FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS

Yes we do French Mortgages

 We have long established working relationships with leading French banks and lending institutions and can assist in arranging a French mortgage for your house purchase in the Limousin. And unlike most so called British based “French mortgage brokers” we do not charge you for this service. (One we know of has the cheek to charge you £750 before they will even look at your paperwork!!)

There are many advantages to using a French mortgage the two main ones being:-

Generally lower interest rates than are available in UK i.e. It is cheaper than re-mortgaging you British property with a UK bank or building society;

Interest rates are normally set for the term of the loan meaning you are safe in the knowledge that you monthly repayments will remain the same throughout the term of the mortgage.

So if you are considering buying a French property and need to raise some finance, talk to us and we will explain why using a French mortgage can help you reach your dream of owning a property in France.

Now is the time to buy your Limousin property

There are three good reasons why you should act now:-

Interest Rates

Interest rates in the UK are falling and if you have spare cash it will be eaten away by inflation as real rates of return fall.

Rising French property prices/Falling UK property prices

Property prices are forecast to rise across France in 2008 by an average of 5% but in the Limousin house prices (Which are the lowest in France) will rise faster than this as they are starting from a lower base. The flip side of this is that if you have money invested in UK property, it is forecast to fall in value in 2008 and has started to do so even now.

Currency movements

The pound is weakening against the Euro as interest rates in the UK fall. They are forecast to fall further during 2008 as the Bank of England attempt to stimulate the UK economy.

All the above factors point to one solid conclusion – now is the time to buy your French property - waiting will cost you money. So make 2008 the year you buy your house in the Limousin and take the first step by contacting us now – You won’t be disappointed.

Buying French property - Beware those who offer help!

There are many so called French property “consultants” based in the UK who are more than happy to help you achieve your dream of property ownership in France, however many of them are also very happy to lighten your wallet along the way.

French property sales to the British is now seriously big business and as with all industries that see a substantial growth in a short period of time, more players are tempted in to that market place to try get a “slice of the action”.

Unfortunately for the opportunist player, getting established in France as an estate agent (Agent Immobilier) is a long and complicated process, as the industry is heavily regulated. Not just anyone is allowed to rent a shop, stick pictures of houses in the window and call themselves an estate agent.  So for these players it is much easier to be based in the UK, away from the beady eyes of the French tax, social security and regulatory authorities and try and make it work for them that way.

After four years of substantial growth in the French property market we now see many British based businesses in the market place. Some claim to be French estate agents (Illegal unless they are a French business registered at the Prefecture as an immobilier); some want to charge you a huge consultancy fee (Not illegal, unless they ask for it after the seven days cooling off period has finished), and some even charge you to show you properties – which is completely illegal in France – but all the these players have one thing in common - they have some or all of their business based in the UK. And why is this? Because if they were based in France they would more than likely be closed down.

So what can you, the French property hunter do to protect yourself from a lot of sharp practises within the industry?

The following occurrences should set off alarm bells:-

• Being asked to pay to register to receive property details
• Being asked to pay to view properties
• Being asked to pay any money to anyone before the 7 day cooling off period has finished
• Being asked to meet an “agent” anywhere other than their office, e.g. in a car park
• Being asked to pay a second fee on top of the normal French estate agency fee for services that a registered agent or Notaire would provide you as part of their normal service

In short the only real way to protect yourself is to deal directly with a French registered Immobilier and best of all one who is a member of one of the two main trade bodies in France for estate agents, either FNAIM or SNPI. Only by dealing with a local registered immobilier are guaranteed to get a professional service for a fair fee.