Archive for February 2012
Property Tax Abolished For Overseas Owners Of Properties In France
February 28, 2012 | 
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After much debate, the proposed plan to tax holiday home owners in France has been dismissed. The plan, which would have seen overseas nationals who own properties in France pay tax on their assets, was abolished by the French government following a meeting between its members.
This is great news for property owners and investors looking to buy in France, as it was estimated that the planned tax would have affected the owners of over 350,000 properties.
Had the French Government approved the property tax, it would have been introduced in 2012 and would have been charged to those overseas owners of French holiday homes but opt not to rent it out on a long-term basis.
It was predicted that the property tax would have discouraged some overseas nationals from buying French properties, which may have had a damaging effect on overall demand for properties in France and possibly even home prices.
Initially the proposed tax was set up to encourage holiday home owners who rent out their French properties and do not state their income or pay tax, to register their property and avoid paying a fresh levy.
In figures recently released by the package travel provider, the Co-operative Travel there has been a 31% rise in Brits travelling to France this year, making the country a popular and lucrative location for property investment. What’s more, flights in and out the desirable Cannes have seen a 9.1 per cent increase in commercial air travel and helicopter traffic has risen by 4.1 per cent during April 2011. All this is positive new for the French leaseback market as increased visitors and interest in the French property market in general will help boost the market further.
Due to its close proximity to the UK, climate, rich culture offerings, varied landscapes and world renowned gastronomy, France caters for everyone with a variety of holidays including city breaks, beach holidays and even trips to the Alps.
What’s more, the ever-popular and glamorous French riviera has seen an increase in flights in and out of the area, reporting a 9.1 per cent increase in commercial air travel and 4.1 per cent in helicopter traffic during April 2011. For property investors looking for key fundamentals that will sustain a market beyond the long peak summer season, this is welcomed news.
With luxurious new-builds, French leaseback opportunities and a range of holiday homes available, we can provide you with information on a range of investment opportunities in locations such as the Alps, Paris, Cote d’Azur and the South of France.
Frenchleaseback.org is French Real estate agent helps investors looking for leaseback property. Learn more – Leaseback properties
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Successfully Buying Property in France – Part 2 of 2
Visiting Properties.
1. Keep your itinerary, mobile phone and map with you. Then,
you shouldn’t get lost, you’ll have all the relevant directions and phone numbers with you and if
you get delayed or find your ideal French home, you’ll be able to advise all the agents accordingly.
2. Equip yourself for the task. Don’t wear your best clothes. Do take a torch, tape measure, compass, camera
(consider investing in a small polaroid and sufficient rolls of film for instant results),
pen and notebook, and a pair of wellingtons. Then, you’ll be able to crawl around the haylofts, see into all
those dark corners, take a photo of the unusual feature, measure each room and area, decide where the sun
will rise and set and make sufficient notes to aid your decision later.
3. Try to prepare a list of general questions, pertinent to all the properties you will see, beforehand.
How old is the property? How old is the roof? Is there a septic tank? Are services connected (water, electricity,
etc,)? Is there a good plumber, carpenter, electrician, etc, nearby? How much are the local taxes? How long will
the sale process take (is it a straightforward single owner sale or a multiple owner inheritance sale)?
4. Tell the agent, honestly, what you like and don’t like about each property you see. It will allow him/her
to fine tune your viewing list if you’re on the wrong track.
Making an offer.
Just like people in the UK, some owners will accept an offer and others won’t. Your agent should know
whether the owner will accept and, if so, within what range – so use his knowledge. After all, he wants to find
a suitable property for you as much as you do.
If you can afford the time, it’s generally a good idea to leave your last day free of appointments.
This will allow you time to review the properties you’ve seen and if you’ve made your mind up,
sort out the paperwork without being rushed into mistakes.
When you’ve reached an agreed price, you will be required to sign the first contract – “compromis de vente”.
Without this, your offer remains only an offer and most owners will not stop the marketing of their property.
However, once you do sign it, you are legally bound to purchase the property or forfeit your deposit
(usually 10% of the agreed price). Equally, once signed, the owner is legally bound to sell it to you at the
contracted price. – There is a 7 day ‘cooling off’ period.
A registered agent, advocat or notaire is allowed to draw up the compromis and it is at this point that you
might want to insert any clauses which you feel must be met in order for the sale to continue to completion.
For example, should you require a mortgage, should you NOT want to be subject to the normal
French inheritancy laws, subject to an amount of “to be defined” land, subject to particular items being
included in the sale, etc,. These conditions are called “clauses suspensives”.
Whilst speed is of the essence in the signing of the compromis (as mentioned, without this, the property
could be bought by someone willing to sign the contract more quickly than you), it is possible and acceptable
for all the documentation to be sent to you in your own country so you do not have to sign anything there and
then if you accept the risk of losing the purchase through your delay.
