From a British point of view, it may seem very strange but the house buyer does not have to complete any administrative procedure.

The Notaire takes care of this task.

Financing is also relatively simple. Many French banks and financial institutions have designed specific offers to answer the needs of their foreign clientele.

The easiest way is to use the internet and to browse through our website, as you are now.

Details comprise of a description of the property, the area where it is located, the sale price,

its surface area and photographs. when you see something of interest just phone the number above or send an email to loirevalleyfrenchproperties.eu - the simplest way to do that is to point at the phone number and click email in the menu.

To view a property contact Loire Valley French Properties. We help you to organize successful visits with our agents.

Phone numbers and eMail are on the menubar at the top and bottom of all of the pages.

Take a camera to remind you of the properties. Ask the owner if you want internal photos.

Trying to negotiate the price of property is common. Either the owner accepts your offer and you go to the next step, or, he makes a counterproposal. The owner can also simply refuse to negotiate in any manner.

When you negotiate the price, normal British methods may be met with a gallic shrug, it is better to be direct and say what you can afford.

In France, buyers and sellers usually reach a prior oral sale agreement. This agreement is then legally finalized at the notary's with the signature of a preliminary agreement (Compromis de vente).

Should you not be able to be present during the entire sale process your selected notary will act in your interests. You can also find a person to represent you in France.

The notary is a Public Officer designated by the Lord Chancellor and whose main function is to draw up notarial acts, pertaining to real estate transactions, but also to family and company legal matters. All property sales in France require a notary. He prepares all deeds and agreements in advance, using the Title of Ownership granted him by the seller and the various information he will collect and verify.

For the signature of contracts, the seller and the purchaser make an appointment at the notary's office. The notary can then check the identity, the capacity and the authorities of both parties. They can take this opportunity to ask all questions relating to the transaction before signing before him. The notary also signs the contract, thereby signifying his responsibility on its content, date and validity: he therefore insures the authenticity of the contract.

There are two choices:

° You can take a loan in your own country, in your local currency, English pounds for example. If you already own a property it is possible to put this up as collateral for a mortgage in your own country.

° Or you may take a loan in France in euros and you mortgage the French property.

There is no need to go into detail on how financing operates in one's own country: The enforced regulations are those of the country where the loan is granted, with few exceptions. Money transfers are performed from bank to bank or from bank to notary. Indeed, most non-resident borrowers do not have a French bank account.

Therefore, funds may be transfered into the bank account of the notary in charge of the sale. It is then essential that borrowers open a bank account in France, to be able to pay all bills involved with the property, if nothing else.

What are the benefits of borrowing in France?

By choosing to borrow in France, many foreign buyers are aware that one enjoys the same benefits as a French resident. Indeed, interest rates are very attractive in France (3/4% against 6/7% in the United Kingdom and 8/9% in the United States). French financial institutions have made significant changes to adapt to this new clientele: bilingual services, translation of documents into English, websites dedicated to non-resident customers

(for example:

www.ucb-french-mortgage.com,

www.mortgage-in-France.com,

paris.direct.international@ca-paris.fr, etc.).

The French real estate market is very attractive. Banks say that approximately 50% of non-residents borrowing in France wish to take mortgages in euros.

The same regulations and conditions apply to residents and non-residents when financing a property. Compliant with the Rome Convention of June 19th, 1980, the legal regulations that apply are those of the country in which the property is located, and therefore French law for a property bought in France (conditional clauses for mortgage approval, outstanding debts and liabilities, etc.)

In general, banks require a download payment representing 20% of the price of the property (but this is not an absolute rule).

The assessment of the client's application is performed in a similar manner as for a French resident :

° All documents required for a mortgage application are the local equivalents of the documents requested from a resident borrower (tax notices, pay slips, preliminary agreement...)

° The debt and loan ratios are performed in a similar manner, using taxes and incomes in the native country.

The loan offer is written in French, but the rest of the documentation can be available in the language of the borrower (generally in English).

