How long does it normally take in France to buy a property?
Buying property in France can be complicated and time-consuming - here is a breakdown of the timeframe that you can expect, from first viewing to receiving the keys of your new place.
Let’s start at the beginning.
House hunting
This takes as long as it takes, and depends on numerous factors, including what you’re looking for, where you’re looking and how exacting your requirements are. If you’re willing and able to do some renovation work, there are plenty of bargains to be found - but if you’re after something that’s ready to move into, you may find your search takes a little longer.
You’ll find properties advertised in French newspapers, property magazines, and online - but if you’re looking for something in a quiet village away from the rat-race, it’s possibly best to contact an estate agent (an agent immobilier) in a nearby town.
READ ALSO Five tips for dealing with real-estate agents in France
You’ll find estate agents vying for business on high streets in towns and cities the length and breadth of the country. But, if you don’t know the area well, you may want to start with a comparison site, such as seloger.com, which gathers selected properties from estate agents in your preferred town, village or department in one, single location.
Make an offer
Once you’ve found the ideal French home for you, gone away and thought about it, and decided that … yes, it’s the one that you want, you need to make an offer - an offre d'achat. You do this via the estate agent advertising the property.
Usually, the agent will be the one to tell you whether your offer has been accepted. If it has, then the process moves onto the next step. Otherwise, it’s back to house-hunting.
You do not hand over any money at this point.
Notaire
At this point, you need to find a notaire. Your estate agent may be able to recommend one. Otherwise you can find one at the Notaires de France website. Directory searches can be filtered to include the official’s language skills, if you need an English-speaker.
A notaire is a legal officer with a mission of public authority who prepares contracts on behalf of clients.
Their main role is to complete the legal formalities on all sales and collect tax - it is not possible to complete a legal sale without involving a notaire.
Be aware, the 'notaire fee' - which is really a type of property tax similar to stamp duty in the UK - can add up to 10 percent to the asking price of a property.
READ ALSO How to calculate your notaire fee
There is nothing to stop you using the same notaire as the seller.
Two-step process
The actual process of the sale comes in two stages in France, with an obligatory cooling-off period.
The seller's notaire will draw up the Compromis de Vente - a preliminary contract committing both the buyer and the seller to the deal, with a post-signing 10-day cooling off period known as the délai de rétractation.
READ ALSO French vocabulary for house-buying
During this 10-day period, the buyer can withdraw from the purchase without penalty. Otherwise, they are considered to be committed to the purchase.
The Compromis de Vente contract includes all the conditions of the sale and specifies a completion date, usually around three months later.
It is contract is subject to certain conditions which, if not met, can annul the purchase.
Deposit down
At the stage of signing the Compromis, the buyers are required to pay a deposit of between five and 10 percent of the asking price to the notaire, who keeps hold of it pending the final transaction.
If the buyer withdraws after the 10-day cooling-off period, the seller can keep the deposit.
Time to arrange the finances
In some countries you arrange the mortgage before you start house hunting, but in France it's the other way round.
It can take a French bank up to two months to decide on a mortgage application. Once it has accepted the application, you must wait 10 days at least to accept the offer - that cooling off period again. The offer remains valid for 30 days.
If you're buying without a mortgage, talk to the notaire about the process for transferring money.
What’s going on in the background
While you’re arranging your finances, the notaire is going through all the legal checks and administrative checks ready to prepare the second, formal stage of the contract process, the Acte Authentique de Vente - the document that finalises the deal.
Big signing day
A lot happens on the day the Acte Authentique de Vente is signed - it's generally about three months after the Compromise, but it can be as short as two months or as long as four.
The money for the purchase must arrive in the notaire's account, the seller pays any taxes as necessary - and, the contract is signed.
The custom is for everyone to meet in the notaire's office, where the deed is read through - very quickly, as it can run to dozens of pages. Any changes are made at the time and then all parties sign all the pages of the document.
The combination of modern technology and the pandemic means that some notaires are now accepting virtual signings, so a trip to the office may be necessary.
