If you intend to purchase a property in France, the chances are that the French conveyancing system will be new to you, and the following text is meant to help explain the appropriate procedures in practical terms.

A - THE CONTRACT

As in many countries, the purchase usually takes place in two stages:

A-1 The preliminary contract (« compromis de vente ») is the document you sign in the case you wish to purchase a re-sale, i.e a property that you will buy from a private seller.It is as binding as a sale contract for both contracting parties. The suspensive condition to this contract is the mortgage authorization from the bank. On signature of the contract, you are generally asked to pay a deposit of 5 to 10 % of the price , that you pay to the notary on an escrow account.

A-2 The reservation contract is the document you will sign in the case you make a purchase in a new program -off plan or of 5 years old at the most-. On the day you make the reservation, you will have to sign :

• the contract itself,
• the specification sheet of the building
• the block plan as well as the floor plan,
• and in the case of a lease-back program, the lease contract

You will also have to make a reservation check of 5 % of the purchase price - to put the apartment on hold-- to the bank of the notary in charge for the program.

B - THE SIGNATURE OF THE FORMAL TRANSFER DEED

This « acte de vente » is to be carried out by a French notary which represents , as a public officer, the Government and is impartial. It is therefore common practise to instruct only one notary.