Where to buy French property and what the costs are

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There are two places that you can buy French property...

either through a Notaire(solicitor) or an immobilier (estate agent/realtor). Whether you buy through an immobilier or not, you will still have to use a Notaire for the legal bits. That having been said, it's often easier - although always more expensive - to buy through an immobiler.

 Fees payable when buying French property: 

Typically about 20% on top of the house price and they are paid by the buyer.

The fees are made up of two parts: negotiation fees and taxes.

 Negotiation fees. 

How big a fee you pay depends on whether you buy through a Notaire or an Immobilier. A Notaire is a government employee and his fees are regulated. An immobilier's are not. Typically, an immobilier's negotiation fees will be twice as high as an estate agents. These fees vary depending on the house's price: but 10% if you buy through an immobilier, as against 5% if you buy through a Notaire, is common.

Government taxes. 

These also depend on the cost of the house, but are generally in the region of 10%

If a Notaire charges less, why bother with an Immobilier?

Several very good reasons....

Advantages of buying French property through an immobiler.

• The immobilier only deals in property, and is therefore more focused, so that his property details are generally fuller and clearer than a Notaire's.
• The immobilier is much more likely to speak English
• Notaire's offices (etudes) are often hard to find.
• One often needs to make an appointment to see a Notaire - you can't just 'drop in'

Advantages of buying French property through a Notaire

• The immobilier is more expensive (see above)

• For that 'character property' at a cheap price, you may well be more likely to find it at the bottom of the Notaire's pile of details (for all of the above reasons), but then you need to speak French, be persistent, and lucky too!

In practice, if you don't speak good French, and you don't have much time to spare, you may well find that, expensive though it is, the immobilier is your best option.

This page is one in a sequence about French property and living in France, as can be seen from the site map. The next page in the sequence is things to think about before you buy

Want more secrets of the trade? then you should be reading two books written by Alan Biggins who sold houses in rural France while studying for a degree in French. See our books about France