Buying a House in France: The Complete Step-by-Step Guide
Buying a house in France can seem complicated, particularly if you're coming from the UK, the United States or another country where the property-buying process works very differently.
But it doesn't have to be.
I've been working in estate agency in France since 1986, and over the years I've helped international buyers through just about every stage of the process.
This guide originally started life as a seminar I gave at the French Property Exhibition in Birmingham. Afterwards, quite a few people asked me if I could send them a copy. As it's rather difficult to email someone a live seminar, I recreated the whole thing as a video.
Now I'm doing the same thing in writing.
So, from the moment you first think, "I'd quite like a house in France", right through to signing the final deed and getting the keys, here's my step-by-step guide to buying property in France.
Before you start looking, decide what you actually want
This sounds ridiculously obvious, but you'd be surprised how many people start looking at houses without really knowing what they're looking for.
I normally suggest dividing your requirements into four categories:
Must-haves
These are the things you genuinely need.
Perhaps you need three bedrooms, a large kitchen, a certain amount of land, shops within walking distance or a bedroom on the ground floor.
If the property doesn't have one of these things, it probably isn't the property for you.
Must-nots
These are just as important.
Perhaps you don't want to be in the middle of nowhere. You don't want to live beside a main road. You don't want close neighbours. You don't want all the bedrooms upstairs.
Whatever would make you reject a property should go on this list.
Bonus-ifs
These are the things you'd like, but don't actually need.
A swimming pool is a classic example.
Buyers regularly tell me a house "must" have a pool. But does it really?
Quite often, what you actually need is a property where it is possible to install one.
A pool can cost a considerable amount to install without necessarily adding anything like the same amount to the resale value of the property. Sometimes buying the right house and adding the pool afterwards makes more sense than rejecting otherwise perfect properties simply because they don't already have one.
And finally:
Budget
That one isn't negotiable with reality.
Work out how much you can actually afford to spend on the property, remembering that there will also be acquisition costs.
If you're buying a renovation project, don't just calculate what you can afford to pay for the house. Work out what you can afford to spend on the house and the work afterwards.
And personally, when buyers estimate renovation costs, I like to see a healthy contingency.
Old French houses have a remarkable ability to discover new and inventive ways of spending your money.
Where in France should you buy?
Once you know what sort of property you're looking for, you need to decide where you're looking for it.
And France is big.
Don't choose an area simply because you've been there on holiday and liked it. Think about what actually living there would involve.
What sort of countryside do you want?
Are you looking for rolling countryside, woodland and fields?
Mountains?
Coast?
A small village?
Or would you prefer something more urban?
France offers enormous variety, but that means narrowing down your search is important.
What sort of climate do you want?
There is a considerable variation in climate between different parts of France.
Brittany and Normandy are very different from the Dordogne, which is different again from Provence or the Mediterranean coast.
And hotter isn't automatically better.
If you're intending to live in France throughout the year rather than simply spending a few weeks here during the summer, think about what the climate is like in January as well as July.
Think about transport before choosing an area
How often will you want to return to your home country?
How often will family and friends come to see you?
Where do they live?
If you're travelling internationally, airports and ferry ports may be important. If your family is elsewhere in France, motorway and railway connections may matter more.
And you don't necessarily need to live in a large city to have good transport connections.
High-speed railway stations exist in some surprisingly small places, while airports tend to be outside the cities they serve anyway.
Village, town or countryside?
Then think about the actual situation of the property.
In Britain we talk about "location, location, location".
That doesn't translate particularly well into French because location means rental, which rather changes the message.
But the principle remains.
Do you want to live in a village?
On the edge of one?
Five minutes away?
Do you want to walk to a bakery, or would you happily drive 15 minutes for your croissants?
These aren't little details. They determine whether you're going to enjoy living in the property once the excitement of buying it has worn off.
How do you find houses for sale in France?
Now you can actually start looking.
One important difference for American buyers in particular is that France doesn't really have an equivalent of the American MLS system where virtually everything for sale can be found in one place.
French property is spread across numerous portals, individual estate agency websites and networks.
So don't assume that searching one major website means you've seen everything available in an area.
You haven't.
Search broadly.
Look at French property portals, international property websites and the websites of local estate agencies.
