Let me explain the actual costs you'll face when buying a house in France.
Takeaway
If you don’t like numbers and figures, just remember this takeaway. To estimate the total cost of a house you like, multiply the listing price by 1.2. It’s that simple!
What are you going to pay?
Now if you want to know more, here is the breakdown for you, with all the costs you cannot avoid, and also some possible additional costs :
It all starts with the asking price, which by law includes the agent’s fee. You may decide you need to hire a surveyor to provide a thorough review of the property's condition beyond the mandatory diagnostics. Of course, such a survey is not an obligation, so its cost is yours whether you decide to buy the house or not. You will also pay for drafting the pre-sales agreement called "compromis", although some notaire may not charge for this. You’ll pay for the costs of land registry and mortgage checks organised by the notaire in the pre-sales agreement. If you choose to use one, you will pay a translator to help you understand legal documents, though some notaire have bilingual staff.
Within ten days of signing the pre-sales agreement, you'll need to provide a deposit of 5% to 10% of the purchase price, which is refundable if the sale falls through, unless you decide later to withdraw from the process after the ten days. Usually the deposit is 10% for properties under 300,000€ and 5% above, but there is no set rule and everything is negotiated by the parties and the notaire is not involved. After you have signed the compromis, you may also consider hiring an architect or interior designer for any planned renovations.
Before closing, you'll receive a "statement of account" from the notaire, detailing all fees including the "notaire’s fee." The sale will only proceed if all the payments outlined in this statement have been received by the notaire’s accountant on the day of signing. If you are coming from outside the Eurozone (for example the UK or the US), you’ll need to cover the cost of exchanging and transferring your money into Euros. You should know that only 20% of the so-called notaire’s fee actually goes to the notaire; the rest of the money goes to pay local and regional taxes, so that is a tax similar to the stamp duty in the United Kingdom. This total stamp duty amounts to 8% of the price paid for the property not taking into account the agent's fee and any furniture.
Note that you can hire your own notaire at no extra cost. Meaning that there will be two notaire working on the same deal: yours and the seller’s. And there is no additional cost because notaire share the government-set fee which is based on the transaction amount.
The statement of account will include your portion of the annual property tax, prorated from the day of purchase to the end of the year. And if you buy an apartment in a shared building like a condominium, you will be responsible for your share of the co-ownership fees for the remainder of the year. You will also need to pay for home insurance: don’t forget because the notaire will verify before closing. If you deem it necessary, you’ll pay for a translator during the closing process. Utilities set up, such as water, electricity, and telecom, don’t usually required any upfront payment. To set up utilities, you’ll need a French bank account. Be aware that some banks require a deposit of up to €10,000 for non-residents. If you're taking out a mortgage, you'll be responsible for all associated costs, including the lien on the house to protect the lender. These are typically paid upfront. You may choose to hire a lawyer or solicitor, possibly bilingual, to review the notaire’s work. Moving your furniture will also be an additional expense.
Note that all costs, except for the price of the house and any furniture and notaire fee, are subject to a 20% value added tax, which is included in any quoted price.
A typical breakdown
Here is a list of the estimated costs of buying a property listed at €350,000:
Price paid to the seller: 324,100 euros
Agent’s fee: 21,600 Euros
Value added tax on the agent’s fee: 4,300 Euros. It’s a tax so it’s paid to the French Treasury.
Administrative costs: 1,000 Euros
Your share of the property tax: 400 Euros
Stamp duty: 20,700 Euros which is Also paid to the Treasury.
Notaire’s fee: 5,200 Euros.
Home insurance: 900 euros for a 150 square meter house.
Currency exchange: twenty five hundred euros.
So the total of the mandatory costs comes to about 381,000 Euros for this 350,000 Euros-listed property.
Extra services
Here are details of the costs of extra services you might have to purchase:
A full property survey by a British-registered surveyor could cost you fifteen hundreds to 3,000 Euros
Translating a compromis could cost you up to a thousand Euros if you use a court-registered translator, but… nothing if you use ChatGPT.
And a simultaneous translator during closing could cost you around 500 Euros
Finally, moving your furniture could cost you 5 or 6 thousand Euros for a full house or… just the cost of hiring a truck if you do it yourself!
In a nutshell
So, in a nutshell, here is this video’s summary. When you see a house you like, multiplying the listing price by 1.08 to 1.12 will get you an estimate of the real total cost if you were to actually buy it. In other words, the “other costs” usually amount to about 10% of the cost of the house itself. In my opinion, you should apply this rule of thumb to all listings. To be safe, always multiply the asking price by 1.2 and check if it fits within your budget. Simple!
NEED FRENCH REAL ESTATE ADVICE? If you require customized assistance in your search (or anything French real-estate related) don’t hesitate to reach out! Best, Pierre Guillery [RCS Nimes 533018321, carte prof. CPI30022018000032895.]
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