# What o consider while buying a house in France



## observer123

Are there any specific request one should make prior to making an offer?
Are there any clauses in contracts we need to be mindful to?
Thank you.


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## dpdapper

When we bought, we had our own notaire, in addition to the seller’s notaire. If you can find an English-speaking notaire you can ask him/her to help walk you through any « compromis » (the purchase agreement). While he’s not « your lawyer » — they are meant to be impartial — he/she can explain anything you don’t understand. You’re not required to rely on the seller’s notaire. And having your own notaire shouldn’t increase the statutory fees as the two notaires split the fees.

That said, we also had a France-based lawyer (who happened to be American-born) to advise us as well..


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## rynd2it

observer123 said:


> Are there any specific request one should make prior to making an offer?
> Are there any clauses in contracts we need to be mindful to?
> Thank you.


Make sure only one agent showed you the house, if two did you'll pay two fees. 
Make sure you understand the diagnostics and any negative reports, you can only use these to formulate an offer, not later to negotiate a better price. Typically in France you buy AS-IS.
Look for any incidence of shared access, rights of way etc - the notaire should explain these in detail as you will have to share the maintenance costs of any such access with the others with similar rights, make sure you can.
There are other caveats such as neighbouring development plans etc but these are the same elsewhere


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## bradders2175

If the property boundaries are not clearly marked, as for that to happen with a Geometre. They are surveyors, who will mark the corners of the boundary with a 'lollipop' shaped paddle in orange. 
It's worth doing as when I was present at a friends property, the Geometre pointed out the local farmer had 'taken' some of the land. It was quite fortuitous as my friends were going to approach the farmer to buy some from him!
The farmer stated he'd had a 'gentleman's agreement' with the previous owner (deceased). However, he caved in and the land was returned.


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## Befuddled

Beware of verbal agreements. Also be aware that having a geometre come to mark boundaries will cost several hundred euros. When I bought I had been advised to ask questions. *rind2it* mentioned about rights of way above but I suggest you also need to ask about anything you might be wondering about. Local regs about use of your land, previous disputes with neighbours, annual charges for Habitation and Fonciere taxes, flooding risks, any responsibilities of the owner and such like. In my experience none of these subjects will be discussed unless you ask. The notaire's primary responsibility is to oversee the legal transaction and to ensure that the taxes and fees related to the transaction are carried out according to the rules. Some agents are useful for these ancillary questions and some are totally useless.


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## BackinFrance

Befuddled said:


> When I bought I had been advised Local regs about use of your land, previous disputes with neighbours, annual charges for Habitation and Fonciere taxes, flooding risks, any responsibilities of the owner and such like. In my experience none of these subjects will be discussed unless you ask. The notaire's primary responsibility is to oversee the legal transaction and to ensure that the taxes and fees related to the transaction are carried out according to the rules. Some agents are useful for these ancillary questions and some are totally useless.


All of this information, and more, is available from the Mairie.


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## bradders2175

Befuddled said:


> Beware of verbal agreements. Also be aware that having a geometre come to mark boundaries will cost several hundred euros. When I bought I had been advised to ask questions. *rind2it* mentioned about rights of way above but I suggest you also need to ask about anything you might be wondering about. Local regs about use of your land, previous disputes with neighbours, annual charges for Habitation and Fonciere taxes, flooding risks, any responsibilities of the owner and such like. In my experience none of these subjects will be discussed unless you ask. The notaire's primary responsibility is to oversee the legal transaction and to ensure that the taxes and fees related to the transaction are carried out according to the rules. Some agents are useful for these ancillary questions and some are totally useless.


I'd be asking for a geometre to mark the boundaries at the cost of the owner, if they aren't already marked. When we bought a parcel of land from a local farmer as it was adjoining our plot, just before we signed, the farmer planted a crop. We had to wait quite a few months until he'd harvested it before we used it!


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## Befuddled

BackinFrance said:


> All of this information, and more, is available from the Mairie.


No doubt. But you will in most instances have to ask for it.


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## BackinFrance

Befuddled said:


> No doubt. But you will in most instances have to ask for it.


That was not my point. The information they hold is reliable and they also know about resumption and planned resumption, be they of a small or large part of the property, all of the property or neighboring properties planned charges to roads etc. After all most people would not want to live right on the edge of a railway line, autoroute, major traffic interchange etc. Plus they have the latest version of the plan d'urbanisme, and the like.


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## ccm47

Surely every plot needs to be geometred before completion? We've found it helpful twice.

We were to be the second owners of a modern plain-pied so the garden was fully enclosed when we first saw it. However the fencers had made an error. In due course we bought the property and quietly moved the fencing to give the land back to the next door field!

Currently our agricultural land, which is separate, abuts an open ditch but since the neighbours don't want their dogs playing in it their fence and hedge are at least 1 metre from the boundary. We help them maintain it as it's mainly our rainwater going into their ditch. However anybody just looking at a plan would think we'd encroached!


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