House Buying Process in France

Legal Process
- 1. Top tips
- 2. Offer to Buy
- 3. Sale & Purchase Agreement
- 4. Contract Conditions
- 5. Property Surveys
- 6. Local Search
- 7. Sole Ownership
- 8. Joint Ownership
- 9. Company Ownership
- 10. Ownership structures
- 11. Completion
- 12. Fees and Taxes
- 13. Annex Pre-Contract Enquiries

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3. Sale and Purchase Contract for Property in France

3.1. Types of Sale/Purchase Contract
3.2. Signing the Contract
3.3. Role of French Notaires
3.4. Use of Legal Advisors
3.5. Pre-Contract Enquiries

3.5. Pre-Contract Enquiries when Buying Property in France

Whilst we recommend you use the notaire for signing of the sale and purchase agreement, there are limitations on the role of the notaire in the sale process.

The formal pre-contract enquiries undertaken by them are confined mainly to establishing proper title of the property.

Top Tip!

We, therefore, consider it imperative that you undertake your own complementary enquiries and that, where possible, the outcome of these enquiries is discussed and made clear in front of the notaire, prior to signing of the sale and purchase agreement.

If necessary, you should insist on the inclusion of clauses relating to the outcome of your own enquiries in the sale agreement.

Thus, for instance, it may be pertinent to include clauses relating to access or the services to the property in the sale agreement, if nothing is being stated on these issues.

The notaire is competent to do the legal drafting of the clauses that are necessary.

In order to provide you with some idea as to what you should be looking for in the pre-contract enquiries, we have prepared a check-list of items, which you can find by visiting Pre-Contract Enquiries.

One document that you should view at an early stage is a copy of the plan cadastrale for the property you are proposing to purchase.

This is the official public register of property ownership showing the boundaries of each property.

There will be a plan cadastral for the whole commune in the mairie, but it would also be surprising if the seller did not have a copy they could show you.

A copy should be provided by the notaire at the time you sign the sale and purchase agreement.

Each parcel of land on the plan cadastral is numbered, so you will be able to see clearly the land you are buying.

Next: Conditions in a French Property Contract

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