If you speak French, you'll obviously have even more options.
But even if you don't, don't be frightened of contacting French estate agents directly. Translation technology makes sending an initial email in French considerably easier than it used to be.
And this brings me to something I've said for years.
Beware of accent over knowledge
If you're an English-speaking buyer, it's naturally reassuring to find an estate agent who speaks perfect English.
But don't confuse speaking your language with knowing French property.
There are some excellent English-speaking estate agents working in France.
There are also people who have recently arrived in France, started working in property and know considerably less about French property, French law and their local market than the French agent down the road who speaks imperfect English.
I'm not saying one is good and the other is bad.
I'm saying choose the person for their knowledge, professionalism and experience, not simply their accent.
Sometimes the French agent with reasonable English and 20 years of local experience will be far more useful to you than the English speaker who arrived in France last year.
Organising your house-hunting trip
Once you've made contact with agents and found properties worth seeing, it's time to organise the trip.
People often ask me what time of year is best for house hunting.
There isn't really a bad time.
Winter has shorter days and potentially worse weather, but I've always thought that if you fall in love with a house on a miserable February afternoon, you'll probably adore it in June.
If there is one month I'd be cautious about, it's August.
France slows down considerably during August.
Vendors go away.
Notaires go away.
Estate agents go away.
Yes, estate agents are humans as well and occasionally have holidays.
A lot of properties are still occupied by their owners, and those owners may not want viewings while they're away.
So arranging a concentrated week of house hunting during August can be considerably more complicated than at other times of the year.
Don't underestimate travelling distances
This catches people out constantly.
France is considerably larger than the UK, and two houses that appear reasonably close on a map can easily be an hour or more apart.
I've had clients telephone me to say:
"Sorry Dan, we're running a little late. We'll be there in about half an hour."
I ask where they are.
They tell me.
And I have to explain that they're actually about two hours away.
Check the journey between every appointment before finalising your viewing schedule.
Google Maps makes this very easy these days.
Use it.
Three or four houses a day is plenty
I've seen buyers arrange viewing schedules that would exhaust a rally driver.
Slow down.
Three or four properties a day is usually enough.
That gives you time to look around the house properly, ask questions and, if you're interested, explore the surrounding area.
Remember that the estate agent may show you the property but won't necessarily spend another hour driving you around the neighbourhood afterwards.
Give yourself enough time to do that yourself.
And if you're coming for a week, I'd also leave at least one day relatively free.
You may want to return to an area.
More importantly, you may want a second viewing of one of the houses you've seen.
There's another reason not to cram too many viewings into a day.
After four or five houses, they start merging together.
Was the red bathroom in the three-bedroom house?
Or was that the five-bedroom house with the strange kitchen?
Which brings me to one of my favourite tricks.
Remember the stupid thing
When you visit a house, find something memorable about it.
It doesn't have to be important.
Perhaps there's a cat asleep on a windowsill.
A bizarre ornament.
Extraordinary wallpaper.
A collection of something peculiar.
I've seen some fairly remarkable collections during my years visiting French houses.
Whatever it is, remember the stupid thing.
Your brain will often attach the rest of the property to that one distinctive memory.
Later that evening, instead of struggling to remember "House Number Four", you'll say:
"That was the house with the enormous ceramic chicken."
And suddenly you remember the kitchen, the garden, the bedrooms and everything else.
It sounds ridiculous.
It works.
Let the estate agent play their joker
There's another thing worth knowing when viewing property in France.
The joker.
You may have arranged to see three properties with an agent and none of them quite works.
But during those visits, a good agent has been listening to you.
They've seen what you like and what you dislike.
More importantly, they've probably noticed how that differs from what you originally said you wanted.
They may then say:
"Actually, I've got another property. It isn't what you asked me for, but I think you should see it."
That's the joker.
Go and see it.
Some of the best matches happen because the estate agent understands the buyer much better after spending a few hours with them.
The property you eventually buy isn't always the property you thought you were looking for.
Review the houses while they're still fresh
At the end of every day's viewing, sit down and go through what you've seen.
Pen and paper is perfectly adequate.
If you're buying as a couple, get a bottle of wine, sit down and compare notes.
You'll sometimes discover that you've both walked around the same house and apparently visited entirely different properties.
