House for sale Scrignac Brittany

House for Sale Scrignac Brittany

Well appointed house for sale within Scrignac and the Mont d'Arree National Park

House for sale Scrignac Brittany
A Little Information about Buying
a Property in France.

In France, unlike the UK, it is the purchaser and not the seller who is responsible for estate agents fees. They are calculated on the purchase price of the property and are between 5% and 10% of the agreed price. Cheaper properties are at the higher end of the band. As we are selling privately, you will not have to pay any agents fees.

The seller is responsible for obtaining and paying for the obligatory reports on the state of the property, such as energy performance, termites, fungal and insect larvae, asbestos, lead, dry and wet rot, drainage, gas and electric safety certificates. It is not usual to have a survey as we know it in the UK but if the purchaser wished to have a "diagnostic batiment" is it is called, it would need to be arranged and paid for by the purchaser.

The legal side of things are undertaken by a Notaire, who acts for both sides. His responsibility is to make sure that all the legal aspects of the transaction have been properly carried out and that the sale goes through as arranged between the parties, financial details, items included in the sale etc. He checks the specialist's reports on the state of the property and informs you if there are any problems. His responsibility is to the government rather than either of the parties to the transaction and he must ensure that all due taxes have been paid on the sale and that the property is registered in the cadastre (land registry) at the end of the transaction.

Once a price has been agreed, both parties enter into the contract immediately and the purchaser pays a deposit of 10%. The purchaser then has seven days "cooling-off period" in which to change their mind and, unless the purchaser repudiates the contract in writing within that period, the deal then proceeds to completion. The contract is, of course, subject to everything being satisfactory on the legal side and the specialist reports. The final sale document is the "Acte de Vent".

It is normal for two months or so to pass between the compromis and the acte de vent. In that time the notaire receives the specialist reports, checks the planning permission, legal title, and all the usual paraphernalia. After the cooling off period, both parties receive a copy of the compromis and neither party hears anything else from the Notaire until he writes to the purchaser asking for his fees, stamp duty, registration fees and the balance of the money. Typically, the Notaires fees, inclusive of Stamp Duty and registration fees are 6% to 8% of the purchase price. Please note the Notaires fees are INCLUDED in our price The Notaire then makes all deductions from the purchase money before paying the seller. After a further long period, the purchaser gets a copy of the land registry entry.

This is just a short note of the procedure and there are many articles on line with more information. The main thing to remember is that you have to be in a financial position to proceed before you make an offer on a house in France. The contract can be made subject to a mortgage being obtained but the deposit would only be returned if the property failed the survey, not if the purchaser was unable to get the necessary finance.

Finally, as the Notaire does not work for the Client per se, you do not get the same level of communication as you do in the UK. We have bought two houses in France and each time, we have signed the contract and paid the deposit and then nothing happens. Just as you think something must have gone wrong, you get a letter asking for the rest of the money and everything goes through.