Guide to buying in France |
The Dordogne Property Agency guide to buying a French property - An overview:
Buying property in France may appear to be a complex and daunting task, particularly if you do not speak the language and do not have knowledge of how the French legal system works. At Dordogne Property Agency, our aim is to make the process safe for clients and to take the stress and strain out of the buying process. We achieve this by offering a professional and comprehensive service from the moment you make contact with us through to the day you are handed your keys and comfortably installed.
In order to offer you some initial help and guidance, we have outlined some of the main points to be aware of when buying property in France, along with some suggestions as to how you can maximise your chances of success. In any event, we very much hope that you will choose to use our services and therefore, when you become a client of Dordogne Property Agency, you can be rest assured that you will receive a complete "end to end" service during all aspects of your purchase.
It is also important to note that Dordogne Property Agency is a fully registered French estate agent and as is common with property transactions in France, we are paid an agency commission upon the final completion of a sale. There are no extra charges for our extensive services and complete assistance with your purchase.
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Preparing for your visit to France
In beginning your search for a French property, you may have already discovered that the quality of service offered by so called "French agents" differs broadly depending on which ones you make contact with. We are acutely aware that the time, and indeed the cost, that you will invest in your property search is very important to you and that you cannot afford to reduce the chances of finding your dream home by having your efforts wasted. The most common problem that buyers complain of is the agent who insists on properties being presented to you that simply do not meet your criteria. There is nothing more disheartening and emotionally draining than to be taken all around the countryside only to discover that your agent's "must see" properties are not even close to your ideal specification or that they have simply failed to listen and understand your real requirements in terms of the property that you are searching for.
At Dordogne Property Agency, we have the experience and expertise to be able to listen carefully to our clients and to ensure that we understand their requirements. This is fundamental to our success as an agency and ensures that your time with us is well spent and more importantly, productive. Of course, we are intelligent enough to know that by doing our job properly, we increase our chances of finding a property for you that you may well then wish to buy!
To ensure our service is tailored to your needs, as soon as you have contacted us to express an interest in viewing one or more of our properties, we will spend time consulting with you, by email or telephone, to identify your requirements in more detail. Some examples of the type of information which is helpful to us are as follows:
- Which of our properties have interested you and why?
- Is the purchase intended for a holiday home or main residence?
- What type or style of property are you looking for - a traditional stone property or perhaps a low-maintenance modern property?
- Are you prepared to undertake any form of renovation work or are you seeking something in good condition & ready-to-move-into?
- What are your key "must have" criteria for the property? e.g. number of bedrooms, location, size of land, etc.
- What are your ideal criteria for the perfect property and in which areas are you prepared to compromise if needed?
- What is your total budget? - bearing in mind that you will need to pay additional fees and taxes in the form of the notaire's fees as well as the sale price of any property purchase.
- Are your finances in place? - is this a cash purchase? If so, do you have available funds for the deposit payment?
- If you are requiring finance, have you spoken to your bank or to a French lender about a mortgage?
- Do you have a property to sell? Is the purchase of your intended French home dependant on the sale of this property?
- If your purchase is to be a holiday home, do you intend to rent out your property when you are not using it to generate an income?
- Have you pin-pointed a specific area of the Dordogne or are you flexible?
- Have you visited the area before or is this your first time?
- Have you previously visited French properties with a view to purchase? If so when and where?
Once we have discussed your search criteria, we will have built up a comprehensive view of the type of property and locations that are most likely to suit your needs. This will allow us to prepare our time with you in advance and therefore, on the morning of your appointment, propose a range of suitable properties which could include properties or areas that you have not previously considered. As well as searching our own portfolio we are also able to contact many of our local French estate agency partners to identify whether any properties in their portfolios fit your criteria. Our aim is to ensure that we spend constructive time together to find the perfect property for you.
At the point when you book your appointment with us, we will also ensure that you are comfortable with your travel arrangements and that you have been sent clear directions on how to find us. We will even send you a list of highly recommended local accommodation which has been tried and tested by our many clients over the years.
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The viewings
The best approach to any viewings is to keep an open mind and be as flexible as possible. We ask you to trust us to look after you. Remember, we have nothing to gain in showing you unsuitable properties and the true skill of an agent is to understand their clients and to show them the properties that really do have the right ingredients to get them excited. Whilst as individuals we try to remain detached and analytical about finding a home, property is always a passionate and emotional subject and we want you to truly fall in love with your new home!
This means that to help you to be successful in your search, we may propose additional properties that are brand new to market or that you may not have been aware of. It may also be that you have, unknowingly, discounted highly suitable properties during your search or have simply ignored them because of lack of information or uninspiring photographs. By understanding your needs, we will be able to guide you to the correct properties, keeping your desires in mind and asking for your input all the way of course!
We will always accompany you to property viewings. Where possible, we will ask to travel with you in your car. This enables our representative to talk you through the region and areas that we are visiting, to discuss specific properties and gain valuable feedback and to help direct you safely and calmly to the next property. It also provides plenty of time for you to ask any questions which may arise during the course of your visit.
Depending on the number of properties to be viewed and the driving distances involved, your appointment with us could take the majority of a day or perhaps just half a day. Once we have planned your viewings we will let you know the running order of the day and the overall plans for the property appointments. If you need regular breaks or have special requirements, we can factor this into our time together.
On some occasions the vendors will be present during viewings and on others, we will have the keys to access the properties. It is always best to expect that someone may be home and try to avoid bringing any non-buying passengers or people who are not involved with the purchase with you.
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Your offer
Good properties always sell in the Dordogne and the demand is always high, no matter what the market conditions elsewhere. We hope that at the end of your time with us, you will have been successful and will have located a property which fits the bill and with which you feel confident to proceed.
If you decide that you would like to buy one of the properties we have viewed together, the first step is to put your offer in writing, regardless of whether it is at the full asking price or at a negotiated price. If you would like to negotiate on the price, we will be able to let you know whether we believe this will be possible, based on our knowledge of the property and the vendor(s) and whether they are prepared to consider offers. There is no hard and fast rule concerning negotiation in this part of France but we will of course, always provide guidance to help you secure the property at a price that both buyer and vendor feel is fair.
This offer will then be communicated, by us, to the vendor(s) and once a mutually acceptable agreement is reached, you will have secured the important first step of a verbal offer.
Once your initial offer has been accepted, we will instruct a local notaire to handle the sale. However, until the vendor has signed the first sale contract or compromis de vente, they are not legally bound to sell you the property. If another buyer appears with a better offer before the vendor has signed the first sale contract, he or she is able to accept that offer. However, if a buyer offers the vendor the full asking price of the property, the vendor has a legal obligation to sell to that buyer, even if he or she receives an offer over the asking price from another client although in practice, this is difficult to enforce.
Therefore, the safest way to secure your dream property is to ensure that you are in a position to move quickly with your deposit and that you have all your paperwork ready before you come to France.
See our guide to the Legal process in France for details on the next steps in the purchase process.
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