The legal process, and who protects you
We advise and assist you on every matter connected with your purchase, and stay with you until the property is yours. Here is who does what along the way.
Three things to know before you sign
The notaire works for the State
Not for you, and not for the seller.
They record; they do not advise
Their job is a valid sale, not a good deal for you.
Your deposit sits in escrow
Five to ten percent, protected, and returnable if your mortgage is refused.
What a notaire is
This is the single most misunderstood role in a French purchase — and the misunderstanding is expensive, because buyers assume they are being advised when they are not.
A notaire is a public official appointed by the French state, and represents the state rather than either party. Their responsibility is to ensure the property has good title, with no irregularity in the ownership going back thirty years, and that the sale is correctly executed.
What that means in practice
They record the agreement
The notaire finalises the agreement they have been told was reached. They are not there to warn you that it is a bad deal, or to point out what is missing from it.
Impartial, because they are liable
Notaires are personally responsible for the contracts they draw up, which is precisely why they must stay objective and impartial between the parties.
One notaire, or two
The same notaire usually acts for both sides. That is not obligatory — you may appoint your own. The fees are fixed by law and paid by the buyer, and a second notaire splits those fees rather than doubling them.
A notaire’s role is genuinely different from a solicitor’s: they make sure the sale is valid, not that it is a good one for you.
Your deposit, and what protects it
Between 5% and 10%, held in escrow
On signing the preliminary agreement you place a deposit, which is deducted from the sale price at completion. It must be held in a protected escrow account — by the notaire, or by the property consultant if the property consultant holds a financial guarantee.
Make the purchase conditional on your mortgage
If you are buying with a mortgage, instruct the notaire or the property consultant to make the purchase conditional on obtaining it. This condition — the clauses suspensives — gives you further protection under French consumer law, and lets you withdraw without losing the deposit if the loan is refused.
And at the end of it
Your title deed
Drawn up by the notaire and signed by every party at completion, the title deed is your proof of ownership. The notaire provides it to you after the purchase, and it is a document to keep somewhere safe and permanent.