Clé France

So, you have found a property, What is your next step? 

You will make an offer, in much the same way as you would in the U.K. There are no hard and fast rules about what level of offer is acceptable, as much will depend on the seller’s circumstances, and the market conditions at the time. The agent will be able to give some guidance on this, as to what might be acceptable to the vendor.

Once you have agreed a price, and whether or not certain fixtures and fittings are to be included, the initial contract, the Compromis de Vente, is drawn up. Either the notaire or the agent will prepare this document. It is at this point that any suspensive clauses (clauses suspensives) will be entered in to the contract. These can include such items as the completion of building work, mortgage approval or planning permissions being in place. The contract will also indicate a possible completion date, but this date is flexible as the notaire will have to undertake searches on the property, and the final signing date is arranged so that all interested parties can attend.

This intial contract will also detail the cost of buying the property, including a breakdown of the cost of the purchase including the deposit due (usually 10%), the net vendor price, the notaire’s fees and the agency fee, thus providing you with the total amount due to be paid as cleared funds into the notaire’s account prior to final signing day (Acte de Vente or Acte Authentique). A feature of the French purchase process is the seven-day cooling off period. The time runs from when you receive your signed copy of the Compromis de Vente and allows you to back out from the sale without penalty. Once the seven days are over, the rest of the sale will take approximately 8-12 weeks to complete.

It is at the Compromis de Vente stage that you will pay your 10% deposit. The payment is made to the notaire. The deposit will only be refunded if strict conditions are met, so if you do withdraw after the 7 day cooling off period you will lose the money.

It is our job, along with our partner agents, to keep you informed throughout this process, and to assist with the progressing of the sale through to completion.

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.

I thought I was 'too late' and had missed all the bargains when I bought a house in Normandy in 1994. I said to myself if only I had bought 5 or 10 years ago I would have picked up a bargain!

I never thought it would happen but property prices have been going back in time for a few years now, it is actually cheaper to buy a house in France now than 10 or so years ago. Not just in relative terms and with inflation/deflation etc. BUT in actual hard cash terms property prices are at an all time low.

As an example you HAVE TO SEE the property we sold yesterday!

Just sold this property for a bit less than asking price of 43,500 - SLD02075 

It may not last much longer though so act quick if you are serious about buying a property in France, every dip is followed by a peak and prices may be set to rise, who knows?

AND the Pound is strong, so you get more Euros for your money!

Blog submitted by: David at Cle France.

Client's Question:    I am hoping to move to Normandy / Pays de la Loire and work in managing holiday rentals. Can you please let me know how I would pay into the French pension system? And level of state pension after so many years? 

Much depends on how you are planning to work, i.e whether you will be self employed running a gite management business, or whether you will be an employee of such a business. If you are an employee, pensions are organised and handled by the Caisse Régionale d’Assurance Maladie (CRAM). The system operates on the principle that those who can no longer earn a living themselves are financed by contributions from existing workers and employers.

The two systems in the U.K and France have some similarities, in that the amount you are able to draw will be dependent on the number of years’ contributions. According to recent figures the average retirement age in the UK is 63.6 years, whereas in France this figure is 59.2, with only 15% of people between the ages of 60 and 65 still work. In France you can retire at the age of 60 but in order to qualify for a pension (up to 55% of your former salary) you need to have worked for at least 40 years. Under EC regulations, however, if you work, or have worked, in other EU countries you can combine contributions in order to qualify for a state pension here in France.

If it is your plan to be self employed, then your pension will be dealt with by different organisations. A good French bilingual accountant will be able to advise as to the level of pension you can expect to draw in France, based on the level and length of time of your contributions. A self-employed person should contact his/her professional body for more information.  

Blog submitted by: Sharon at Cle France.

Join the Cle France mailing list (look to the the left!) and be the first to find out about new property on the market and price reductions.

This week we had a bumper selection of Holiday Homes for you, from ones that are 'ready to move into' to properties needing some updating or renovating, but hopefully a selection that suited every budget. 

AND of course we had our usual small selection of properties NEW on the market around France that hopefully met everyone's taste and budget. We now have over 6000 houses for sale in France ready and direct for you to view with our agents.

Lower down the newsletter we also had a selection of houses for under 50,000 euros! 

Blog submitted by: Alex at Cle France.

Despite a poll last year claiming that the majority of french people believe there are too many foreigners in France, Interior Minister Manuel Valls has just announced new plans to make it easier to gain french citizenship. The multiple choice test has been scrapped, along with the requirement that applicants must hold a permanent job (CDD); neither is it compulsory to own a property in France. This latest decree marks a changing of attitudes within government departments towards immigration; in 2011 only 40% of applications were approved rising to 61% in 2013 to date. To qualify, foreigners should have lived in France for 5 years. Forms are available from your local prefecture.