Gingerslf

Hi
I am looking to buy a holiday home near to St Severin Dordogne, small village/hamlet called St Paul Lizonne.

Any one living nearby?

One quick question to save starting a new thread.

From putting in an offer and paying a deposit, is there a fixed (max/min) period of time before completing or is it arranged between seller and buyer?

Thanks.
Steve

Ka Ora!

No fixed time, But once you have put in an offer if they agree you sign the contracts and wait for completion. Once the initial signing "Compromis de Vente" is done you have a fixed period of time to pull out 7 Days, Then the deal is binding, Unless mortgage clauses have been added and a bank turns you down. The Notaire does all the searches and about 3 months later you then sign a Acte Authentique (Acte de Vente) and the property is yours. You could agree a period between the two contract stages if your waiting for a property to sell etc.

Gingerslf

Thanks for the speedy and informative reply.

I'm sure I will have many more questions..and here's one.

Does it always take 3 months for the Notaire to do his work or can it be done quicker?

dmu

Hi, I've seen complaints from expats on other forums about how slow Notaires are, but they do take at least 3 months to do their work, even longer if the purchasers have been divorced, remarried, reconstituted family, etc... which makes the investigation and contract more complicated.

dmu

Hi, just noticed your post in the Introduction Thread. If you are several friends buying jointly, I fear the Notaire will take much longer than three months, even if you are all uncomplicated singles.

Gingerslf

Myself (widowed) and a married couple.

dmu

Sorry to be so personal, but have any of you got children? Apart from doing the usual investigation and drafting the contract, the Notaire will advise you to draw up Wills to provide for your respective heirs and/or protect surviving joint owners when one dies. Hope this isn't too off-putting, but the laws of succession are very different here.
In any case, it's the Notaire, with all the facts in hand, who will advise the best way.
Good luck with your search!

Gingerslf

Not to personal at all.....I have a son aged 21 and my friends have 2 children in their late 20's.

dmu

All the more reason to draw up French Wills to protect them all!
The Notaire will advise you best...

Gingerslf

Thanks.
This might be a dumb question...................I already have a will here, so do I have another in France?

cyrian

You have a really complex situation in the purchase of your house.
The spouse is NOT the ultimate inheritor on the death of a husband or wife. - it is the children.
The children have a legal right to a fixed percentage of any estate and the surviving parent can have usufruit ( use of ) the property after the first death.
In France, you cannot specify who inherits your estate - it is already defined by law.
You have a Will in the UK and (in theory) that should be recognised in France.
BUT - sometimes a UK Will does not translate into something that France understands and then you can have problems.
You really, really need to consult a notaire about the status of your joint ownership of the property and I strongly suggest that you have a french Will to cover your french assets and perhaps reference to your UK will.
In addition, you should add something (perhaps a codicil) into your UK Will with respect to your french Will.
If you don't set this up properly then should your co-owners die, it may be possible that their children could put you out of the house

Ka Ora!

This all depends on what arrangement are made, It is possibly to remove children from a will and is a topic that has been covered a few times.

But in the case of Joint ownership of this nature a "A tontine clause" would/could/Maybe be needed so that the property cant pass to children whilst any of the original owners/purchasers are surviving. One would however have to look at the inheritance tax disadvantages of having such a clause. Also both parties have to agree to remove the clause and secured credit on properties with such a clause can be somewhat difficult to get.

There are some guides out there on joint ownership in France, Gimmie a shout if you would like me to pm you the details.

wetwang

There can be problems when selling the property.

3 Aussies friends I know bought a house jointly between themselves. They tried to do it properly through a Notaire by setting up a Company in which they all had equal shares. Almost 2 years ago they found a willing buyer but due to money laundering checks and tax implications the Notaire has still been unable to complete the sale.
Part of the reason may well be that they are from outside the EU but nevertheless the tax people have put a block on completion until they have completed their tedious investigations.

dmu

Hi, here's a link (sorry, it's in French)
http://www.pap.fr/conseils/successio...-une-sci-a1678
explaining all about forming a Société Civile Immobilière, which seems a good way of protecting every one when one of the unrelated joint owners dies.
You may all have confidence in your respective children who are friends now, but what about their possibly greedy spouses who might decide to throw you out in favour of their children if you aren't protected? You must always take the worst scenario into account when it comes to successions...
Maybe you should think hard about buying with friends - the Notaire will be able to find the best solution for all, but it's a complicated road...
Good luck, and give us an update!