How easy is it to buy a house in France?

[SomersetLavender]

I have dual citizenship (eu and uk) and a cash deposit. I work and am paid in the UK but I have been renting a property in France. I now want to buy a French house. Do I have any unforeseen hurdles which I need to prepare for before I start house hunting?

I would recommend using a property lawyer that specialises in French housing as the Notaire oversees the transaction as opposed to representing your interests. I used one based in London.

there are weird laws of inheritance in france so you really need a good lawyer. there was a prog on ch4 or somethimg about a couple who bought a house, spent over £100k renovating, arrived there one day and the police were there and the gate barred. the nephew or somesuch had found out he could inherit. so it’s all his now. lock stock and barrel. they wont get the money back.

Yes that’s a very good point from @Elieza. I was estranged from my father but he stood to
inhe a share if anything happened to me. Completely against my wishes.

Buying and owning property in France is very, very different from buying and owning here, not only in terms of the actual sale but you need to be aware of the different tax and insurance regulations. You really need specialist advice, there are many advice agencies around

You mention you have EU citizenship, but is that French, or another European nationality? That will make a difference too.

Thanks for the replies. Am I correct in thinking that it’s difficult to buy the freehold as we do (mostly) in the U.K.?

With regard to the PP and the programme about the couple who lost their house, had it been registered with the French equivalent of the land registry?

And Irish EU citizenship. So not French.

We found it very easy to buy in France but we were cash buyers and the property was only owned by one person who wanted a quick sale. The notaire was very good, she acted for both os us. Notaires represent the government and deal with any tax issues and also the registration. We had to initially give a nonreturnable deposit of ten per cent.

You will of course need a French bank account. Credit Agricole has an internet branch called Britbank. They can also deal with a mortgage and house insurance.

Notaires also act as estate agents and have a stock of properties for sale.

Happy househunting!

I found it all relatively straightforward buying my house in France. I was a cash buyer. Once you make an offer and it is accepted (promise to buy) it is legally binding. You won't get gazumped. If you failed to buy you would lose the non returnable deposit which as pp stated is 10 percent of purchase price. I also bank with Credit Agricola and if you have bank account set up before purchase you just transfer money in then it goes to notaire for purchase. Notaires can act for both parties the seller and buyer with no conflict of interest. You will have to pay a tax on purchase so leave money for that in your budget. Also buyers pay more to notaire to purchase than seller does to sell. Opposite to UK. I found from seeing the house on the internet, arranging a viewing, making my offer and having it accepted, searches and final purchase with both parties at notaire took 15 weeks. The house i purchased was empty and the seller was keen to push on with the sale. Some notaire's will translate all documents into English for a few. I bought before Brexit and speak fluent French but still got everything checked over legally. You do not have to follow French inheritance laws if you sign documents to state you wish to follow inheritance laws of UK, which I did. I only had a UK passport as did DH.

You must have house insurance to complete purchase but immoblier can help you with this. They also helped me with direct debit for water, and local taxes. Very helpful.

Thanks for your replies!