Financing your French purchase
International buyers fund a French property in one of three ways: they borrow in France, they release equity at home, or they buy with cash they already hold. Here is how each one works, and how long each takes.
Three ways to fund the purchase
These are genuinely different routes, not a ranking. Which suits you depends on your income, the country you live in, the equity you already hold, and what your own bank will offer.
- Option 1
French mortgage
You borrow against the French property itself, from a French bank or another lender that finances French real estate. It funds the purchase directly — but the banking process can be relatively long, particularly for a non-resident.
- The French property is the security
- Lending criteria differ for non-residents
- Allow around 6 to 8 weeks, sometimes more
- Option 2
Remortgage in your home country
You remortgage or refinance your main residence, or another property you own at home, to release equity. The funds are transferred to France and buy the property as a cash purchase.
- Security stays with your existing property
- Financing is arranged in your own country
- Can considerably simplify the French side
- Option 3
Cash purchase
If the funds are already available to you, buying outright is generally the simplest route from a financing point of view. There is no French mortgage to arrange as part of the acquisition.
- No lender in the transaction
- No mortgage condition to negotiate
- Plan the currency transfer instead
No route is automatically cheaper or simpler. The first two both place a charge over a property you own, so this is a decision to take with a qualified adviser who can see your full financial position — not one to take from a web page.
French mortgages, in plain terms
A French mortgage is a loan from a French lender, secured on your French property. The mechanics will feel familiar; several of the assumptions will not.
French banks lend to overseas buyers routinely, and we can introduce you to lenders we work with regularly. Borrowing in a currency other than your own has consequences worth understanding first, which is exactly what a broker is for.
Start preparing your financing before you start viewing properties — not after you have found the house.
When the financing actually happens
A French mortgage generally takes around six to eight weeks, and sometimes longer depending on your file, the bank and your situation as a non-resident. That is why the preparation comes first: understand your borrowing capacity and talk to a bank or a financing specialist before you travel, so that when an offer is accepted the application can be launched immediately rather than started from nothing.
Prepare your financing
Understand your borrowing capacity and speak to a bank or broker — before viewing.
Start viewing properties
You now know what you can realistically spend.
Make an offer
In writing, with your funding already understood.
Offer accepted
The property is identified and the price agreed.
Finalise the application
The mortgage application for that specific property is launched and completed with the lender.
Mortgage approval
The formal offer arrives, and completion can be scheduled.
Six to eight weeks is an indicative timeframe and can vary depending on the lender and your own circumstances.
Before you apply
What is different for non-residents
Residency affects what a lender will offer: how much of the price they will advance, over what term, and what they need to see from you. French lending also leans on affordability, weighing your total borrowing commitments against your income, rather than lending a multiple of your salary as some countries do. Ask a lender for current terms rather than relying on figures published online — including here.
The mortgage condition in the compromis
You state in the compromis de vente whether you are buying with a mortgage, in French, at the point of signing. If you are, the contract should carry a clauses suspensives condition, so that a refused loan lets you withdraw without losing your deposit.
Take proper advice
We can point you at lenders and explain the process, and we will tell you plainly where our knowledge stops. What we cannot do is advise you on whether a particular structure suits your circumstances — for that, speak to a qualified mortgage or financial adviser, in your own country as well as in France.
Remortgaging at home
This route is often overlooked, and for some buyers it is the simpler one. If you hold equity in a property in your own country, releasing it can let you buy in France without arranging any French borrowing at all.
Your property at home
A main residence, or another property you own.
Release equity
Remortgage or refinance, with your existing lender or a new one.
Funds available
Transferred to France, in your own timing.
Buy in France
You purchase as a cash buyer, with no French loan to arrange.
Buying as a cash purchaser removes the French financing step from the transaction, which some buyers find considerably simpler. It does not make the borrowing free, and it moves the risk onto a property you already own — so weigh it with your own bank and adviser before deciding.
Opening a French bank account
Owning a house in France means a steady trickle of French payments. A French account makes them ordinary instead of awkward.
What you will use it for
Mortgage instalments if you borrow in France, utilities, local taxes, home insurance, and the recurring costs that come with any property — maintenance, syndic charges, someone to cut the grass while you are away.
What to bring
Usually a copy of your passport, proof of address and recent bank statements, plus the account application. The bank then issues your details with a RIB — relevé d’identité bancaire — the slip you hand over whenever anyone needs to pay you or set up a direct debit.
Banking in English
Some French banks run services aimed at international customers, with English-speaking staff and English-language documentation. CA Britline, part of Crédit Agricole, is the one our buyers most often mention. We have no tie to them and this is not a recommendation — compare it against your own bank’s French offering and anything else you are shown.
Visit CA Britline (opens in a new tab)
Moving money across currencies
If your income or savings are not in euros, the exchange rate is part of your purchase price — and it moves while you are buying. This applies whichever of the three routes you take.
Plan the transfer, not just the purchase
A deposit, a completion payment and then years of standing costs all have to cross a currency border. A specialist will typically better a high-street bank on the rate, and you can fix a rate in advance so your budget stays predictable in your own currency.