Bonjour, darlings! Today’s question comes from @kiriosities11 and says, “What brought you to France & is it difficult for ex-pats to buy property?”
Video: (RENO UPDATE) I got my new stove, and I LOVE love love her! Shout out to @darty_officiel 😍
Great questions! For the first part, I receive this Q a lot, so check out the link in my bio.
For the second half of the question, I will answer this from the perspective & personal experience as an American purchasing a home in Covid times.
The two biggest challenges for buying a home here in France were financing and the real estate transaction fees. I naturally like to do research, so I knew a lot about the process and what to expect.
But what are the most significant BARRIERS when it comes to buying in France? Here are my top four:
If you want to live here year-round, obtaining the appropriate visa.
Unless you have a CDI salary work contract for over three years, you’ll likely need to pay cash for the house.
The real estate transaction fees are super high here and can blow your budget.
And all of these costs need to include the conversion rate of your home country to the euro.
Here’s a working example:
Let’s say that you have a max budget of 200,000 euro for a home where mine is, in Cotes d’Armor, France. This is important because your réal estate transaction fees are location-based.
The real estate transaction fees (a combination of notary, public treasury, land registration, disbursement & VAT) is an additional 15,800 euro.
The total cost in USD (in today’s exchange rate)= 246,703 USD liquid cash, in a French bank account (not including exchange rate fees).
Why not a mortgage? Well, this probably deserves its own post. But the short answer is most Americans (especially since Covid) cannot obtain a French mortgage.
Want me to expand on any of these topics? Do you have additional questions? Send me a DM & you might be featured next!
Bisous & big hugs,
Shannon