Buying a Property in France: It is Easier than you think!
By Cecil Jones

If you have been dreaming about buying an apartment or house in France but have hesitated, thinking that it must be too difficult for a foreigner, it is time to think again. The process of buying property in France is a lot easier than most people believe. Here are a few basic factors that you should consider if you are indeed interested in acquiring real estate in France.

1. It is no harder to buy a property in France than in the USA

Despite popular images of a complicated Napoleonic legal code, modern French property laws make it easy for anyone, even a foreigner, to buy property. Thanks to the Notaire system, government regulation of closing costs and the reliability of sales deeds, the process of buying property in France can be less nerve-wracking than transactions in other countries.

2. The Notaire System is a key factor in all French property transactions

A Notaire is the French lawyer, trained specifically in French real property law, who prepares the compromis de vente (purchase agreement) and all other documents, including the final sales deed, relating to the transfer of real property in France. Without exception, all buying and selling of property in France must be done under the auspices of a Notaire. The Notaire system is the main reason that real estate transactions generally go so smoothly in France.

3. You don’t have to speak French to buy a property

France has changed a lot in the past thirty years. Gone are the days when you would have trouble finding someone in France who would even say a word to you in English. France has moved on from this parochial attitude, and the change is especially visible in the field of real estate.