Buying property in France is a good investment if you plan on renting it out. The rate of real-estate in the country varies with the region and as a general rule, the south of France has more expensive property than that in the north. If you plan on purchasing property in the country, then mortgages are a good way to finance it. Several local and international financial institutions offer loans at reasonable rates. When you apply for a loan, the lender is required by law you ascertain your financial standing and you will have to provide them with all financial documents like bank statements, credit rating and employment pay slips. When your financial details have been verified, a valuation of your property has to be done by the lender, the charge fore which will have to be paid for by you. Once this is successfully completed the ‘offre preable du credit’, which is the mortgage offer will be sent to you. You are given a 10-day period to decide if you want to go ahead with the sale. This period can extend up to 30 days after which you will have to sign the documents and send it to the lender by post to finalize the agreement. You have a choice of fixed rate mortgages which do not change over the mortgage period, and variable rate mortgages which vary with the current economic situation.

It is always good practice to retain a good lawyer to help you with the legalities of property purchase in France. The additional fees you will incur are those charged by the estate agents and notaries and come to about 5 to 10% of the total property value. If you take out a mortgage, you will have to pay the lenders’ arrangement fee which is negotiable and usually comes to around 1% of the loan amount. Besides this you should also consider expenses due to the various taxes imposed such as the land tax, local tax and maintenance charges.