Buying property in France

poodlehorse

We (or should I say I as I haven't quite got OH totally on board with the idea yet) have been thinking of buying a property in France, it is very early stages so I don't really want to get in touch with any agents just yet(you just know they will phone up constantly if I do), just want to scout about and see what is out there etc. I have been looking at loads of property sites and have been impressed at what it would appear we could afford. However, I am unsure and haven't been able to find anything online that actually tells me what the difference between the price you see is and the likely price you pay. ie in Scotland we have an offers over system whereby you currently would expect to get an average of 30% over the asking price round here. Now I know England is different (if what I see in LocationX3 is anything to go buy) and it seems you tend to offer lower than the asking price if anything (is that right?). So does anyone know how this works in France? I have rather been assuming that since the sites I have visited are in English they assume an English audience and therefore if the system is the same as the English one they see no need to mention it but of course it might be totally different from either. And any other tips and pitfalls to avoid would be greatly appreciated.

dwsjarcmcd

Hi, we have bought in the South of France 'off plan' and were told that the price was non-negotiable. However, for most properties, I understand that the price you pay is whatever you can negotiate.

Remember you need to budget for the notaire fees of about 10% of the purchase price

poodlehorse

So you would tend to not be paying more than the asking price except for the notaire's fees? That is good, I thought if it was like the Scottish system 30%ish (Assuming it might be about the same as here) on top of the houses I have been looking at plus the notaire's fees was making it look a lot less accessible. I am feeling more positive about this every day. Now how to persuade DH that we need to sell up while we can still get a good price for this place despite the fact we are still in the process of doing it up. Hmmm. Maybe if I promise him we can afford something that isn't a fixerupper this time. I am so fed up of workmen and mess.

PasturesNew

What would the property be for?
Why does your OH not share your enthusiasm?

poodlehorse

Well we are agreed into looking for a property abroad (we paid off our UK mortgage so wanted to invest that mortage money othewise it is too easy for it to disappear)but initially it would just be a holiday place we could rent out when we weren't using it. But I am keen to move as DHs job doesn't tie him down to one place and many of his colleagues live in farflung places. He of course gets to travel as part of his job which I think means he doesn't have quite the same yearnings to get out of the UK as I do but I am the one left at home in the coldest windiest part of the UK and we live here because that is where we were both brought up. DH is also a constant scaredy cat for change of any kind. He is nightmare to do anything but once presuaded he loves it and it is then all his idea of course. HE was all for moving abroad once before but I said no as it was to an area I just didn't feel I could be happy in. So I don't think he is against the idea in principle.

We wouldn't be making any rash moves, my dad is ill and he certainly doesn't have the kind of illness you get better from put it that way and he is going downhill fast. So we couldn't do anything until that situation plays out. We would just take our time to do our research and make sure we get it right (as far as you can)

gfplux

Hello POODLEHORSE,
One thing you can do is visit these sites and ask the same question.
http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/
http://www.totalfrance.com/france/forum/index.php
These sites have many posters who have a lot of experience of buying/living/selling/succeeding/failing in France.
For myself I have had a small property for Holidays in the VAR for over 16 years. In that time I have seen it half in value, double in value and today although falling in price like most of Europe still showing a modest return as an investment over 16 years.
However we bought it for holidays and that has proven to be a wonderful decision.
BUT there were times IF we had had to sell we would have lost a lot of money.
You need to do a lot of research and at the moment you will find it is a buyers market with a few exceptions.
Good Luck but be careful never forget it is a Foreign Country to you.

pinkshoes

I'd recommend using the French estate agent pages online, and if you want to put in an offer, find someone who speaks french if you can't, as the French are often less willing to negotiate with those who don't speak their language!! (And they seem to think the english are loaded and desparate to buy, and will pay over the odds for a property!).

Go to www.google.fr then type "immobilier" and the name of the town you want to buy in, and it should bring up local estate agents.

Generali

pinkshoes wrote: »

I'd recommend using the French estate agent pages online, and if you want to put in an offer, find someone who speaks french if you can't, as the French are often less willing to negotiate with those who don't speak their language!! (And they seem to think the english are loaded and desparate to buy, and will pay over the odds for a property!).

Go to www.google.fr then type "immobilier" and the name of the town you want to buy in, and it should bring up local estate agents.

All good advice - I lived in France for a bit when I was younger. I think the attitude of the French towards the English as 'easy pickings' for house sales is bourne out by the prices the English are prepared to pay!

Definitely get the language thing sorted out.

lolarentt

If you plan to come to London this month then visit the France Show 18-20 January at Olympia. I know they also show in Birmingham later in the year, but I don't know if they get to Scotland. It's run by Archant Life who publish France Magazine and a couple of other France oriented monthly mags

http://www.thefranceshow.com/

We went last year, established contacts with a number of agencies (although most exhibitors are trying to sell you 'new build' stuff) and finished up a few months down the line with direct contacts at a number of french agents in the areas we were considering (no further dealings with UK based companies). We actually negociated and bought an apartment at the end of March. Price we paid was just over 10% under the asking price (which as you know includes the c5% agents fee) and you pay the Notaire who does absolutely everything else for you and the seller so there's nobody else involved. Initially we were worried about how things would proceed as our French is fairly basic but the agent was a gem and acted as our minder all the way through until we completed the purchase in June, regular phone calls, emails, what happens next updates. In fact we usually pop in for a chat and coffee when we are over there now. We found we didn't need a solicitor or anyone UK based to help - we established contact with a French based bank who were extremely helpful (more info supplied if you want it) and our tame bank manager and agent made the whole process a pleasure. We didn't meet the Notaire until we went to complete the purchase in June and he was a surprise as well, insisting on going through every last detail in the contract to make sure we understood everything that was going on right down to the details of the water and electric accounts and final readings from the outgoing owners.

poodlehorse

Lola - any extra info would be fab. I don't want a new property but I do seem to keep tripping over them in my quest. I am afraid I wouldn't be able to go to the show in London. Think I am going to track down some of the specialist mags, can't always get stuff like that easily in the sticks which is where we live. I have been looking at the French estate agents sites but sometimes the search facilities are annoying.
My French is definitely not up to scratch but I am going to take steps to improve it don't worry. DH picks up new languages very easily and he has the advantage of working next to other nationalities so gets good tuition!
Sounds like you had some great people around you Lola, that is the lottery though isn't it? Very interested to hear that you paid UNDER the asking price. What a wonderful idea!!! Here you can put in good solid offers way above the asking price and still lose out by thousands. Great for sellers of course but the sellers are generally buyers too. But at least we can't gazump I suppose.

Thank you for insight

lolarentt

Archant publish a number of French magazines - these 3 are probably of most interest. They often have introductory offers running if you hunt around, (first so many months for a small sum sort of thing).

http://www.francemag.com/

http://www.french-property-news.com/

http://www.livingfrance.com/