I would always want the same notaire! The fee is fixed for sales, and if there are two notaires each gets half the fee. So rather than being more motivated they are less motivated to do a thorough job.
The issue I have found in France is that you have to know enough to ask the right questions. If you don’t then you could have 20 notaires and still wouldn’t get thorough advice. So many time here when things haven’t quite worked as I anticipate the professional in question, when challenged, says “but you didn’t ask that question!”.
And, like Sandcastle, our notaire has advised us on all sorts of things.
As I understand it you want to do what’s called a donation partage avec usufruit. This allows you to give 100k per child per parent donor (e.g. you and your husband) free of tax every 15 years. So you can’t donate all in one shot unless you house is less than this allowance. Then at end of 15 years you could do it again. You definitely need a notaire for this. The notaires I use are bilingual and will work virtually if that interests you let me know. Incidentally for others reading and thinking about there are lower amounts for grandchildren about 30k.
When we bought our French house… In 2002, we took advice and found an English speaking Notaire, recommended by family friends in Paris.
We did not get the French contract until an hour before we were due to sign. We did make full sense of it with the aid of the large dictionary we brought with us, so I agree the contracts in France are easy to read.
As a result we found the notary was in cahoots with the agent to land us with the agents fees (not as advertised!)
A phonecall to Paris sorted it. So in our experience two Notaires are necessary, although they split the fee so neither is entirely happy!
The local Notaire was supposed to supply an interpreter also. Instead part way through he pulled out a mini gem dictionary and attempted his own bad translation. I had already done better. Remember Notaires are businessmen and also often estate agents in a local network and you are usually a stranger, so not so likely to complain.
Wasn’t it clear in the compromis de vente who was paying immobilier? Or earlier documents? If clearly advertised otherwise couldn’t you just have said “no”? Similar word in both languages!
With all due respect I find it hard to believe the notaire was trying to stitch you up. Notaires are not “businessmen,” their primary role is tax collection. Furthermore, if the notaire is sensible and believes (or even suspects) your language skills are inadequate then they will insist on a translator, which since it is at your expense doesn’t matter to them, apart from precluding you being able to say afterwards you didn’t understand.
Thinking two notaires is better that one is just a UK conveyancing mindset. Which BTW is there for the benefit of the UK fat cat legal profession, not you. (apologies to my wealthy legal pals or “overheads” as I call them).
Billy is correct. The notaire’s primary function is tax collection. Nevertheless, my notaire has given me sterling advice over the last eighteen years, including handling my wife’s succession in an compassionate and very professional way and minimising my tax exposure.
I always assumed that historically the reason for this arrangement was because often French families have their “own” notaire who has dealt with all their family and property affairs for many years and they prefer to use them for everything for the sake of continuity. That person already knows their personal circumstances and will not for instance have to start off by asking what regime they were married under. Plus of course it is always nicer to work with a person you already know and have a good relationship with. So since buyer and seller may each want to use their own family notaire you need an arrangement for that.
I do not suppose it was originally anticipated that people would start using the arrangement just for the sake of it, and appoint a second notaire that they do not know just for the sake of it.
But notaires do many things. We have “our” notaire who has advised us on inheritance issues, organised our assurance vie, and certifies documents for us. However for the property we are just selling we are using a different notaire, and same one as the buyer. Property transactions are a straightforward contract issue, so no need for “our” notaire.
Naughty, or just sloppy? But presumably once you noticed they rectified it.
Yes but some people just do prefer to use “their”notaire even if there is no need to. But I was thinking more of buying.Selling is straightforward but buying is only as straightforward as your circumstances.If you have a complicated family situation with step children on both sides I can understand why you might prefer to use a notaire with whom you have previously worked to find the best solution.
I understood a thrust of this thread to be about whether unknown Notaire’s could be generally reliable and trustworthy.
My wife and I got a strong impression that, with the ‘mistake’ in our contract, it was not just a simple error, from both body language and the way things were said.
The Notaire concerned was also the “estate agent” advertising the property that we bought, although we were shown round and dealt with a separate immobilier… We found out the Notaire’s involvement in the sale later.
I am by no means questioning the probity of any or all Notaires. I am suggesting that not every Notaire is trustworthy, and they are not all just simple tax collectors. I now ask neighbours for their advice on which Notaire to use.
Good luck, then. And I hope you have no problems with a contract that you
thought was adequate. I’ve already helped two Brits and a Yank on problems they occurred in purchasing property when the same Notaire was employed.
Reading a French property contract is not just an “adventure”. It’s business and must be done correctly to avoid very costly correction remedies …
And I am suggesting that the French pass a law that prohibits Notary’s direct involvement in the sale of property. They are a principle actor in that sale and they should be thoroughly independent of its transaction. Besides their average revenue is 180K€ per year.
or “overheads” as I call them).