Buying Property and Getting Advice

I often write about the “cultural” differences between France and most English speaking countries. By this I mean the different ways the French deal with administration, their attitude to authority and their ways of dealing with this. Make no mistake, there are big differences and it is not for me to say which is right - but come to France thinking things will be dealt with in the same way as they would be in Sydney, Sausalito or Solihull and you could be in for an expensive and uncomfortable ride. There is absolutely no point in saying after you get a big bill that, ” this is not the way we do it in England”, because it is the way they do it in France and that is what counts.

The cultural thing is that a French person tends not to make the same errors as they have been brought up to “know” the rules and regulation and they simply cannot understand that other countries will have a different way of doing things. The important thing is to get the right advice at the beginning, therein lies the problem. Who do you know what to ask if you don’t know there is a potential problem in the first place? The other side of that coin is that the people you may ask will assume you know the problem and therefore most of the answer anyway, so they are not likely to help you with the questions that you should have asked them in the first place (I think that makes sense).

In my blogs and newsletters I mention some of the issues which do need care - creating a business, working, buying and selling property, letting accommodation etc etc - all these are controlled to a greater or lesser extent than in most countries and to ignore the rules can leave you exposed to fines and/or taxes.

Here is another mail exchange I had last month about Inheritance tax in France.

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Hi

I’ve been enjoying your newsletters for sometime time now and finally taken the plunge in buying property in France. We have just signed the contract for a new build - and I know I should have addressed earlier that nagging problem at the back of my mind about French Inheritance laws.I guess it’s case of better late than never….

can you advise or point us in the right direction for advice please! (I really didn’t fancy explaining our family details to the local notaire…)

regards

Sarah

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Hello Sarah,

If you have any complications about inheritance, previous marriage, other children or family problems - you must make sure the purchase of a property in France is structured correctly before the final Acte is signed. Very little can be done after this, it must be done before.

A Notaire is (theoretically) the best person to do this, but in my experience they rarely volunteer information or advice, it is assumed that you already know the options and will instruct them.

It is a matter of knowing which questions to ask and if you know the question than you. A search on Google for something like - Property Inheritance France - will yield a lot of websites and masses of advice, but my advice is to discuss your own personal position clearly and precisely with a Notaire or an independent advisor - the advice from a Notaire will be free.

It really is a minefield and unless your family situation is simple (no other relationships, no Kids, no Parents, no Relatives etc) you need professional advice. Do not just read a lot of Internet pages and find one that agrees with what you think you would like to know.

An independent advisor must have adequate legal insurance to cover them in the event of the advice causing a problem in the future, many advisors do not have this and you must ask.

Hope this helps

Best wishes

Tony

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Dear Tony Yes that does help - thanks very much for the advice!

Best wishes

Sarah