The
decision to buy a property in Brittany had been made. Houses of all shapes,
sizes, and states of repair had been considered. From crumbly falling down barns,
to old corn mills, we’d seen them all and, one by one, had rejected them. This
was due in main to the lack of somewhere to live while the renovations took place. It’s all very romantic to think of having your own little piece of
heaven in rural Brittany, but quite another matter when you have to live on site, during a freezing wet winter with no more than a draughty caravan to keep you
warm. Also if the property has no mains utilities, the cost of hooking up can
run into the thousands. So, tempting as it was to invest in a barn with some land,
we decided against it.
Fantastic potential, but not for us
No again
And hell no!
We
eventually settled on a detached, slightly tired and unloved house in
Brittany’s Cote D’Armor region. Situated in a quiet village, population 450,
with one bar/café, one boulangerie, a school, a mairie and a library, it was
rural France at its best, and exactly what we’d been looking for. The house was
just off the main road and in sight of the church, which as in most French
towns and villages, towered imposingly above it all. The house had mains
services, and though in need of a LOT of TLC and hard work and despite being cold
and damp …… it was habitable – just.
YES!
The first viewing with Nikki from Leggett Immobilier
No frills, but habitable
Please may I have a new kitchen? Mind you, I do like that old dresser
The house
was on the market with Leggett Immobilier – one of France’s premier estate
agents - other estate agents are available J A family
run business offering a personal touch, Leggett proved to be more than helpful.
We had viewed dozens of properties with them in the Dordogne and Limousin
regions, before deciding on Brittany, so had got to know a good few of their
agents. All were friendly, knowledgeable and really professional.
When we
finally made our decision, it was Nicola Grey (Nikki) who steered us through the
process.
Our lovely agent, Nicola Grey
We were still in Spain when we made the offer on the house. Once it
was accepted, there was a feeling of “This is it, no turning back”. I have to
admit to being more than a little daunted. I can speak some French, but
certainly not enough to navigate through legal documents and the reams and
reams of paperwork, which buying a house in France entails.
I need
not have worried. Nikki was there, every step of the way.
I have
tried to give a breakdown of the process of buying a house in France, as WE
experienced it, in the hope it might help others who might be about to take the
plunge. Please note, this was OUR experience, and is in no way intended as a definitive guide
to buying a house in France. Always take advice before embarking on such a
project and do your research.
Provide Your
Documents
Once our
offer had been accepted, we had to provide Leggett with all our personal
details; passports, marriage licence, birth certificates etc. We also provided
evidence of bank accounts, and proof of the financial means to purchase the
property. All these are essential to the sale and must be provided as soon as
possible, to avoid delay.
Dossier Diagnostic
Technique
With the above information in place, a Dossier Diagnostic Technique (DDT) was then carried out
on the property. This is a very thorough report about the state of the house.
It looks at such things as wood worm, dry rot, asbestos, lead in the paint,
damp, asbestos, wiring system, gas (if installed) sewerage, hazards and energy
levels. It is the responsibility of the person selling the property to pay for
this report, which at the time of writing cost approximately €700.
Compromis
De Vente
Once the
DDT was completed, we received the Compromis De Vente which is the first of two
legally binding documents to be signed. This was sent by recorded delivery and
consisted of a veritable forest of paperwork requiring signatures. There were
literally hundreds of pages, each of which had to be signed or initialled front
AND back, by both of us – that was a fun night in! The DDT was included in this, as was a full
description of the house, along with confirmation of title deeds, personal
details of all parties involved in the sale, and a provisional completion date.
There was a breakdown of costs, including the notaire’s fees, agency fees, sale
fee and details of the required deposit.
Any furniture in the home, included in the sale, this will be included here as well.
Any furniture in the home, included in the sale, this will be included here as well.
Apart from the main contract, most of the documents were in French. Nikki arranged for an interpreter to contact us and go through the documents prior to signing. There would normally be a charge for this service. We were lucky in having Nikki who offers this as part of her personal service to her clients.
Once
signed, the documents all had to be returned by recorded delivery. The agent
then waited until both parties had returned their signed documents before
issuing a ten day cooling off letter.
Cooling
Off Period
All
potential purchasers of property in France, are permitted a ten day cooling off
period. This is the last opportunity to pull out of the sale without forfeiting
a 10% deposit. The ten day cooling off period usually begins the day after the
fully signed (by yourself and the vendor) contract is delivered to your address
by recorded delivery.
If you
did wish to withdraw at this stage, you would need to send a signed letter by
recorded delivery stating this.
Make sure you are 100% certain about it before proceeding
Providing
you are proceeding, which we were; it’s now time to sit back and wait – usually
3 to 4 months. During this time, the notaire will undertake all the
necessary work on the property. Much like a solicitor in the UK. They do the
searches and much more.