Write down the good points and bad points while they're still fresh in your mind.
And afterwards, give feedback to the agents.
Even if none of the properties was right, explaining why helps the agent refine the search.
That becomes particularly useful if you don't find the right house during your first trip.
Don't jump, but be prepared to jump
This sounds contradictory, but it isn't.
Don't buy the first property that approximately matches your requirements simply because you're frightened somebody else might buy it.
If you've got other sensible viewings arranged, see them.
You never know. The next property might suit you considerably better.
But equally, when the right property appears, be prepared to act.
There's a difference between making a considered decision and spending six months searching for a mythical house that has absolutely everything, costs half your budget and somehow has no other buyers interested in it.
Eventually, you find the one.
And that's when the process changes.
Making an offer on a French property
Before making an offer, establish exactly what the advertised price includes.
In particular, understand whether the agency fees are included in the advertised price, the likely acquisition costs and whether any furniture or other items are included in the proposed sale.
The acquisition costs are commonly called "notaire's fees", although that's slightly misleading because a substantial proportion consists of taxes and duties rather than the notaire's remuneration.
You can then decide what you actually want to offer.
In practice, an initial offer is often discussed verbally with the estate agent.
The agent then speaks to the vendor and tries to bring the two sides together.
If agreement is reached, the offer will normally be formalised in writing.
But there's something important to understand here.
Don't make offers on several houses at once
An offer to purchase property is a serious matter in France and can have legal consequences.
Don't treat an offer as a way of reserving three properties while you decide which one you like best.
I've encountered buyers who thought they could make offers on several houses and then choose between them afterwards.
That's not how I would advise anyone to approach buying property in France.
Make an offer because you genuinely intend to buy the property if acceptable terms can be agreed.
The compromis de vente
Once the price has been agreed, the next major stage will usually be a compromis de vente, although in some transactions a promesse de vente may be used instead.
They're not identical documents, but both are forms of preliminary contract setting out how the transaction will proceed.
The compromis is important.
It isn't simply a piece of paper saying:
"Yes, we'd quite like to buy it."
It identifies the property, the parties, the agreed price and the conditions under which the transaction will proceed.
Under a compromis, both buyer and seller are committed to the transaction, subject in particular to the buyer's statutory cooling-off rights and any conditions suspensives contained in the contract.
For example, if you're buying with a mortgage, obtaining that finance will normally be dealt with through a condition suspensive.
For a non-professional buyer purchasing residential property, there is also a 10-day statutory cooling-off period after notification of the preliminary contract.
That's one of the important protections built into the French system.
Read the diagnostics
Before signing the preliminary contract, you'll also receive the property's dossier de diagnostic technique.
Depending upon the property, this can contain reports concerning matters such as:
There can be other reports or information depending upon the property and its location.
Read them.
They're not decorative paperwork supplied to make the email heavier.
They contain information about the property you're proposing to buy and can raise questions that need answering before you proceed.
You'll also be asked to provide documentation yourself.
Typically this will include proof of identity and information concerning your civil status.
Depending upon your circumstances, birth certificates, marriage documents, divorce information or other paperwork may also be required.
International buyers shouldn't be surprised if the French system asks for rather more civil-status documentation than they're accustomed to providing at home.
Who prepares the compromis?
Depending upon the transaction, the preliminary contract may be prepared by an estate agency authorised to do so or by a notaire.
Smaller local agencies often have extremely detailed knowledge of their immediate area and may prepare their own preliminary contracts.
Agencies covering a much larger geographical area may prefer to use the local notaire.
The important thing isn't who presses the buttons on the computer.
It's making sure the contract properly reflects the property, the transaction and the conditions agreed between the parties.
Should you have your own notaire?
International buyers frequently ask whether they need their own notaire.
A notaire is a public officer and has a duty of impartiality in the transaction.
One notaire can deal with the entire sale.
However, as the buyer, you're perfectly entitled to appoint your own notaire if you want one.
And importantly, having two notaires involved doesn't mean paying two sets of acquisition costs. The notaires share the relevant remuneration between themselves.
For some international buyers, having their own notaire provides additional reassurance, particularly where the transaction is complicated or there is a language issue.
Whether you need additional independent legal assistance beyond that is ultimately a matter of circumstances and confidence.
