Sorry I do not understand what you are saying here!
1 Like
I don’t blame you. I misread the OP as referring to immo fees rather than notaire’s! I’ve deleted the post to reduce any confusion I caused.
2 Likes
Only the agents fees, the notaries fees are billed directly to the buyer
1 Like
Seller pays only for the diagnostic report
Thanks Billy. I am getting this from others too so at least it will save some money. Take care 
Thanhs Vero - wise words and outs my mind at rest 
Great news, thanks Shiba.
Great thanks
Find a good Notaire and trust in them to handle it.
The fosse is the responsibility of the buyer.
Thanks Chidders - good advice. Bon weekend
Hi Denise
I have read through this thread; and not all of it is correct - starting with Chidders. The fosse is not the responsibility of the buyer - it is yours. Maybe what Chidders means is that it will be for the buyer to have all the hassle of bringing it up to regs - but the cost will, normally, but not necessarily, fall to you as the seller. This will be adjusted in the agreed price for the property, based on devis (estimates) that you will probably have to arrange before selling.
I totally agree with the comments that a UK solicitor is not only not necessary, but could become a plague upon your houses! Your French notaire will see to everything routine - and anything else, providing that you (or the buyers) ask the questions clearly. There are no routine ‘Searches & Enquiries’, as in the UK - so this point can be very important, especially for the buyer. It is quite normal for just one notaire to act for both buyer and seller - there is no benefit in having two, they just split the fees between them, so are less incentivised to get the file out, and get on with the job!
The notaire also determines the timing of the whole thing - on average about three months. Even if you have a furniture van waiting, it won’t speed things up.
The way the ‘Diagnostics’ inspection works normally is that you have to instruct and pay for a firm to carry them out. They have a limited time-life, because if a house takes a long time to sell, things can change; so the usual deal is that the company will re-visit to update their findings, with no extra charge, when a sale is agreed.
As a ‘maison secondaire’ you will be liable for French Capital Gains Tax, if you make a profit on the sale (compared to what you paid for it, net of agent’s fees), and depending how long you have owned the house. You can offset a] any works carried out by siret-registered workmen; and b] the value of any contents and equipment that you leave in the house. You will need to provide the notaire with a list of these, agreed with your purchasers. It is in the interest of your purchasers to be generous with this - it will reduce the notaire’s fee, which they have to pay.
The current low exchange rate for the £ against the € is an advantage for you. If you have an English buyer, do not be tempted to agree to payment in Sterling, even tho’ this is how your money will end up. And do not let the notaire send funds to your UK bank, it will cost you dearly! If you do not have a French bank account, open an account with CurrencyFair (or any other currency transfer agency) and have the notaire transfer the € money to your account with them. You can then transfer it into Sterling for only £3, at the best going rate, whenever you decide.
Finally, don’t accept the fee that the Agent wants to charge. It could be 8% plus 20% vat. They will say ‘But the buyer pays our fee’. Of course they don’t - it is deducted from the ‘net’ figure that the notaire will transfer to you, so offer them sole agency for 5%.
Hope these notes help! Bonne chance - Michael.
2 Likes
Hi Michael. Thank you so much for taking the time to advise on all my points. This is so useful and I will definitely take this all on board in our sale.
Everyone has been so helpful and this is why I love this site.
Thank you again - take care and stay safe
I don’t have anything to add to this thread other than to say how pleasant it is to experience someone asking perfectly reasonable questions, receiving perfectly reasonable replies - and no-one has started throwing their toys out of the pram.
I hope others take note of how pleasant and useful this all is!
4 Likes
Yes I agree. I left many other “sites” over the years mainly because of the nasty people on them who made you afraid to add anything even if it was correct and helpful or from personal experience etc. At the end of the day we are all in the same boat and face the same problems usually and the language is a barrier for many to really understand what is going on.
french law has recently changed in that as it is a second home and assuming you are fiscally resident in the UK the notaire will now be required to pass the matter to an avocat de fiscalité before any sales money is released. It is that person’s responsibility to calculat5e and further tax that may be due on the sale. If you haven’t got the invoices and the property is sold as a gain any work not covered by invoices cannot be deducted. The avocat’s fees have to be paid by the seller. Not sure what happens if there is a loss.
I know nothing about that David as not a UK resident and sold as a french tax resident so it was never mentioned. Gosh that is going to cost some serious money if they charge fees like other avocats do. Are you still in Scrignac?
1 Like
Yes still in Scrignac. I had a second home here from 71 so 50 years. Bought a larger retirement home here in 2003 and eventually retired in 2009. I weekly commuted for a while! This business about the avocat is new and yes it will cost. Not for this purpose I had occasion yto use an avocat de fiscalité recently and he cost about 800 for I reckon 2 1/2 hors work. It would be the same rate as England, perhaps less, but this new requirement is because notaires don’t have much knowledge about international taxes. it will affect siuations where there is a death. Life is becoming more and more complicated.
I am afraid I don’t recall your name. were you in Scrignac or nearby?
They are “un représentant fiscal” not avocats. Only for non-european, non-residents and amounts over €150,000 (per person) and they charge 1% of the sale price - or more!!
And despite being residents here, we have recently had a major battle to avoid using one as the notaire felt it applied to all non-europeans.
Whilst I have no issue with what most of Bosendorfer says I have to correct the last point.
The agency fee is added to the sale price that the vendor has agreed to accept when the disbursements are calculated.
Therefore it is incorrect to state that the vendor will have their agreed sale price reduced by the amount of the agency commission. The agency fee is cited as an additional clause within the ‘projet’ and approved by all parties present before signing. The final amount transferred to the vendor may well be discounted by CGT or other taxes after referral to the relevant authority but agency fees will not be deductible unless accepted as such by the vendor at the outset.