French and foreign clientele are offered the same type of loans, but their choices are often very different. British people for example prefer long-term loans at variable rate to fixed rate loans. In general, a variable rate loan offers a more attractive rate than a fixed rate loan. But it evolves according to the index to which it is attributed. Therefore you are not certain of the amount of future repayments and of the global cost of the loan. The variation of the rate can be reflected in three different ways: on the monthly installments, the duration of the loan or both.

Fixed rate loans guarantee on the other hand a fixed rate for the duration of the loan. Therefore, one can be assured that monthly installments will remain the same during its entire term. Moreover, most non-resident clients are more attracted by In Fine loans, ie. credits where the borrower refunds the interest before refunding the borrowed capital. In this case the borrower only pays the interest for the duration of the credit.

Finally one must be aware that no bank will offer 100% financing. It is important to remember that the maximum financing obtainable is 85% of total purchase costs.

Now financing institutions have developped specific services to care for their foreign clientele's needs and it should be easy for you to get the right answers. One thing is certain: you must choose a banker you really trust because he will play a major role throughout your entire purchase process, and he is the person who will make the loan offers to you.

Once the bank has accepted a loan application, it sends a loan offer by registered mail. Its objective is to inform the borrower of all conditions and costs relating to the loan.

The content of the offer must specify:

° the identify of the borrowers, and when applicable, of the guarantors,

° the type of loan, its purpose (purchase of a principle residence or secondary residence, purchase of building land in order to build a home) and dates and conditions of availibility of funds,

° the amount of the loan, its global cost, its Total Effective Rate (including the interest itself increase of all the expenses, commissions or remunerations of any nature, insurance premium), and it's indexing modes,

° insurance policies required by the bank (death, life insurance),

° Guarantees taken out in the event of payment failure. This can either be a mortgage or a refinanceable mortgage, putting up your property as collateral or sometimes a guarantee by a specialized financial organization, but this is quite rare. But the guarantee may also be putting up stocks as collateral or a life-insurance contract delegation. These guarantees allow the bank to be refunded in case of borrower's failure to meet his repayments obligations.

The borrower is not really in the position to request a specific type of guarantee. It is up to the financial institution to select the guarantee according to the type of purchase and the borrower's details.

° the conditions in case of loan transfer,

° the validity timelines of the loan offer and approval procedures,

° the penalties that can be incurred in case of loan cancelling.

In addition to this information, with each payment the bank must send an amortization table, ie. a schedule stating the amount of capital paid off, outstanding interest and capital. In other words, for each repayment term, one knows exactly what has already been paid and what remains to be paid. This is convenient, when deciding to refund a loan before its term.

In order to give you time to think before committing, the French law has granted a mandatory 10-day cooling-off period starting from the receipt date of the offer before its acceptance. In no manner whatsoever can the bank oblige you to give your answer prior to the expiry date of this legal cooling-off period. If a bank decides to overrule this obligation, it can be sentenced to pay a legal fine.

Note that the day of receipt of the offer does not count in the cooling-off period: your approval cannot therefore be accepted before the eleventh day. For example, for an offer received on June 9th, the answer cannot be given before June 20th at midnight. At the end of this period, you must let the bank know your decision. The loan contract is then signed immediately upon giving your approval to the bank.

The offer is valid for a minimum of thirty days. In other words, the bank is required to maintain the conditions offered during this period. It is free however to extend this period (usually four months).

When the thirty days have expired, the financial institution must inform the borrower of its new conditions, repeating the aforementioned procedure: by sending a new loan offer with a cooling-off period.

During the loan negotiation, do not forget the application fees you will have to pay. These fees are not set, for both the banker and the financial institution and vary according to the financial institution and amount to approximately 1% of the loan. Mandatory insurance fees (death-disability for approx. 0.5% of the total loan) and optional fees (job loss, approx. 0.5% of loan) must also be paid.

Finally, a property mortgage or putting up the existing property as collateral fees implies fees of approx. 1.5% of the loan. These loan fees will always be charged to the borrower. For a real estate sale, this means that the buyer will bear these fees.