If you understand the transaction, have an experienced estate agent you trust and are comfortable with the notaire, you may feel perfectly adequately represented.
If you don't understand what's happening, there is a language barrier, or you simply aren't comfortable, get additional advice.
Buying a house isn't the moment to pretend you understand something when you don't.
What about the deposit?
When the preliminary contract is signed, a deposit, or dépôt de garantie, is normally requested.
There is no obligatory minimum amount.
In normal practice, however, the deposit is usually somewhere between 5% and 10% of the net purchase price.
The deposit is essentially a demonstration of the buyer's serious intention to proceed and, when the sale completes, the money forms part of the purchase price.
If you're coming to France specifically intending to buy, I strongly advise making sure the likely deposit funds are readily accessible before you start viewing houses.
Finding the perfect property and then discovering your money needs three weeks to escape from an obscure savings account is an avoidable complication.
The treatment of the deposit if the transaction doesn't complete depends on why the sale has failed.
For example, a buyer exercising the statutory cooling-off right is in a very different position from a buyer simply deciding months later that they've changed their mind.
Similarly, if a properly drafted condition suspensive isn't fulfilled, such as qualifying mortgage finance being refused, the contract determines what happens next.
This is another reason why the preliminary contract matters.
Then comes the quiet bit
Once the compromis has been signed, the cooling-off period has passed and the transaction is moving forward, international buyers are sometimes surprised by what happens next.
Not very much.
Or at least, not very much that you can see.
I sometimes describe this stage as:
Silence is golden.
The notaire is carrying out the necessary searches, enquiries and administrative work behind the scenes.
A typical transaction may take around three months between preliminary contract and completion, although every sale is different.
If you aren't receiving a constant stream of emails, don't automatically assume everybody has forgotten you.
Quite often, silence simply means the transaction is proceeding normally.
Meanwhile, however, you have some jobs to do.
Prepare the money well in advance
If your purchase money is held in pounds, dollars or another currency, start thinking about the conversion and transfer well before completion.
Exchange-rate movements on a substantial property purchase can represent thousands of euros.
It's worth comparing your options rather than simply assuming your normal bank will give you the best exchange rate.
More importantly, make sure the funds can reach the notaire in time.
Don't leave a major international transfer until the morning before the sale.
The notaire needs the required funds available before completion can take place.
I'd much rather see the money arrive early and sit safely in the notaire's account than have everybody sitting around on completion day wondering which electronic cloud currently contains €250,000.
Arrange your house insurance
You'll also need to think about insurance.
Don't leave it until you've already been handed the keys.
The precise cover you require will depend upon the property and your circumstances, but in practice most buyers arrange normal comprehensive household insurance to take effect from completion.
The difference in price between very basic cover and proper household insurance can be relatively small compared with the value of the property you're protecting.
You're about to spend perhaps hundreds of thousands of euros buying a house.
This isn't the ideal moment to save €50 by discovering exactly how little your insurance policy covers.
The final signing
Eventually you reach the acte authentique, the final deed of sale.
Depending upon the circumstances and the notaire involved, you may attend personally, use an appropriate remote-signing procedure or arrange a power of attorney.
By this stage the necessary funds need to be in place.
The final deed is reviewed.
It is signed.
The sale completes.
And the house is yours.
You won't necessarily receive the final registered title documentation immediately because there is still administrative work and registration to be completed afterwards.
But from completion, you're the owner.
After all the searching, travelling, viewings, negotiations, paperwork, diagnostics, compromis, bank transfers and waiting, you've bought your house in France.
Bienvenue chez vous.
Prefer to watch rather than read?
This guide originally came from a seminar I presented at the French Property Exhibition in Birmingham.
Afterwards, several people asked me for a copy of the seminar, so I recreated the whole presentation as a video.
You can watch the complete 30-minute guide here:
Even Before You Start Thinking of Buying a House in France... Watch This!
I'm Dan Newton, The French Estate Agent. I've been working in estate agency in France since 1986, and through this blog and my YouTube channel I try to explain French property as it actually works, particularly for international buyers.
Whether you're only beginning to think about buying in France or already have your viewing trip booked, I hope this guide helps make the process a little clearer.
À bientôt.
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