How to buy - A short guide
To serve you better it is recommended that you contact us at least
ten days before you plan to travel.
A FEW EASY STEPS
1. Decide your budget. What property at what price? This is
the first question to be asked! Everything will depend on the
region, the position of the apartment or house (overlooking the
sea, for example…), the kind of property (château
or country cottage…) and its state of repair. In France,
the price range is extremely wide for a house and garden.
2. How much can you borrow ?
It’s obviously important to determine how much you can put down immediately
and make the necessary calculations to ascertain how much you need to borrow.
It’s easy to determine how much you can borrow by deciding how much you
would like to reimburse every month. Depending on age and income the maximum
amount you can borrow is normally between 70-80%.
3. Find the house of your dreams Through our vast network we
will can easily help you to find the property you are looking
for. Send us a request (above) or search through our database
of properties.
4. Negotiate the right price
All real-estate prices quoted for existing properties are, in principle, negotiable
unless demand is extremely strong. Be sure to take note of all the fittings
requiring attention and make a list of the negative aspects of the property
to put yourself in a strong negotiating position.
5. You decide to buy!
You have found the property you would like to acquire ? You now need to ‘reserve’ it,
i.e. commit yourself by signing a contract, known as a “compromis de
vente” (provisional sales agreement), or sign a contrat de réservation” (reservation
agreement) when buying new real estate. This stage is a major step; you will
be legally and financially committed with limited possibilities for withdrawing
from the agreement.
6. Take a mortgage
Skandia France will help you with all the necessary paperwork!
7. The deed
The deed of conveyance must be drawn up by a public notary who ensures that
all legal provisions have been respected and guarantees the authenticity
of the contract. He retains the deed of conveyance and gives a copy to both
signatories. Allow up to 2 to 3 months between the moment you sign the provisional
sales agreement and the moment you receive the final deed of conveyance.
8. New construction
To protect the buyer, the French legislation establishes that the builder cannot
ask for payments higher than those imposed by law at the various building
stages and notably:
5% reservation
25% signature
5% foundations
25% half the completion
15% roof
10% interieur
10% finishing
5% keys
9. Terminology
Contrat de réservation – Reservation agreement A contract by
virtue of which a buyer reserves a property to be purchased from plan. This
provisional real-estate sales agreement is the legal equivalent of a compromis
de vente.
Compromis de vente – Provisional sales agreement
Provisional contract used for the acquisition of real estate or building land.
The expression habitually used
for the promesse de vente (unilateral agreement to sell). This contract lists
the names and addresses of the
seller and buyer, their reciprocal obligations, the description of the property
in question, its surface area and
price. It also lists the conditions of avoidance making it possible to terminate
the agreement, notably the buyer's failure to obtain a loan (or planning permission
in the case of the acquisition of building land). If these conditions cannot
be met, the agreement will be declared null and void. When the provisional
sales agreement is signed, you will be asked to pay a deposit by the seller.
If the buyer withdraws from the agreement before signing the legalized deed
of conveyance, the seller is entitled to retain the deposit. If the seller
wishes to withdraw from the agreement, he must pay the prospective buyer twice
the sum of the deposit.
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