Putting
up the Funds
Prior to
completion, we had to pay the deposit, and transfer money to the notaire for
her fees. We then had to make a full transfer of ALL monies two full days prior
to signing. A French bank account is useful but not essential at this stage.
More on my experience of opening a French bank account later on in another blog.
Insurance
and Taxes
You MUST
have home insurance in place prior to signing the final documents. It is a
legal requirement in France.
Also, be
prepared to pay a Tax Fonciere in France; it is payable by the owner usually in
September of each year. We paid a proportion of it prior to signing, so won’t
now have to pay it again until September 2017.
There is
also a Tax Habitation, which is payable if you live in a furnished, habitable
property on the first of January each year. Usually issued in September for
payment in December.
Acte De
Vente
Once
everything was in place and the monies had been transferred, we were ready to
sign our Acte De Vente – the final legally binding document. For this, our
presence was required at the notaire’s office. We had made our plans to leave
Spain and make the trip up to Brittany, timing it so that we were there on the
day in question to sign.
We were
in the notaire’s office, along with Nikki and a translator for about an hour. We
had sent proof of our home insurance before the meeting, so all was in place.
All the documents were checked and double checked, and all parties signed. As the
vendor was still in the UK, she had pre-signed, so it was just Steve and I.
In our case,
there was no chain and no hold ups, so the whole process was relatively quick.
We made our offer the 2nd week in January, and signed the final
documents on 29th March. Once you sign, you immediately become the
legal owners and are handed the keys. We were also delighted to be handed a
lovely bottle of celebratory champagne by Nikki – what a treat J
Mmmm a great treat, thanks Nikki
Utilities
In our
case, Nikki handled everything prior to us moving in. She organised the
electricity and water to be turned back on and set up direct debits with my new
French bank. She also organised an Internet/TV/Phone deal with Orange France
for us, so the Internet was up and running the day we moved in. This was all a huge help, and one that cannot
be underestimated in terms of convenience. As I have said, my French is okay,
but as yet, I do not have enough vocabulary to discuss setting up electricity
accounts or ordering an Orange Live Box etc.
In
General
Overall,
we found the experience of buying a house in France very straightforward. What
I did discover once we were a bit more settled, is that there are usually
English speaking help lines for all the major utilities and services – that
really IS a big help. Well done France J
The DHL
Disaster!
There
were some obstacles, but thankfully nothing, which hindered the process. When
Leggett send the Compromis De Vente they used DHL as couriers. However, we were
way out in the middle of nowhere in rural Spain and the couriers seemed to have
simply given up on us! It took two whole weeks for us to get the documents,
despite me sending DHL detailed written instructions of how to find us from two
different directions.
At one
stage, I had a discussion with the manager of DHL in Spain who basically blamed
us for living in such a remote place! I was told that his couriers “do not have
the time to be looking for your house”. He seemed startled when I reminded him
that it was actually their JOB to look for our house as that’s what they were
being paid for. We were repeatedly promised the documents, to no avail. On one
particular day, I was checking the tracking information, and it said, “Item
delivered to house, signature intelligible” – WHAT?
DHL's appalling service left me speechless!
Once again
I was on the phone to DHL asking which house had this been delivered to as it
sure as hell wasn’t ours! I was told that the documents were now “lost” and
would have to be retrieved and resent!
A few
days later I was assured yet again that the documents would be with us
tomorrow. Tomorrow came, but by 4pm, no documents. I rang DHL again (sigh) and was told by an
impatient sounding Spanish lady, “They are coming, they are coming”. At 6pm I
received a phone call from the courier. He spoke no English and I spoke no Spanish,
so it was a somewhat comical exchange with both of us raising our voices and
repeating things in that way people do in an attempt to be understood. The only
bits I understood were, “Huescar” and “Repsol”. Huescar was a town about 10
miles away from where we lived and Repsol was the petrol station there.
To cut a
long story short, the driver had simply left our highly confidential and important
documents at the petrol station 10 miles away! Luckily I guessed what he had
done and we drove straight there. The man in the petrol station happily handed
the documents over without so much as asking for any identification – not impressed
DHL, not impressed at all.
All in
All
DHL
aside, we eventually got there and have to say that the process was nowhere
near as complex, drawn out or frustrating as we had been led to believe. We had
done it, we had bought a house in France.
----------------------------------------------
As we
stepped over the threshold, our noses wrinkled at the smell of damp and fustiness,
which had accumulated over the months the house had stood empty. It felt cold
and neglected, which indeed it was. However, despite all this, I felt a great
sense of adventure and excitement. I knew that Steve was more than capable of
transforming the house into something wonderful, and making us a home we could
be proud of.
After only three weeks here, this is the amazing kitchen transformation by my super clever husband and he's not finished yet
If you keep
following the blog, you can come on the journey with us and share in the fun J
For more
details on buying a home in France, I recommend you visit the Leggett website
where you will find more details of their extensive services.
To find
out more about me and my writing, please visit;
All the best
Freya
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