Keys, glorious keys
Then you can pick up the keys to your new home, move in and start planning the pendaison de crémaillère (house-warming party).
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Let’s start at the beginning.
House hunting
This takes as long as it takes, and depends on numerous factors, including what you’re looking for, where you’re looking and how exacting your requirements are. If you’re willing and able to do some renovation work, there are plenty of bargains to be found - but if you’re after something that’s ready to move into, you may find your search takes a little longer.
You’ll find properties advertised in French newspapers, property magazines, and online - but if you’re looking for something in a quiet village away from the rat-race, it’s possibly best to contact an estate agent (an agent immobilier) in a nearby town.
READ ALSO Five tips for dealing with real-estate agents in France
You’ll find estate agents vying for business on high streets in towns and cities the length and breadth of the country. But, if you don’t know the area well, you may want to start with a comparison site, such as seloger.com, which gathers selected properties from estate agents in your preferred town, village or department in one, single location.
Make an offer
Once you’ve found the ideal French home for you, gone away and thought about it, and decided that … yes, it’s the one that you want, you need to make an offer - an offre d'achat. You do this via the estate agent advertising the property.
Usually, the agent will be the one to tell you whether your offer has been accepted. If it has, then the process moves onto the next step. Otherwise, it’s back to house-hunting.
You do not hand over any money at this point.
Notaire
At this point, you need to find a notaire. Your estate agent may be able to recommend one. Otherwise you can find one at the Notaires de France website. Directory searches can be filtered to include the official’s language skills, if you need an English-speaker.
A notaire is a legal officer with a mission of public authority who prepares contracts on behalf of clients.
Their main role is to complete the legal formalities on all sales and collect tax - it is not possible to complete a legal sale without involving a notaire.
Be aware, the 'notaire fee' - which is really a type of property tax similar to stamp duty in the UK - can add up to 10 percent to the asking price of a property.
READ ALSO How to calculate your notaire fee
There is nothing to stop you using the same notaire as the seller.
Two-step process
The actual process of the sale comes in two stages in France, with an obligatory cooling-off period.
The seller's notaire will draw up the Compromis de Vente - a preliminary contract committing both the buyer and the seller to the deal, with a post-signing 10-day cooling off period known as the délai de rétractation.
READ ALSO French vocabulary for house-buying
During this 10-day period, the buyer can withdraw from the purchase without penalty. Otherwise, they are considered to be committed to the purchase.
The Compromis de Vente contract includes all the conditions of the sale and specifies a completion date, usually around three months later.
It is contract is subject to certain conditions which, if not met, can annul the purchase.
Deposit down
At the stage of signing the Compromis, the buyers are required to pay a deposit of between five and 10 percent of the asking price to the notaire, who keeps hold of it pending the final transaction.
If the buyer withdraws after the 10-day cooling-off period, the seller can keep the deposit.
Time to arrange the finances
In some countries you arrange the mortgage before you start house hunting, but in France it's the other way round.
It can take a French bank up to two months to decide on a mortgage application. Once it has accepted the application, you must wait 10 days at least to accept the offer - that cooling off period again. The offer remains valid for 30 days.
If you're buying without a mortgage, talk to the notaire about the process for transferring money.
What’s going on in the background
While you’re arranging your finances, the notaire is going through all the legal checks and administrative checks ready to prepare the second, formal stage of the contract process, the Acte Authentique de Vente - the document that finalises the deal.
Big signing day
A lot happens on the day the Acte Authentique de Vente is signed - it's generally about three months after the Compromise, but it can be as short as two months or as long as four.
The money for the purchase must arrive in the notaire's account, the seller pays any taxes as necessary - and, the contract is signed.
The custom is for everyone to meet in the notaire's office, where the deed is read through - very quickly, as it can run to dozens of pages. Any changes are made at the time and then all parties sign all the pages of the document.
The combination of modern technology and the pandemic means that some notaires are now accepting virtual signings, so a trip to the office may be necessary.
Keys, glorious keys
Then you can pick up the keys to your new home, move in and start planning the pendaison de crémaillère (house-warming party).
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