Issue No. 13

Says Tim Sage, property expe
Buying and selling a property in France –
The Paperwork!
Once you’ve found your dream home in
France and agreed a price, it's almost time
for those Champagne corks to start
popping! But before that, there’s a bit more
to do – the legal transfer of the property
from the seller to the buyer which involves
paying a deposit (usually at least 10%) and
(usually) two sets of paperwork:
1. THE COMPROMIS DE VENTE
The compromis, as the name suggests, is a
legally binding promise between the buyer
and seller, generally known in the UK as
the Initial Contract. It will contain almost all
of the information that will be in the later
Acte de Vente (in the UK known as the
Deed of Sale or Final Contract). The
information will include at the very least:
- The details of the status of both buyer
and seller – full names, dates and places of
birth, marriage and divorce if applicable.
- A description of the property including
plot references (called cadastrales in
France), land area including the buildings
and a map showing the land and buildings.
- The agreed price, the agency fee, the
estimated legal fees (they’ll be confirmed
later), duties and the amount of deposit to
be paid.
- The reasons for which the deposit could
be forfeited and the obligations and
declarations by the seller and buyer.
- Copies of the diagnostic tests and results.
- Any suspensive clauses (special
conditions) both standard and any others
that have been mutually agreed.
- An estimated date for the completion –
this is not fixed and can be changed at a
later stage, either earlier or later but is
always set at a minimum of two months
ahead to allow for the notaire “searches”
which have a maximum of two months for a
reply.
- An inventory of any furniture that is to be
included in the sale - with values if
applicable.
The Compromis, which is in French, is
signed by all parties involved. A good
English speaking agency will supply a
“generic” translation (not including the
specific terms of the contract) but this is
not for signing, only for guidance.