France Property Guide
France Property Guide
What is the buying process in France?
The first thing you will notice in France is how strict the laws
relating to a property purchase are and this is done purely to protect
you as a consumer.
When you are on your Inspection Flight or Appointment
and you see the property you want to buy, your first step is to sign
your reservation papers.
On returning home you then to transfer the rest of your reservation deposit to the developer in France. At this stage you
have entered a "compromis de vente" (an agreement to purchase) and this
money is put directly into an ecru account in your name and is totally
safe.
The next stage is when you go to the notaries, usually within 1 to 3
months of signing the reservation contract, and sign your contract or "acte
de vente". A notaire is a French government official whose sole aim is
to make sure the contract is signed and carried out according to French
law and usually makes up 3% of the buying costs.
From then on you are contracted to make regular stage payments, which
are laid down by French law and are tied in to the stages of
construction, up to and including the final 5% which is due when you
receive the keys to your new property. It is worth noting here that if
you are buying the property with the help of a mortgage, again French
law protects you the consumer, by guaranteeing every payment so that
should something happen to the developer during construction, the bank
will appoint another developer to ensure completion of the project.
Is my money safe?
France is probably the safest place in the world to buy property as
there are so many strict laws in place, all with one aim ~ to protect
you the buyer. As mentioned your reservation deposit
is not paid into the developers account but into an ecru account in your
name so that if anything happens to the developer, your money is safe
and still in your name.
Even once you have been to the notaire and signed your "acte de vente",
your money is protected because every stage payment carries a bank
guarantee to ensure completion of your property. Should you wish to take
the guaranteed rental route you are even protected with that because all
the guaranteed rental payments have to be underwritten in French law by
an insurance company. So as you can see, there could not be a safer
place to invest in the property market than France.
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