Hi everyone
A friend of mine is telling me that if you have the money for the asking price for a property in France, you will not be able to buy it if you are unemployed. This seems utterly bizarre to me but hey…this is France! Are they correct?
I’ve bought three properties for cash in my time here & on neither occasion was my, or my wife’s, employment status of any consequence.
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Exactly. And why should it? It’s like anything you want to buy, here is the price so do you have the money!
Where do people get this stuff ??? 
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Time to drop some friend.
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Probably asked before but if a property was 100k, what more would I need to shell out for in France?
- Solicitor fee? Must be cheap as a cash buyer
- anything else?
Likely Notaires fées (which including buying taxes) of around 8%
(Notaires fees estimator: Estimation de frais d’achat immobilier : Calcul frais de notaire | Immobilier.notaires.fr)
Agents fees of up to 6%.
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Usually included in the advertised price of the house, if not then the amount to add should be stated in the agent’s details.
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Right - a buying tax.
So is a notary, the equivalent of a solicitor?
And the agent charges the buyer or the seller or both?
No. A notaire (in the context you’re referring to) ensures all the parties understand the transaction, effects and records the transfer, and collects the taxes due. The notaire’s fee is fairly minimal; the bulk of what you pay is taxes.
It’s a very different system to that operating in England & Wales. I don’t know about Scotland or NI.
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Usually included in the advertised price (not always so be careful).
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Ok.
So of the 100k asking price, assuming the agents fees are included,
I would be paying 108k (notary being 8%) ?
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Yes approx.
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Have you done much research on this project Gary? It all seems totally new to you and, from personal experience, though not in the property sphere, I’d council against impulse purchases 
Good luck regardless
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Good advice from @John_Scully
Buying a house in France isn’t much like buying in the UK other than the obvious aspect. You really need to research, to understand the steps and process.
One bit of advice I’ll offer is that if you don’t speak fluent French then ensure either the notaire speaks English or you have a translator available in the room for the acte de vente. Do not assume that anyone else will think about this on your behalf in advance, even if you buy through a ‘British’ immobilaire.
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and please get things in writing…
It’s no use believing that something agreed verbally… will actually come to pass…
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Not me buying for the moment. People have been giving me good advice for future.
I’ve bought 3 properties in UK before so you just have to know the process in different countries. My French partner would input in that case.
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If the person with the money to buy a property is obtaining the RSA in France and other benefits, they may have to declare it to the CAF/Sécu unless it is a direct sell/buy of one property for another as in my case. I was asked by the Notaire if I was employed and luckily had been until a few months before moving. The authorities get very interested in claimants who suddenly can afford to buy property and hence the trimestriel declaration you have to make regarding income etc whilst on RSA. The question you ask would be more likely to be asked of french nationals, not foreign buyers.
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Ah ha…the person who originally told me this is French but obviously couldn’t get the message over to me.
I get it now. It may mean unemployment being stopped by the CAF or even an attempt to reclaim monies if they they think the claimant has been dishonest in declaring their financial status.
Thanks for that as it clears it up!