This tax is due by the occupier (tenant or owner) of the property on January 1st of the current year. For a deed of sale signed on January 2nd, the owner will not be liable to pay the council tax for that current year.

This tax is due by the owner (occupier or not) on January 1st of the current year. The contract may define a proportional payment. For example, for a deed of sale signed on April 1st, the owner will be charged 9/12th of the yearly tax amount.

In order to know the amount of these two taxes, ask the seller how much he pays. You will have to pay approximately the same amount.

In order to know the amount of these two taxes, ask the seller how much he pays. You will have to pay approximately the same amount.

Consider that like everybody else, you will have to pay for water, electricity, gas, telephone.

So, a French bank account should be opened. It is advisable to set up direct debit procedures to avoid unpleasant suprises...

Do not forget to insure your property the day of signature of notarial act (water damage, fire, thefts and personal liabilities)

In France, the buyer must add 'notary fees' to the property price which amount to approximately 7% of the property's price. These fees are due on the day of signature of the deed of sale at the notary's office. These fees can be calculated using the following table.

The purchase fees comprise the following :

° The notary fees

The notary fees are fixed by a national scale depending on the selling price. (see following chart). This schedule applies for purchase of both old and new properties.

Price range           Percentage     For rapid calculation, add:

Up to €6,500                 4.00%

€6,501 to €17,000       1.65%      €152.75

€17,001 to €30,000     1.10%      €246.25

Above €30,000             0.825%    €328.75

VAT: Add 19.6% to result

       For Example

You buy a property for €200,000

The notary fees will be : 200,000 X 0.825% = €1,650

1,650 + €328.75 = €1,978.75

VAT : 1,978.75 x 19.6 % = €387.835

1,978.75 + 387.835 = €2,367 (rounded off)

Beware ! In addition to his regular fees, the notary can receive additional fees as stipulated in article 4 of 8 March 1978 decree. The notary charges these fees for legal transactions and services performed during his activity and their rate is not set in the decree. It can include the time the notary will spend with you to explain or translate legal documents, etc. Generally, these types of services (tax consultant, legal advisor) are charged in the same manner. Both the buyer and the notary agree on the fees the notary will charge. Buyer must receive detailed information on the fees he will be charged for specific services, explaining on what the calculation is based.

As of January 1st, 2006, the Land Registration Tax amounts to 5.09% (as opposed to the previous 4.89%) for the purchase of an existing house and 0.715% for the purchase of a new development. Are considered as new, houses which are currently built, refered to as 'sale in the future condition of completion' (VETA) but also all houses and apartments completed in the past 5 years, providing that they are being sold for the first time since their completion. This tax is collected by the State.

Example : Purchase of an existing property for €200,000

200,000 x 5.09 %= €10,180

Example : Purchase of a new development €200,000

200,000 x 0.715%= €1,430

This fee is proportionate to the purchase price, with a ratio of 0.10% and a minimum of €15.

Example: Purchase of property for €200,000

200,000 x 0.10% = €200

These fees vary according to the various formalities performed by the notary and amount to approximately €500.

They usually cover requests for 'Civil Status' information, copies of Land Registry records, the possible value-added declaration, or the requested filling of a VAT- related form for the purchase of a property less than 5 years old.

They are mainly fees paid to third parties for the account of the notary's client and include the Land registry records or the Mortgage status paid to the cadastral register services or to the Land registry (approximately €500).

You have found your dream house and agreed on the price with the seller. The next step will be then: buying the property. In France, this is always a 2-step process.

First step: Signing a 'compromis de vente' or preliminary agreement, which is a written contract of sale agreement in which the seller agrees to sell his property and the purchaser agrees to buy it. This first step is essential before the final sale which constitutes the second step. The final deed of sale takes place three to four months after the signature of the preliminary sale, the time necessary for the notary to perform various legal processes and verifications.

