Before setting out to buy your French house you need to organise your finances. You need to sit down and go through all your expenses, savings etc. then decide whether you need a mortgage or not. Dont assume you will be granted a mortgage as the French System is entirely different from the English and they have strict rules and criteria you must pass before they decide to issue the mortgage to you. It will take between 6 and 12 weeks for a decision to be made, sometimes longer, depending on your situation. Should you be refused do not lose heart as there are other lenders out there but we personally recommend UCB because we have tried and tested them and we can apply directly for you and get that all important "In principle" decision for you, so it will be quicker as we have all the basic paperwork ready and waiting to be filled in. Any offer will be valid for 2 months, sometimes longer if required.

Firstly, you will need to prove you earn a regular salary and you will have to produce your last 3 payslips (a copy will normally suffice). You will also need to prove you have been in your current job for at least a year. Nothing must be guessed or covered up as your mortgage may be declined. Any information asked for must be accurate in order for them to access your financial situation. You must also produce your passport, birth certificate, marriage certificate/divorce papers (if applicable). You are normally asked for bank statements. They also check your monthly outgoings. 

You will most certainly need to have a deposit. This will be 15% of the purchase price. This does not include the notaire's fee. The agent's fee may be included in the purchase price but I would check this with the lender when applying.

Fees can be quite high. The agent's fees can be between 4%-10% if the purchase price. The notaire's fee is normally 6-7% of the purchase price. There is a bank arrangement fee (1% of the loan amount), and a registration fee (1%-2% of the loan amount).

There are different types of mortgage you can apply for. Normally you would have a repayment or variable rate mortgage. 

Life insurance cover is a must and you normally pay this with your mortgage payment. This is normally for 100% life cover for each person signing the mortgage documents and costs around 30 euros for each life cover.  This is an essential part of the application process as they will not issue a mortgage without you taking out their life cover in case of death. No lender will lend without life cover. You are also required to open a bank account in France from which mortgage payments must be made.

They will also require the address of the potential property you wish to buy, and will do a survey. Initially the lender pays for this and they then include the cost in the arrangement fee. If the valuation is lower than the purchase price, the lender will lower the mortgage amount and you will have to find the deficit. 

You could always re-mortgage your property in the UK for the extra cash.

For further information please contact Bernadette Steele at Find A French Home Ltd  00 44 (0) 1992 572396 or email bcgmsteele@fsmail.net