Some advice, for information purposes, regarding the formalities of purchasing real estate in France when it is a "resale of an existing property"!

You've finally found your Dream Invest!

Here are the steps to follow for a purchase made in complete tranquility:

1. The purchase offer

Your real estate agent suggests you sign a proper purchase offer.

This document commits you to the seller for the purchase of their property.

Its drafting must therefore comply with certain rules.

• The price at which you propose to buy the property from the seller,

• The validity period of the offer, which is generally 5 to 10 days, corresponding to the time you give the seller to accept or refuse the offer,

• The seller's response modalities, which must be by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt or by bailiff,

• Your own withdrawal period, which is by default 10 working days,

• The financing of the real estate purchase (loan and/or personal contribution),

• You must mention that the sale will only be final at the signing of the preliminary contract,

• You must indicate that the purchase offer will be canceled if it has not been accepted by the seller within the specified time,

• You can also specify the type of property and describe it (size, number of rooms, etc.).

Note: remember to add suspensive clauses to disengage from the sale if an unforeseen event occurs beyond your withdrawal period (such as a bad evaluation of the property's condition, for example).

2. The signing of the sales agreement

Great news: The seller has accepted your purchase offer!

It is now time to sign the sales agreement.

This is a preliminary contract between seller and buyer, committing to the sale of the property after agreeing on its price.

The sales agreement is the most secure preliminary contract, as legally it constitutes the sale of the real estate.

You can choose to draft it without an intermediary when the seller sells the property directly to you, for example, without going through a notary. You can then draft it freely or with the help of a standard contract.

You must, however, have the agreement witnessed "by a private signature act registered with the tax office, within 10 days following its acceptance by the beneficiary," according to the Notaries of France website.

Note: If you make mistakes, which can easily happen given the rapid changes in legislation, the sale will be invalidated.

It is therefore advisable to entrust its drafting to a notary, who will take care of all the administrative procedures related to the sale (registration, gathering all the necessary documents, checking the suspensive clauses, etc.).

3. The security deposit

Remember that the sales agreement must be accompanied by a security deposit that protects the seller throughout the duration of the sale, which usually takes between 3 and 6 months depending on the case. Its amount is typically between 5 and 10% of the sale price of the property.

It serves to compensate the seller who has immobilized their real estate for you.

If you decide to withdraw and cancel the sale, the security deposit made at the time of signing the agreement will be returned to them.

If the sale goes to completion, the amount of this deposit will be deducted from the total cost of the sale.

If the sale is canceled due to one of the suspensive clauses in the sales agreement, the security deposit will be returned to you.

For the financing of this purchase, here is some advice if you need to create a financial arrangement for a partial or total loan depending on the sum to invest and your assets.

Here are generally the criteria for obtaining a mortgage

Some documents to prepare for a complete file:

• Identity documents and some personal information (identity card or passport, family record book (For the French) if you have children, proof of residence less than three months old, marriage certificate or civil pact certificate for borrowers in a relationship),

• Proof of income and expenses (employment contract and last three payslips for employees, tenure certificate for civil servants, last three accounting balances and Kbis extract (France) or BCE extract (in Belgium) for independents,

• Mandatory technical diagnostics concerning the real estate you are about to buy (usually provided by the real estate agency or notary).

You have collected the necessary amount to finalize the financing of your Dream Invest!

4. The signing of the authentic deed before a notary

The final step is to sign the authentic deed (or final sale deed) which makes your real estate purchase effective and formalizes the change of ownership.

This final step is always performed at the notary's office, which makes the deed "authentic."

This deed prepared by the notary will be sent to you by mail or electronically before signing so that you can review and verify the information it contains.

The notary will send an advance payment request to your bank, so it can schedule the transfer of the sums due to the notary office's account. This advance payment request might also be sent directly to you, in which case you must send it to your bank.

These sums notably include the balance due to the seller, the amount of registration fees including the notary's fees and taxes paid to the state, as well as any real estate agency fees.

You are now proud homeowners!

Congratulations!

5. The handover of keys

On the day of signing, at the notary's office, which is traditionally done at the notary's study, in the presence of all involved parties (seller, buyer, and, if applicable, the real estate agent), the handover of keys for the real estate can take place.

This handover is most often concomitant with the signing of the deed.

Upon agreement of both parties, it can, however, take place earlier or, conversely, later.

NB: The health crisis has greatly popularized electronic signatures via videoconferencing.