Property Mortgages in France

It is generally not difficult to obtain a mortgage to purchase your property in France and we will be with you to give you advice but there are certain things a potential buyer needs to know.

Firstly, when you sign the reservation contract at the sales office, you must have already decided whether or not you are going to take a mortgage out because you will be asked by the sales person to write out a sentence on the contract in French, and sign to say if you are not having one.

At this stage you do not have to have agreed on it, just have decided yourself whether you are going to take one out.

The reason for this is that once you have entered into a French property contract, which is legally binding, the only way you can get out of it is if you have your mortgage turned down, so if you have signed to say you are not having one, it is extremely difficult to cancel it.

Secondly you must have your mortgage arranged and agreed on before you sign your "acte de vente" at the notaire's, usually 1 to 3 months after you have signed your reservation contract, if you taking one out.

There are various options as to where to obtain your mortgage or funding from to finance your new purchase.

Remortgage on your UK property

Due to the increase in UK properties over the last 10 years, a lot of people are living in houses with a great deal of under utilized equity. You may wish to consider an equity release which tends to be more flexible and is ideal, especially for the self-employed. Security would be against the UK property with the repayments being in sterling.

A mortgage broker

To take a lot of the hard work out of hunting around for their funds, a lot of our clients obtain a mortgage through a broker, who will sift the market place for the best deal, one which suits your circumstances best. Should you wish for help, MRI has good working relationships with these types of brokers, based in England, but specializing in the French market.

The legal costs of buying in France are generally 5% for a new property and 10% for an older one, but again you will be advised of the costs when signing your reservation contract and while you do not always need to consult a lawyer who charges 1% (but MRI recommends it), you always have to meet the notaries whose costs are generally 3%.

It is also worth remembering that when you are buying a property in France with a mortgage, once you have been to the notaries' office, the remaining stage payments, up to completion, are made by the bank and carry the bank guarantee.

During this period you only have to make interest payments, which currently on a mortgage of €190,000 amounts to as little as €450 per month, or €15 a day!

Then when your property is complete, you start making your full mortgage repayment as you enjoy the benefits of owning a property in the South of France or of course you can sell and take your profit.

The actual process of applying for mortgages in France, again is not difficult, and usually takes at most 2 to 3 weeks but can usually be done even quicker. If you are going the French bank route, most of the application can be done by phone, but you do have to visit the bank in France at least once in person, before you go to the notaries.

The actual application form, wherever you apply, is very similar, asking questions like date of birth, current address, income, expenditure, current mortgage, employment etc. and again your MRI representative can offer help and guidance to make the application quick and painless.

So in summary, obtaining a mortgage for a French property is generally not difficult, especially with our help, and will not stand in the way of you obtaining the dream apartment or villa you have always wanted, on the Cote D'Azur.