Property transactions in France are handled by a lawyer called
a notaire, who acts for both the buyer and seller, and whose main concern is to
ensure that the formalities are properly executed and the correct taxes due to
the government are paid. The notaire will expect to deal with you in French and
will present you with legally binding documents, written in French, to sign. It
will be your responsibility to ensure that you understand the meaning and
importance of those documents. It is not necessarily the notaire's
responsibility to point out potential problems with your purchase.
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We have now opened a specialist French Property Law department to deal with
these issues, and others, on your behalf. The department is headed by an
English speaking, French juriste qualified in French property law. We can
assist you whether you are buying or selling a French property. If you instruct
us, our service is exclusive to you, we do not also act for the other party.
Our services include the following:
-
liasing with the French notaire
-
explaining procedures to you in English
-
translating key documents
-
advising you about matters that directly affect your French property, in a
similar way to the advice we would give if you were buying a property in the UK
-
giving practical advice on issues like currency exchange, planning and
utilities
-
advising you with regard to the fees and local and national taxes that apply
-
advising you as to the issues relating to any letting of your French property
-
advising you as to what happens if you die while you own a French property, and
ways of avoiding an unexpected problem if this should occur.
We offer a fixed fee on French property transactions, agreed
with you before we undertake the work.
For an informal chat either in person or by telephone about the service please
contact
Nick Hutchinson (Direct Dial: 01242 258223) or Guillaume Barlet (01242
261515).