Buying a house in France is a totally different process than the loosely organised system in the UK. There is a lot to be aware of and I have highlighted a few pointers below.
The list is not exhaustive but you should be aware that a buyer as well as the seller is bound to certain legal requirements and it pays dividends to get good legal advice before proceeding.
Of course the first part of the process is to find a house. You do not have to work through an agency and often you can find hand written on a bit of cardboard attached to a gate at the end of a track or shutter on a property.
In many cases you might notice that it appears the for sale sign has been there for years which can often be the case. One problem is that the owner, whilst possibly advised by a valuing agent can set what price he wants rather than one reflective of the condition or asset value.
Unless you are particularly good at negotiating it might be well advised to work with an agency called an immobilière. Remember the buyer pays the fee which can be as much as 10%. If you do use an agent look for the letters FNAIM - which stands for Federation Nationale des Agents Immobilier or national association of estate agents, providing a compensation fund for defaulting agents.
Once a house has been found and you are satisfied by all that you have been told then process moves to Compromis de Vente -contract for sale and purchase of land - This document, prepared by a Notaire must contain all that forms part of the agreement with you the buyer and the seller. It is important to get this right because it can be harder afterwards.
In it should be any conditions or clause suspensive - a conditional clause in a contract that must be met in order for the sale to reach completion that you feel need attention before you proceed.
An example of this maybe perhaps the boundary of the land being none too clear and you request that the seller has the land surveyed by the géomètre - surveyor appointed by the notaire to certify the dimensions of the property according to the cadastre - and marked out so that it is clear to you in advance.
Once the Compromis de Vente is signed you should expect the process to take between 3 and 5 months. In this time the Notaire will will conduct all necessary searches and seek assurances that anyone who may have an interest in the property is in full agreement. Up until recently it was law in France that all siblings agreed to sell a property as it is not possible to exclude your children from your will.
Now it is only necessary for a majority vote to sell a property but if the family is a large one this may become complicated and drawn out. In our case we actually sought some informal agreement before we went to Compromis de Vente so that we were not bound into a long contractual dispute.
If you are buying farmland with your property you must also be aware that the SAFER - local government organisation supposed to ensure the proper use of agricultural land, sometimes they will hold pre-emptive rights to buy land - have a right to buy this land before you if it is intended to carry on farming. No-one can buy this land for any other purpose and full market price must be paid.
You must also be aware that the local Mayor is able to buy any property but again full market value must be paid.
