Ready To Buy A Property In France?

How Do You Know You’re Ready To Buy A Home in France?

Have you spent months or even years talking, thinking and dreaming about buying a property in France? Is now the time to move ahead and make serious plans to buy a property in France? Are you, in fact, ready to start to look at French property for sale? Here is our check list of questions to ask yourself before you head out to France to view properties for sale. This list has been compiled with the experience gained over years of helping people to make the right property buying decision to suit their needs.

How do you think your life will improve by owning a house in France?
Your answer is likely to depend on whether you are looking to buy a holiday home or a full time home.

If it’s a holiday home the things to consider are:-

• Will you be happy to spend most of your holidays in the same place? Will you get bored with the same old places to visit and people to see or will you feel very content with the familiarity of it all? Sometimes I feel that in the stressful lives that many people lead there can be more relaxation in the familiar rather than always searching for the new adventure. But that is my personal feeling, you need to be sure about how a French holiday home will fit into your life.
• What facilities would you like to have on hand. The fun and bustle of life in a market town, the serenity of the countryside, activities for children, walking/cycling/skiing trails for adults etc.
• How do you feel about the inevitability of always having to do some care for the garden and house when you are on your holiday?

If you are planning to move to France full time, then do think carefully about:-

• The lifestyle you are looking for. Are you searching for something rural or would you prefer to be in a village/town setting. However you feel now, how do you think you might feel in 5 or 10 years time?
• The climate you are expecting. Nowhere in France can you be assured of warm sunny weather 365 days of the year. Wherever you choose to live there will be some cold, grey days probably with rain beating against your windows. Often people fall in love with the idea of having a French home when they are on holiday, usually in the summer. It is really worthwhile visiting your chosen area in the winter before you commit to buying a house there.
• If you need to earn an income, have you thought carefully about how to achieve this and been realistic about the income you may be able to earn?

Can you afford to buy a house in France?

Property prices are certainly cheaper than in the U.K. and many people are tempted to buy a property solely for this reason! However, I would advise some caution. There must be a better reason than just price for you to make the important decision of buying a French property!

• When looking at property prices do not forget to include the costs of the Notaire’s fees in your budget. These can add anything from 6%-10% of the purchase price. The fee charged by the Notaire is mainly composed of government taxes, equating to U.K. stamp duty. It’s not that Notaires are highly paid people!
• Allow for the cost of moving furniture and other possessions, even pets, in your budget.
• Have you calculated the costs of owning a French property? Property taxes, rubbish collection, heating and lighting, water rates and general maintenance.

Yes, I am ready to buy a property in France

If you feel that you have thought out all your plans carefully the best way to proceed is:-

• Know your budget. If you are planning to buy with a mortgage we would advise considering a French mortgage
• Know the area where you want to buy property. If you are in doubt about this do call us on 01306 775 008 . We know France well and have lived and worked there and are always happy to share our knowledge and experience with you. Alternatively, we have lots of information on the web site.
  – Click to find out more on Areas of France
• Think carefully about the size of property and garden that will suit your needs. In our experience many people buy property that they later feel is too large for them. The larger the the house the higher the running costs, the larger the garden the more committed you are to working in it.
• Only when you have thought all this through are you really ready to start browsing houses on French property websites. However, once you start, very soon you will be ready to plan a viewing trip to France. We would love to hear from you and to make appointments for you with any of our partner agents who have properties that have tempted you! Call us, or email us.

Healey Fox, and their French partner estate agents, have years of experience helping people to find and buy the right property in France. We would love to help you.