Buying a house in France

The process of actually purchasing the house took longer than expected (I soon learnt that any form of paperwork in France always takes longer than expected) and there were a few obstacles to overcome before the keys were handed over...

The first step in the selling/buying process in France is signing the Compromis de Vente, which is a preliminary contract in which there is a promise to sell and to purchase the property. This is drawn up by the notaire once they receive confirmation on things such as the title of ownership, confirmation the building conforms to all legal regulations and reports on asbestos, electrical wiring and natural risks.

I decided to find a french lawyer in the UK to deal with the whole process as buying a house in another country is a tad anxiety inducing. It gave me peace of mind knowing I wouldn’t overlook something important and there wouldn’t be any future problems down the line. I’m very glad I made this decision as there were a number of issues that came up that I wouldn’t have known how to deal with, most notably some important missing documents that luckily the lawyer was able to get to the bottom of (and which I wouldn’t have known to ask for).

The full diagnostic survey flagged the presence of some asbestos in the roof. I already had the intention of fully replacing the roof as it was clear it had been patched up previously a number of times, and was luckily able to agree a reduction on the sale price due to the fact that asbestos had been found. At this point I didn’t know there were still leaks as I purchased the property in the height of summer, however even if I hadn’t planned to fully replace it straight away, I would still have asked for a reduction on the sale price as the roof would have needed to be done at some point in the future.

Another issue flagged up during the sale was the septic tank (which are very common in rural areas still). In France, when you sell a house, you are obliged to have a certificate of conformity for your septic tank. This was a relatively new law at the time I purchased the property and the vendors didn’t even know where their septic tank was. They had owned the property for 17 years and had never emptied it (I was in direct contact with the vendor who told me it took care of itself and was working well, however this didn’t comfort me or make that image of 17 years of waste any less disturbing). Luckily because of this new law the tank had to be emptied before the Mairie could inspect it and a certificate could be issued. It turned out that the old tank no longer conformed and a new septic tank had to be installed. I was grateful that I didn’t have to pay for it and I didn’t have to deal with anyone else's waste either.

Finally after a few other documents requested by my lawyer to rule out issues to do with the risks of forest fires, mines (!) etc, the Acte de Vente was signed. It took about five months between signing the Compromis de Vente and the Acte de Vente, and many emails, telephone calls and pieces of paper. And then in August 2018 my dream of having a house in France became a reality.

After enjoying this realisation, the question that kept popping into my mind was "so ... where do I begin with the renovation process?!" I had never done anything like this before and have no experience of building or architects or planning permission. I braced myself for a steep learning curve.