Dream Properties Dordogne

You need not open a bank account in France for the house purchase: However, you will need one very soon after to pay for services, insurance etc.  Few estate agents are entitled to receive deposit payments. Make exhaustive enquiries if your agent requests a payment to be made to him.  Under NO circumstances should a deposit be paid to the vendor!  Cash payments will get you into trouble!

Transfer of funds to the Notaire in France: Whatever your UK bank may say about the speed of electronic transfers, transfers to Notaire's bank accounts nearly always take five or more days because of money laundering checks.

Using your own bank is perfectly acceptable, if expensive, but unfortunately few UK local branches actually understand the procedure at the French end, and a small mistake can make the process doubly long, perhaps passing the due date.

Use a currency dealer: We recommend that you use a currency dealer who knows “the ropes” and better still to use a dealer who knows about the house buying system in France. You fix the exchange rate in advance so you know exactly how much you will have to pay in sterling to buy the euros. You could lose a lot of money by not taking this advice.

The deposit: The first payment for your French purchase is the deposit, usually 10% of the sellers price, normally due 3 or 4 weeks after your offer has been accepted - the due date is set in the compromis.

The costs of Purchase: The seller's price including the agency fees is the price normally displayed on agent's publicity, but always check that this is the case.  Agency fees vary from about 10% on low cost properties, or perhaps a set minimum fee.  The percentage falls as the price rises, usually to a minimum of about 4%.  On top of this the Notaire collects taxes which are also on a sliding scale and on a purchase at 30,000 € is about 2900€, and on a price of 250000€ is 16,500€, of which only a small sum is actually his fees.  You should also expect to pay your share of the Taxe Fonciere on a time basis, ie if you buy in June you pay half this tax. If you are buying with a mortgage there is also a registration fee to pay to the Notaire - on the above examples about 2000 on the low cost property and about 4000 on the other one.

Pay on time! Your contract with the vendor clearly sets out the dates by which payments have to be made.  Be prepared to make your payment in good time.  In general French vendors attach considerable importance to the timely payment of the deposit and the balance.  Late payments may result in the property being put back on the market.

The final payment : This is theoretically not due until the signing of the final acte, but Notaires are unwilling to agree a date for the signing until the funds are in his account.  So expect to pay the balance of the funds well before the final date stated in the compromis. Sometimes an intervening bank will make a small charge for the transaction, so it is a good precaution to add 50 €  to the final amount due to cover this, for the notaire cannot complete the sale until he has all the funds. He will refund any overpayment at the signing.