"Welcome to Limousin Property Shop. My name is Elizabeth Nixon, I am English and I have lived and worked in France for a total of 15 years. Let me share my experience as an Estate Agent with you and I will help you find the perfect Limousin house."
 

Under 50,000 euro50,000 to 100,000100,000 to 150,000150,000 to 200,000200,000 to 300,000300,000 to 400,000Over 400,000

Home

Contact Us

My Service

Buying Property in France

Looking for Property

About the Limousin

FAQs

Searches and Home Information Pack

Building Work in France

Privacy

Buying French Property

Once you have made an offer on a property and it has been accepted, all parties to the sale must then sign the initial contract, known as the 'compromis de vente'. This is a binding contract and you have a period of 7 days after signing to change your mind without penalty – this actually translates to about 2 weeks as the 7 days won’t start until you receive a letter from me informing you of this cooling-off period, and it has to be sent recorded delivery.


Ideally, the 'compromis' is signed by all parties at the same time so that I can send the paperwork to the notary, known as the 'notaire', as quickly as possible but for various reasons, this isn’t always possible. Obviously, the compromis is in French but I have an English version also so that you know what you are signing! Before sending any paperwork through, I will also need a copy of your passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate, if you are married (even if you are buying in your name only).



A 'notaire' is an independent public official who carries out all transactions relating to property, inheritance, divorce, etc. He performs the functions normally taken care of by a solicitor in the UK. As an independent person, it is quite acceptable for the same 'notaire' to represent both buyer and seller

 
The deposit then needs to be paid into the notaire’s account as soon as your 7 day cooling-off period is over. If after this you pull out for no good reason, then the deposit is forfeit. If a property carries particular concerns, for example if it requires the installation of a septic tank for which permission is needed, then it is possible to include in the compromis a 'clause suspensif' relating to this. This then means that the contract becomes conditional upon this clause and you can pull out without penalty should the condition not be met.


Once the compromis is signed and the 7 days are up, the notaire proceeds to prepare the final contract or ‘acte de vente’. He carries out all the usual searches and investigations into title, etc. If anything is amiss, he will inform you and if it is fundamental to your enjoyment and use of the property, you can withdraw with no penalty. It usually takes 2-3 months after the compromis to prepare the acte de vente. A week or so before the day of signing, you will need to transfer the balance of the purchase price plus the agency and notaire's fees to the notaire’s account (the notaire's fees work out at around 7-9% of the price of the house and they include all duties, taxes, etc.). You may also need to reimburse the seller for part of the year's property taxes but ‘taxe foncière’ is not expensive in this region.


The ideal is for all parties to attend the notaire's office for the signing of the 'acte'. However, another option is for you to grant the notaire a power of attorney for this purpose, and he can sign on your behalf.


Once this is done, you officially own the property and you can take your keys (if there are any!) and move in.


As you will have to wait about 4 months or so for the deeds, the notaire will provide you with an 'attestation' which proves that you are the rightful owner(s) of the property. When you do eventually receive a copy of the deeds, the notaire will include a breakdown of exactly how the fees were distributed (duties, taxes, registration fees, etc.). The fees are usually over-estimated so you may even get a small cheque back.

 

 

    

Under 50.000  50,000 to 100,000 100,000 to 150,000  150,000 to 200,00  200,00 to 300,000     300,000 to 400,000  over 400,000

© 2007 limousin-property-shop     webmaster lawrence@breezybreak.com