Note: In these guidelines, we only cover the most usual of contract agreements: the aforementioned 'Compromis de vente'. One must however be aware that other types of agreements exist, including 'Offer to sale'; a notary may recommand this type of contract but the rights and obligations of parties are very similar.

Moreover, these guidelines only apply to the purchase of existing properties, with the exception of sales of new developments with specific contracts.

The preliminary agreement can be signed directly between the seller and the buyer or before a notary. We however strongly recommend signing all contracts in the presence of a notary. He will then take care of everything, verifying all requested documents necessary to prepare legal proceedings, drawing up all contracts that will only have to be signed. Moreover, he is the person present throughout the entire sale process, from the signature of this preliminary agreement to the signature of the final deed of sale. The success of your purchase depends therefore on him.

You can choose your notary, but he has to be French. The seller and the buyer can have different notaries, this does not cost more since the notaries will share their fees.

The notary is a Public Officer designated by the Lord Chanceller and whose main function is to draw up notarial acts, pertaining to real estate transactions, but also to family and company legal matters. All property sales in France require a notary. He prepares all deeds and agreements in advance, using the Title of Ownership granted him by the seller and the various information he will collect and verify.

For the signature of contracts, the seller and the purchaser make an appointment at the notary's office. The notary can then check the identity, the capacity and the authorities of both parties. They can take this opportunity to ask all questions relating to the transaction before signing before him. The notary also signs the contract, thereby signifying his responsibility on its content, date and validity: he therefore insures the authenticity of the contract.

The deeds signed before a notary are 'notarial acts' and must always be written in French. This very old obligation dates back to the period of King François 1st, and remains in practise today. The explanation is simple: the notary checks all information and details given by both parties and that will be stated in the deed. The signature of deeds before a notary makes these documents legal.

All parties signing the deed must understand its content. It is possible to have the deed translated prior to its signature. For this, one can refer to translators specialized in legal translations. In this case, the document translated into the buyer's native language is appended to the French deed. This solution may however prove quite costly, and this translation is not required by law, even when one of the parties does not speak French.

What matters is that parties signing the contract understand its content. People who do not speak French can simply have someone orally explain the content of the contract. The ideal and cheapest solution is to choose a notary who speaks your language. He will be able to explain you the content of the contract in detail and make sure it is understood.

You may also refer to a third party, a friend or a trustworthy person who will act as a go-between with the notary during the entire transaction process. In choosing this solution, one simply gives power of attorney to the person helping. In order to do this, the notary prepares a power of attorney agreement which is translated so that it can be signed. This solution is simple, a power of attorney agreement is a short document whose translation is not very expensive.

Finally, French speakers may perform this transaction directly with the seller and sign in before the notary.

In other words, many options are available. In any case, the notary makes sure all parties understand the content of the deed prior to signature.

This agreement for sale is an important legal document, and therefore the French Law provides a specific protection for the purchaser: the right of retraction which allows the purchaser to change his mind once he has signed the preliminary contract, penalty-free. Here is how it operates:

In France, the purchaser of a property enjoys a right of retraction. Once the agreement for sale is signed, the purchaser is granted a period of seven days to change his mind. The procedure is the following: one signs a preliminary agreement before a notary. The notary gives a copy of the agreement and requests the signature of a registry certifying the date of delivery of the agreement.

Starting the next day, one has seven days to retract by sending a registered signature upon receipt letter to the seller or the notary. No explaination for the decision is required and one is totally released from any commitment.

If, on the other hand, the purchaser still wants to buy the property, he does not have to do anything to express approval once the agreement for sale has been signed.

The content of the preliminary agreement.

This preliminary agreement comprises the necessary conditions of the agreement between parties which will be stated in the final deed of sale, a few months later.

It is therefore very important to know exactly what the agreement contains before signing it.

The notary indicates the full names of purchaser and seller along with their birth dates. Their married status or 'pacs' are also specified.

In order to prepare the contracts, the notary needs to verify your details and will request a copy of your passport and birth and marriage certificates.

