Before signing the definitive document the buyer must have received from the French notaire a draft of the Deed called ‘projet d’acte’ for at least one month.
You will receive this draft 4 to 6 months after signing the reservation contract (or earlier if you bought ‘late’). At this stage you must expect a signature appointment for the next month after receiving this document. Developers are allowed to charge you penalties if you delay the signing of the final Deed of sales. You must have your mortgage ready, if needed, and know how you want to buy regarding inheritance and tax laws in France (for French property inheritance and tax law see the appropriate section).
The final Deed of sales includes the following documents:
- the site plan
- the precise description of the property which is the object of the sale
- the precise description of the building and its technical characteristics
- the price and modes of payment
- the date of release, is possible by the month
- the suspensive clauses
- the penalties the developer would pay if delay in release occur except for circumstances outside their control.
- the penalties the buyer would have to pay should payment be delayed. These are stated by law.
- the co-ownership rules
- the financial guarantee of completion ensuring that the building will be completed or you will get paid back, should the developer happen to fail.
- The lease to the resort management company
The signing of the Deed of sale takes place at the notary’s office in France. You can travel to France and sign the Deed of sale in the notary’s presence or his/her qualified assistant called ‘clerc de notaire’. An interpretor must attend the signing. If you don’t want or can’t travel to France you can sign the Deed of sale by a Power of Attorney with a Notary Public in UK specialising in French property.
As in any property transaction in France, buying off plan is under the supervision of a ‘notaire’. ‘Notaires’ represent the French government and are the only ones authorised to handle the legal aspects of property conveyancing. Their main role is to be a fair regulated body acting for both the seller and the buyer and ensuring that the transaction is made by the rules. The ‘notaire’ checks the documents to ensure all the regulations have been respected and draws the deed of sale (“acte authentique”).
When buying off plan property the principle is that you pay as the construction is in progress and according to its progress. By law no payment is required between the reservation contract and the Deed of sale. The stage payments are protected by the law and defined as follows:
- 5 % refundable deposit for reservation, kept in an escrow account
- 35% when foundations are completed
- 70% at watertight
- 95% at completion
This is the legal compulsory schedule. A developer can include a more detailed schedule in its contracts as long as it obeys the general rule. You can for instance find the following stage payment:
- 5% refundable reservation deposit
- 15% with the DROC (Déclaration d’Ouverture du Chantier) ie when the works start
- 15% when the foundations are completed
- 20% floor of the 1st storey
- 10% when the framework or terrace roof is completed
- 5% at watertight
- 15% for partition walls
- 5% tiling
- 5% completion
- 5% keys handover (this balance can be withheld with the ‘notaire’ in case of conformity defect)
