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Finding your French property
At the risk of being accused of attempting to teach Grandmother to suck eggs, it is respectfully but strongly suggested that when buying property in France (among other precautions) you should:
- look around carefully and attempt to assimilate property prices in the area in which you envisage buying
- be aware of a number of possible means of locating French property (see below)
- not sign any document which you do not fully understand before buying a French property
- not hand money to anyone other than a Notary or professional of similar standing when buying a French property
French Estate Agent (Agent
Immobilier)
This is a highly regulated profession in France and the Agent Immobilier (or French Estate Agent) must be formally registered and bonded as such with French authorities.
When dealing with a client, the French Estate Agent must either have a written “mandat de vente” (empowering him or her to sell a property on behalf of the vendor) or a written “mandate de recherche” (empowering him or her to seek out property to buy on behalf of a purchaser) and a potential client should not hesitate to ask to see the French Estate Agent’s written authority.
Under a “Mandat de vente” the Estate Agent is usually paid his or her commission by the vendor and under the “Mandat de recherche” the Estate Agent’s commission is generally paid by the purchaser.
Throughout France, commission rates of 4 and 5% for property purchase are the norm and even higher figures have been regularly encountered in the South.
The French Estate Agent is usually paid upon completion of the property sale and generally receives his or her commission at the completion meeting (and thus is usually present).
NB – Anyone, of whatever nationality, who is not registered as an Estate Agent in France, and who attempts to take a commission on brokering real properties, could in certain circumstances be held to be committing a criminal offence.
Notary (Notaire)
The Notaire or Notary is one of the two distinct French legal professions, the other being that of the Avocat (Advocate).
The Notaire is generally perceived to wear two hats
- that of the specialist lawyer dealing notably with the conveyance of real property and probate matters generally
- that of an Estate Agent who brokers the sale of real property
In the first of these roles, the Notaire acts almost as a functionary of the French State. She has a monopoly in regard to the conveyance of real property and her fees are to a great degree fixed by statutory instrument.
Most Notaires will intimate to non-French clients that they are able to act for both parties in the same transaction, but it is observed that the self-evident scope for conflict causes many potential purchasers to be more than a little sceptical about such a sweeping affirmation.
In the second (and totally separate) role, she simply acts in the same way as an Estate Agent and receives a commission of much the same order as that obtained by Agents Immobiliers.
Direct
Finally, it is also possible to find property through a number of direct means such as:
- friends – and normally no commission payment is permitted under French Law
- owner’s sign on property – normally no commission is payable
- owner’s announcement in local press - normally no commission is payable
However, care is often necessary as some of the less reputable Estate agents have been know to masquerade as owners in such advertisements.
Owners should for their part be circumspect when signing an “exclusive mandate” for the sale of their property as the commission may often be due even where the Estate Agent in question did not introduce the ultimate buyer.
If you wish to put a specific question relating to Estate Agents, or Notaries, please
click here 
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