The property sold, along with its 'accessories' (garden, cellar, parking...) must be described precisely in the preliminary agreement.

Generally the Ownership Title used to draw up the agreement contains all details pertaining to the origin of the property. These details are stated in the agreement and allow one to research the history of the property.

Only privative condominium units are concerned by this obligation (to be clear, all apartments). This is almost never the case with houses, for which the seller has no obligation to indicate surface area.

The Carrez Law obliges sellers to indicate the surface area of apartments upon signature of the preliminary agreement. The seller can carry out the measurement himself, but usually he entrusts a professional.

According to the Carrez Law, the area of a private unit is the area of the closed and covered floors of the buildings (except balconies and terraces) after deduction of the surfaces occupied by the walls, partitions, steps and stairwells, sheaths, embrasures of doors and windows. It does not take into account premises whose height is lower than 1.80 m. If the area measurements indicated on the sale contract proves to be lower of more than 5% of the real area measurements, the Carrez Law authorizes the purchaser to obtain a proportional price reduction. The purchaser has one year starting from the date of the final deed of sale to pursue this action.

For plots of land, the official measuring of the surface area (boundary marking) is only mandatory if the plot is part of a housing development and not an isolated plot.

After the description of the property, each party will agree on certain obligations to be respected if the sale is completed. These are the usual clauses that are stated in any preliminary agreement.

Below are detailed explanations of these clauses :

When the seller has bought the property with a credit, the bank has generally taken a guarantee called a privilege or mortgage. The notary performs all necessary procedures and makes sure that the mortgage is satisfied at the time of the sale.

Date and procedures to enter into possession of the property This clause is essential since it indicates the date when the seller will hand over the keys to the buyer. This date usually corresponds to the date of signature of the final deed of sale.

The notary will require a town planning certificate before the signature of the deed of sale. This document provides details of the planning rules applicable to the property.

For the sale of condominium units, the notary will provide the purchaser with a copy of the condominium regulations during the final deed of sale.

Prior to purchase, one may call the management agent of the building to ask if any works are planned. In any case, the management agent must send the notary a detailed statement of charges so that the purchaser knows the amount of charges he will pay once he owns the apartment. These maintenance charges are paid on a quarterly basis and cover the maintenance of the building and all works planned for the building.

Finally, the seller and buyer may indicate in the preliminary agreement the works voted for and not yet paid.

The management agent will ask the purchaser to provide a provisional amount to cover these charges at the date of signature. Each co-owner pays this provision which constitutes common reserves. The amount is slightly less than the quarterly charges due.

Works concerning the communal parts of the buildings are voted on during the yearly meetings of co-ownership: the annual meetings. Once they have been decided upon, these works are paid by the co-owners as work proceeds. The management agent (the organization in charge of the management of communal parts of a joint co-ownership building) sends each of the co-owners in the building a notification stating required fees for voted communal works.

Prior to purchasing the apartment, it is interesting to know whether works have been recently voted for. This can be done by consulting the minutes of the last annual meeting. If works have been voted for, we recommend discussing the matter with the notary before signing the preliminary agreement, since it is possible to negotiate with the seller in order to have him pay for these works.

In France, you are protected by the law when purchasing a property since the seller has the obligation to provide various inspection reports regarding the condition of the property. The notary checks whether the property must be inspected or not, and gets these survey from the seller.

The list of all inspections which may be carried out is listed below.

The seller must append to the preliminary agreement a survey report carried out by a certified inspector. Indeed, asbestos has been used for many years for its insulating qualities, but it is considered a health hazard when it deteriorates. Therefore, if the property contains asbestos, the report must indicate its location and the conditions of the materials containing asbestos. The materials inspected are essentially: flocking, lagging, false-ceilings, and also bottom tile floorings and projected plaster. This information allows the buyer to know exactly the asbestos situation so that he can assess the costs of the possible removal work.

Detached houses and apartments whose planning permission was granted before July 1st 1997 require asbestos reports.

