The Rustons

Hello,

Well we are finally coming over to view some properties, next week.

What i would like to know is the house buying process, if we decide to buy one of the houses we are going to see will we have to put are deposit down if the offer is accepted ? Can you make offers like you can in England ?
Sorry for the simple questions but i am on over load !! so much to do ! But it seems it is all going to plan
Any help would be great

So thankyou before hand
I would also like to say thankyou for all the help you have already given us without realising it, we may not say alot but we are always reading, so thankyou

Ka Ora!

Being that its a slower housing market people tend to hold out for the asking price make sure it includes the agents fee's if you are going through an agent. Whilst you are here check the super market For sale board and the papers as private sales are very common here as people like to save where ever possible and cutting out agents is a good way of not throwing money away. That being said the French do like to haggle on prices if they can.

onlyonebrenda

The Anglo Info site for the area you are visiting will give you a detailed run down and there are good books like 'Buying a house in France" which are updated regularly.

val50

Hi there
buying property in France is different to buying in UK. Every sale goes through the local notaire. This website is in English and gives a broad outline of the proceedure. http://www.notaires.fr/notaires/nota...LEDEED-PROMISE
Usually a 10% deposit is asked for, but it can vary.
Please make sure you know what you are signing before you go ahead with any deal. Good luck with the trip.

Andrea50

Hi there

Congrats on your impending move - I have no doubt you will adore it in France and never look back.

That site Val has referred you to outlines the process really well I think. It also mentions the various clause suspensive aspects, which is really important. These are clauses that are in the compromis de vente that you and the vendor sign prior to the Notaire carrying out his/her searches etc. When we were buying our second property, 2 weeks before completion date our Notaire received a notice from local farmers that there was a pipe under the entire length of our property from the river Lot up to their vineyards on the hill behind our house. The Notaire investigated this and found the pipe ran 3 metres under the ground right beside the house,that the farmers had the right to access it any time to do works and that we would end up responsible for making good afterwards. It was also exactly where we would have had to put a septic tank. We therefore invoked one of the clause suspesives, the one that states if anything is discovered that significantly affects the value of the property OR that the purchaser considers detrimentally affects the proeprty causing them not to want to buy it. We got our full 10% deposit back (over 9,000 euros), but we did have to pay the notaire some fees - about 200 euros or so, but it was worth it. It is not like England either, in that, if something such as this occurs, the purchaser can use it to get the price down. If you still wanted to purchase, the whole process would have to begin again with a new renegotiated asking price.

Just mentioning this as it is really important to actually read the compromis carefully, and if you can get yourself an English speaking Notaire all the better. Our Notaire only spoke a little English, but I and my partner at the time went through that compromis with a fine tooth comb and a Collins Robert dictionary (took us a whole day!).

If there are any conditions you need putting in the compromis such as that the completion of the deal is dependant on a mortgage or loan, make sure they are definitely in there. When we actually sold our first house, our purchaser was English without knowledge of the system. She had the cash to buy the property and there was no clause in the compromis to say that the purchase was dependent on a mortgage or loan. About 3 weeks from completion we had a phone call from her partner who was in England. He told us they no longer wanted to go through with the purchase, as their application for a loan to convert the huge barn into 4 gites had been refused. We explained gently that they were comitted to buy the property, and, as we had by then totally run out of money and HAD to sell, we held them to the legality of the compromis, and they had to go through with it. If they had persisted and pulled out, they would have forfeited their deposit of over 25,000 euros.

Just explaining that these clauses are there to protect BOTH parties, as if we had lost that sale it would have been disastrous for us, as we had subsequently turned away about 10 other potential buyers.

Just be very sure when you sign the compromis that you and your wife/partner BOTH want the place enough to proceed to completion, as it is not like here in England where one can pull out at any time right up to exchange of contracts. It is best to view that compromis as you would exchange of contracts as pulling out after the 7 day cooling off period is up can be fraught with difficulties.

Good luck with your new life.

Andy