Money for France, how to

jwelf

Hi All

first time on the forum, need some advice

i have been offered a share in a property in france, it is mortgage free and in a good state of repair.
I need 20k to buy in, what are my options for getting a mortgage or unsecured loan
I am self employed as is my other half.
any advise would be helpful
cheers

holly_hobby

I presume this is some kind of multi ownership time share/holiday home.

You won't get a mge on a "share" in the property itself with UK lenders (whom loan on european properties ie France, Spain), who would want absolute charge, with all owners being reqd to be joint mortgagors. So your best bet would be to raise the monies via an equity releasing remortgage on your own property, or source a personal loan for the 20k reqd (max available unsecured lending <25k).

Don't forget the legal costs re the title and conveyencing requirements in France - and the current state of the euro zone (as your 20k share will be in euro's and subject to currency market fluctuations.

Obv as a SE, your books will be reqd in support of any mge application, personal loan providers don't always ask for proof of income (but reserve the right).

Hope this helps

Holly

jwelf

Thanks for reply, I will give you more info.

The property isn't a multi ownership/timeshare just a property owned by my mate.
He needs £20k to pay off a loan over here, ex wife divorce ect.
He has offered me half of the property if I can raise the funds.
He could sell it but he want to do some renovation with a view to renting it out, which is what I do for a living.
Can't remortgage so what else?
Thanks for help

maninthestreet

Don't mix business with pleasure! Assuming you could raise the 20K somehow, getting involved in someone's financial affairs following a divorce is never a good idea....

holly_hobby

Property is in France, already owned by your friend, and appears to be worth 40k from your post. It will post investment be subsequently let out, with the owner offering youa 50 % share in exchange for your 20k investment.

Aside from the fact that you say it needs renovating and will be subsequently let, for a mge to be secured on the property all those named on the deeds would need to be party to the mge, that means your friend would need to be a joint mortgagor with you. The lender would also require primary charge - which means that they could force sale of the property upon default of mge payments. Both his and your status as jnt applicants would be verified, and your books which would need to support all your commitments.

I am guessing that none of the above will suit with you or your friend - you say a remortgage on your own home is not possible, so a personal loan is the only option.

Hope this helps

Holly

evi3000

Having had experience - don't do it. We owned a house there but after a few years we didn't go / couldn't go as often as we would have liked so we decided to rent it out. First set of tenants were perfect. But then came the second set - oh boy.

I'm not saying don't rent because of the tenants not paying rent for 8 months but the sheer expense and hassle of trying to recoup the money owed / get them evicted. I've given up and sold up and I have vowed to never have anything to do with French bureaucracy ever again. It's a bloody nightmare.

In case you didn't know, you can't evict people during the winter months in France so basically October to March and then the courts are reluctant to evict people with children. So ,they can live there rent free. Oh and you'll have to pay tax. Try filling in a French tax form (even with a degree in French)
Seriously, avoid renting in France!

jwelf

All valid points.
The house has been valued at 95-105k euros, couple of months ago.
Thinking of doing holiday lets with the property.
Looks like a loan then.
Thanks all