UK solicitors over a Notaire
May 7th 2013, 5:18 pm
#16
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
Yep, my notaire checked that we were aware of the inheritance implications (in our case, of not being PACSd) before we signed, and would have arranged that and also made our wills for us if we had wanted him to. He seemed to regard clarifying the succession as part of his job, since the purchase contract can have a bearing on the inheritance.
May 7th 2013, 6:19 pm
#17
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
I'm a little surprised here about the additional use of a solicitor. Surely you would have been better off (especially financially) locating just one notaire with a little knowledge of English to help explain the contents of the property docs, conveyance of property/real estate, and changing your maritial status etc. All of this was performed by our French notaire for a very reasonable fee.
A solicitor deals with legal disputes, contentious issues etc, not generally with property purchasing advise/associated administration issues - which is the professional domain of a notaire in France.
A solicitor deals with legal disputes, contentious issues etc, not generally with property purchasing advise/associated administration issues - which is the professional domain of a notaire in France.
May 9th 2013, 4:11 pm
#18
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Posts: 116
Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
Our friends used both and wish they hadn't. We just had a notaire and didn't regret it. Our Notaire was very good and we completed less than three months after putting in an initial offer. On the signing of the contract, he stood up and made a speech welcoming us to France. That was good enough for us.
May 11th 2013, 3:49 pm
#19
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
Hang on a mo! The initial chat was about the advantage of a UK solicitor over a Notaire, or vice versa. Nobody is slating Notaires, but we all have our own experiences, and nobody can judge individual cases or indeed experiences of UK solicitors??????? We know first hand rubbish UK solicitors, AND a rubbish Notaire, who fortunately was only needed to witness documentation. Would we use him for a house purchase, most definately not!
May 11th 2013, 3:56 pm
#20
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
Hang on a mo! The initial chat was about the advantage of a UK solicitor over a Notaire, or vice versa. Nobody is slating Notaires, but we all have our own experiences, and nobody can judge individual cases or indeed experiences of UK solicitors??????? We know first hand rubbish UK solicitors, AND a rubbish Notaire, who fortunately was only needed to witness documentation. Would we use him for a house purchase, most definately not!
Following on from past links, we have a few friends who have used a Notaire for house purchases in France, and on the whole experience has been OK. I know though, they are biased, as they are acting for both, and working through the gvernment. Are there any benefits using a reputable UK solicitor, who is permitted to act on our behalf in France as well? I am unsure how the C de vente is signed if you use a solicitor in the UK?
Experiences please from anyone would be good please?
Experiences please from anyone would be good please?
May 11th 2013, 4:56 pm
#21
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
with or without the assistance of a UK solicitor
P.S. Can the OP tell us what problems they had with a "rubbish" Notaire witnessing a signature? I'm still puzzled as to why they were unhappy with a Notaire's service....
Last edited by dmu; May 11th 2013 at 5:07 pm.
May 11th 2013, 5:23 pm
#22
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
either by you in the Notaire's office
or, the Notaire posts it to you and you sign it and post it back - apparently people do this although I always thought the contract should by law be signed in France
or you give someone power of attorney to sign it for you in the Notaire's office, which is a lot of faff
Using a solicitor in the UK won't make any difference to how the contracts are signed, which I think is why some of us are struggling to see what his/her role would be.
It would be a purely advisory role, and unless his/her French (or yours) is very good you would probably end up paying a translator as well, in order for the solicitor to understand the CdeV sufficiently to advise. Even then I'm dubious how knowledgeable the average UK solicitor is going to be about diagnostiques, decennale guarantees and all the things that notaires deal with all the time and know like the back of their hand. If it's the language that is worrying you, I'd have thought that a clued-up translator would be far better value for money than a UK solicitor.
Last edited by EuroTrash; May 11th 2013 at 5:29 pm.
May 11th 2013, 6:34 pm
#23
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Re: UK solicitors over a Notaire
The only ways I can think of that a CdeV and an Acte de Vente can be signed are:
either by you in the Notaire's office
or, the Notaire posts it to you and you sign it and post it back - apparently people do this although I always thought the contract should by law be signed in France
or you give someone power of attorney to sign it for you in the Notaire's office, which is a lot of faff
Using a solicitor in the UK won't make any difference to how the contracts are signed, which I think is why some of us are struggling to see what his/her role would be.
It would be a purely advisory role, and unless his/her French (or yours) is very good you would probably end up paying a translator as well, in order for the solicitor to understand the CdeV sufficiently to advise. Even then I'm dubious how knowledgeable the average UK solicitor is going to be about diagnostiques, decennale guarantees and all the things that notaires deal with all the time and know like the back of their hand. If it's the language that is worrying you, I'd have thought that a clued-up translator would be far better value for money than a UK solicitor.
either by you in the Notaire's office
or, the Notaire posts it to you and you sign it and post it back - apparently people do this although I always thought the contract should by law be signed in France
or you give someone power of attorney to sign it for you in the Notaire's office, which is a lot of faff
Using a solicitor in the UK won't make any difference to how the contracts are signed, which I think is why some of us are struggling to see what his/her role would be.
It would be a purely advisory role, and unless his/her French (or yours) is very good you would probably end up paying a translator as well, in order for the solicitor to understand the CdeV sufficiently to advise. Even then I'm dubious how knowledgeable the average UK solicitor is going to be about diagnostiques, decennale guarantees and all the things that notaires deal with all the time and know like the back of their hand. If it's the language that is worrying you, I'd have thought that a clued-up translator would be far better value for money than a UK solicitor.
and this one
