!)
and I'll pop a copy on an email to you.
Happy hunting!!