COMPASS IMMOBILIER: Purchasing French Property - other fees and costs

OTHER FEES AND COSTS

There are potentially other fees and costs that may be incurred.

Purchase using a mortgage secured against the French property

This will give rise to an additional fee. This fee is charged by the notaire and is for the registration of the security against the property. It is calculated on a fixed scale and is in the region of 0.5 to 1% of the value of the mortgage. It is determined by function of the nature, type and amount of the mortgage and most importantly by the type of security that the lender takes against the property. The actual amount of this fee is therefore often only known at a very late stage when the mortgage is finalised, usually shortly before completion, although an estimate should be possible beforehand. This fee should always be borne in mind when determining whether to finance with a mortgage and when budgeting for payment of the final balance if there is a mortgage in place.

VAT or value added tax

VAT (TVA) is payable upon the sale of property to be or that is being constructed as well as upon the sale of property built within 5 years. The applicable VAT rate is 19.6%. Technically, the VAT is paid by the vendor but it always form part of the purchase price (again, this should be checked prior to making any commitment to a property).

Copyright All Rights Reserved Victoria Headdon, Compass Immobilier