The seller must also provide the purchaser of an apartment with a comprehensive asbestos report pertaining to the communal parts of the building that he has obtained from the building management company.

The seller must append a 'lead inspection report' to the agreement for sale for all houses and properties built before January 1st 1949. This inspection measures the concentration of lead in old paints. The ingestion of lead-based paint by young children may indeed result in serious poisoning (saturnism).

However, to be truly harmful, lead has to be accessible (deteriorated paint). The inspection consists of measuring the concentration of lead in walls, partitions and ceilings.

For apartments, the lead report exclusively concerns the private parts of the accommodation, including exterior paint (shutters, bars, gate...).

This is the sole survey that is required only at the signature of the final deed of sale. It must be less than three months old.

This regulation applies to all buildings, houses and apartments, situated in a contaminated area. In order to find out whether the property is located in a contaminated zone, one may ask the town council or the prefecture of the departement where the property is located.

We don't know of any contaminated areas in the Loire Valley.

The seller must append to the agreement for sale a report on natural and technological hazards established less than six months prior, if the property sold is located in an area subjected to such risks.

This document (which may be provided in English) allows you to know whether the property is located in an area susceptible to flooding, quarry area, etc. This regulation is recent. In any case, do not worry if such a document is established. Indeed, such risks exist everywhere in the world, they depend on climates, grounds, climate variations and industrial activities. However, in France, it is considered essential to provide the potential buyer with the maximum amount of information related to the property and its environment.

Finally, the seller must inform the purchaser in a written document upon the signature of the preliminary agreement of any disaster on the property resulting from a technological or natural catastrophe and leading to the payment of an insurance compensation during the time he owned the property or for any previous damage notified to him. The final deed of sale shall also mention these damages. In this case, the seller must specify the type of damage, along with the date and reference of the certificate of natural or technological catastrophe sta- ting the cause.

If the property you are expecting to purchase has been subjected to such damages and if the seller fails to provide you with these docu- ments upon the signature of the deed of sale, you may require the cancellation of the contract or a price reduction.

This inspection is for information purpose only. It informs the buyer of the quantity of energy consumed or estimated for the normal use of the property. It contains a classification according to reference values in order to evaluate energy performance.

It has been appended to the preliminary agreement since November 1st 2006. When the property sold is part of a condominium unit, the document refers exclusively to the private quarters. It must have been established less than ten years prior to sale.

The asbestos, lead, termites and power performances surveys must be performed exclusively by certified inspectors. Only the report on technological and natural hazards can be completed directly by the seller, using information obtained from the city council or the prefecture.

If the seller fails to provide these documents upon the signature of the preliminary agreement, the buyer can sue the seller for latent defect in order to claim damages or even the cancellation of the sale. Only the power performances report is not liable to this penalty.

Further surveys will be established in the future :

° a gas inspection for premises with an interior gas installation ;

° inspection of interior electrical systems.

Furthermore, in order to simplify the delivery of the various property survey to the buyer, in the future, all documents will be regrouped into one document: the technical inspection file. However, as of today, this is not yet enforced.

If the house you purchase has an open air and not fenced swimming pool, it must be equipped with safety devices preventing drowning risks. We recommend asking the seller if the swimming pool is equipped with safety devices (protection barriers, alarm, safety cover or shelters) and to provide a certificate of compliancy to safety standards).

The price must be indicated and paid the day of the signature of the final deed of sale. This means that the whole price is paid in one time on the completion date of sale, even when the purchaser is financing his property with a loan. However, in this case, the preliminary agreement may contain a conditional clause in case the loan is refused (see below).

The preliminary agreement always contains a list of conditional clauses. A conditional clause is a condition which, if not met, allows the buyer to withdraw from the agreement. The most important conditional and required clause relates to the acceptance of loan to finance the property.

When a private buyer finances his purchase with a loan, the preliminary agreement must state that he will only buy the property on the condition that his application for a loan is granted. This clause applies automatically whenever the buyer applies for financing in France for a property located in France, wathever his nationality is.

