Finding a property in Normandy
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Whether you are looking for a flat, house, manoir or chateaux Normandy has them in abundance! You may want to find a holiday home, a renovation project, a new business or just somewhere to spend the rest of your life! |
| Let us take the Strain! | |
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Normandie Maisons are international, specialist estate agents who are fluent in English, French. German and Dutch. This means that we can and do deal with all the challenges that finding and buying a property in Normandy can present. We can help bridge the cultural gap so that you can understand the French way of doing things! |
| We will guide you through the key points of finding & buying a property in Normandy as follows; | |
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Establishing your budget – This may mean that for example whilst your budget may not extend to buying in the centre of Caen we could suggest somewhere close by that meets both your budget and general location criteria. |
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Establishing your preferred area – Unlike the UK where a high cost region covers a wide area. In Normandy expanding the search area by as little as a couple of kilometres you can often find somewhere that meets your budget. If you have fallen in love with a particular area that is too expensive – we can often suggest a similar area that has lower prices. |
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French Prices – It is vital that you understand the price quoted to you as this is not always the final price that you end up paying! Some French estate agents do not always include the legal fees. This can amount to about 7% of the price so it is important that you find out exactly how much you will pay. With us there no surprises as we ensure that the price quoted is the price you pay. |
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Money – Before you can buy a property in France you need to open a bank account with a French Bank. This is a relatively straight forward affair which we can help you with. We can also suggest companies that will transfer the money from the UK and provide a competitive exchange rate for changing the pounds into Euros. Many people just use their banks but often find that the exchange rate is not so good. The process for setting up an account with a money transfer and exchange company is not complicated but needs to be established quite quickly to ensure that the down payment on your new property is available when required. If you would like a mortgage we can put you in contact with some quality mortgage providers. |
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Compromis de Vente – Once you have found the property you wish to buy and agreed a price with the vendor you will need to sign a ‘compromis de vente’. This is effectively the initial contract and should not be signed until you are sure you want to proceed and your funds are in place. At the time of signing you will have to put down the deposit which is held in the Notaire’s bank account until completion. This deposit is usually non-refundable so make sure you have thought everything through before signing. You do have a 7 day ‘cooling off’ period from the time this document is signed but it is far better not to sign at all if you are unsure whether you wish to proceed. We can guide you through this elaborate process. |
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Translations – We can provide oral translation services for you at all stages of the process. Normally, we provide these as part of the service but if you wish to have (full written) translation of all documents then we can provide suitably qualified personnel. Normally, we provide free oral translations for the interpretation required at the Notaires office for which we accept full legal responsibility. |
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Surveys & Builders – Should you require a survey undertaken or an idea on building and renovation costs we can provide recommendations for this work. |
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Acte Authentique – About 3 months after you have signed the Compromis de Vente the Acte Authentique – the final documents will be ready to sign. This is done at the Notaires and all relevant parties will be present i.e. You, the vendors and us. We will provide free oral interpretation of the process and ask any outstanding questions you may have. Once this document is signed and the balance of the money paid. (This should already have been transferred to the Notaires account) – then the property is yours and you will receive the keys to your new property! |
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Utilities – We are happy to help ensure that all services available like electricity and water (Obviously not where no services exist!) are transferred into your name and that they are available for use immediately. |
| Normandie Maisons do things differently… | |
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