So if you wish to finance your property with a loan, you should indicate in the preliminary agreement a clause specifying the amount of the loan you are looking to borrow, the duration of repayment terms and the maximum rate of interest that you are willing to accept: for example, €100,000 on fifteen years with a fixed rate of 4.5% maximum. The minimum period to obtain the loan is one month, but it is usually forty-five days minimum, or even two months or more.

Once the preliminary agreement is signed, one should apply for a loan as soon as possible in order to recover ones freedom from obligation in the case the loan is refused. Indeed, if the loan compliant with the stipulated conditions is not obtained, the preliminary agreement will be null and void and all parties will be free from obligation.

The sale contract will not be signed if the notary has not obtained town planning information. This document provides details of all easements that may exist on a plot of land or building, and indicates in which planning area it is located, if it is built on quarries, close to listed monuments, etc.

What is a pre-emptive right? It is a right giving priority over the sale. This 'substitution' right is granted to certain persons or administrative bodies.

Who can substitute the buyer? A tenant occupying the property, under certain conditions defined by law. If a tenant lives in the property you wish to buy, ask the notary whether the tenant is granted this preemptive right before commiting.

Furthermore, in certain cases French authorities (usually town councils) may enjoy a pre-emptive right to buy a property for sale. This is typically the case when the city is conducting a urban redevelopment project or similar infrastructure project.

Your notary will inform you but he will need a period of about two months to obtain this information.

When signing the preliminary agreement, one must usually pay a deposit equal to 5% to 10% of the purchase price. This deposit allows one to reserve the property before the signature of the final deed of sale.

Often by bank transfer

Most buyers do not have a bank account in France. The deposit is therefore paid by bank transfer. The buyer's notary sends his professional bank details to the buyer, who transfers the money into this account.

If the seller has a different notary, the buyer's notary upon receipt of the deposit writes a check of the same amount to the seller's notary.

This money is debited from your account and blocked in the notary's escrow account until the signature of the deed of sale, where it is then deducted from the total purchase price.

The deposit is refunded if you retract during the seven-day period after the signature of the preliminary agreement. (see above: retraction right) or if the loan is refused. If you retracts while this sum has already been debited, the notary will refund you the whole amount within a maximum period of twenty-one days.

On the other hand, if you change your mind after the retraction period has expired or after you have obtained the loan, you will lose your deposit and it will be granted to the seller.

The preliminary agreement specifies the date of signature of the final deed of sale. No time limit is required but it takes about 3 to 4 months in general. This is the limit date: if all parties agree, and if the notary is ready, it is possible to sign before. This is the date you actually come into possession of your property.

And then?

Both seller and buyer will come to the notary's office at the fixed date in order to sign the final deed of sale.

If you finance your purchase with a loan, we strongly recommend starting your loan application as soon as possible. Your notary will ask you for some details: bank references, civil status, details of sale shares if you have a co-buyer... He carries out all legal procedures.

It is simply a matter of reiterating the agreement between parties. All sale conditions and clauses stipulated in the preliminary agreement are considered accepted.

The seller and the buyer meet at the notary's office and the notary reads them the deed of sale in French out loud. If he is bilingual, he will explain the content to you, unless you have appointed someone specifically for this. If you have decided to have the deed translated, the translation is appended to the deed. You then sign the deed of sale, and the sale is completed.

After the signature, the buyer pays for the property. The deposit is deducted from the selling price. In addition, the buyer must pay the notary fees.

The seller must hand over the keys of the property to the buyer, a symbol of the delivery of the house. You can immediately enter into possession of your property, it is now 'your home'. After the signature, the notary gives the buyer a certificate stating that he is the owner of the property.

After the signature, all formalities are not yet completed. The notary must proceed to the registration of the sale. This explains why the buyer receives his Title of Ownership and statement of notary fees paid upon completion of sale (see sector: notary fees) only 4 to 6 months after completion of sale.