Once you have signed, the notaire will begin his work (relevant enquiries and searches) which normally take
2 to 3 months. You will then be required to return to the notaires office to complete the purchase and pay
the outstanding amount of the purchase price and associated fees or appoint a “power of attorney” to
do the same on your behalf.
After what can be a quite straightforward process, you will be the proud owner of a French home.
Grace Turner is a Director of www.mortgage-calculator-group.com [http://www.mortgage-calculator-group.com] – the website for mortgages in Europe.
For more information about living in France plus thousands of properties for sale throughout France visit www.frenchways.com
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Buying a Mobile Home in France – 1st Step Or Wrong Step?
France is the most popular holiday destination on the planet. 70 million people visit every year, the same number as the entire population. Many visitors come time and time again and for some of them a mobile home in France is an attractive idea.
It’s easy to see why. It’s not as expensive as buying a house in France yet it gives you somewhere quite permanent if you’ve found an area you like.
While mobile homes aren’t huge, modern design makes very efficient use of the space available and if you’re only going to be here for a few weeks a year you don’t need a palace – although to be honest some of them are bordering on palatial with good kitchen areas, lounges, even en-suite bathrooms in some.
A lot of people also look at them as a possible first step on the housing ladder in France.
Well I hate to rain on your parade but if you’re one of the last group, forget it. Keep your money in your pocket and save up because if there’s one thing a mobile home in France isn’t, it’s an investment. Unfortunately there is absolutely no way at all that you will ever make money from its re-sale.
I don’t say that to discourage you, I say it as a warning. If you want to buy a mobile home in France as a holiday destination and you love to return to the same area year after year, go right ahead. It can be a very cost-effective and comfortable way to do it.
You also have the added bonus of it being available for family and friends. Some of them might want to make a contribution to the upkeep, which will further reduce your costs. All in all a pretty good idea. Relatively cheap, convenient holidays. Nothing wrong with that at all.
But as an investment or a first step on the French housing market it’s a non starter. For one thing, much like a new car the value drops like a stone once you’ve bought them. I know of one couple who bought at 15,000 and were offered just 1,000 three short years later.
Admittedly they’d got a very bad deal, with a site that had very dubious selling rules, but that’s another cautionary tale. When this couple wanted to sell their mobile home themselves, not through the site owners, they had to move it off site! To where do you suppose?
Of course they couldn’t do that, so they had to sell via the agents who wanted a big slice of the pie. There are rumours, although unproven, that the potential buyers, who offered a very low amount, would turn out to be relatives of the site owners and so the whole thing was a set-up.
Worse still, not selling is hardly an option because the ground rent they had to pay every year soon became more than the residual value of the mobile home!
Now I don’t want this article just to be a scare story about all the things that can go wrong when you’re buying a mobile home in France. There are, of course, many reputable sites and many honest agents. Choose carefully and read all the small print and you could have a delightful home for many, many pleasant holidays here.
However, if eventually buying a permanent home in France is part of your decision, please think again. Think hard about whether you can actually afford to go the whole hog and buy a ‘real’ property in France straight away. Alternatively perhaps continue to visit different parts of France and get a better view of the French property market whilst keeping the bulk of your savings in a nice high interest account for now.
Jeff Seems is an Englishman living in France. He is author of the very popular French Property Buyer’s Guide which is vital reading for anyone thinking of a buying a home in France.
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A New Record Set for the Price of Property in France
The average price of property in France has set a new record during the fourth quarter of 2010, with an increase of 8.7% on the year, announced Century 21, one of the world’s largest estate agency networks with 117,000 agents in 68 countries.
Compared to the first semester of 2008 where the highest average was 2 549 € per square metre, we’ve seen an average of 2 580 € in the fourth quarter of 2010.
“The decline in prices recorded during the financial crisis which lasted from the second semester of 2008 to the first semester of 2009 has now completely faded”, observed Century 21.
However, this new record masks profound disparities between Paris and its suburbs, where prices have climbed a lot in 2010, and the more moderate rest of the country.
The average price rose by an average of 18.46% over 12 months in Paris, and by 7.8% in the capital’s suburbs, according to Century 21′s figures, based on the 49, 700 transactions the network carried out in 2010.
However certain areas saw their prices fall in the second semester of 2010, such as Alsace, Burgundy and Nord-Picardie.
For the year overall, Haute-Normandie is the only region to have seen its prices fall (-1.9%).
Century 21′s figures concerning Paris confirm the predictions of the Chambre des notaires, who had foreseen a 20% rise over the year in December.
Nonetheless, the records do mask a clear deceleration in the second semester of 2010, a period during which prices rose by less than 1% compared to the first six months of the year.
Considering the frailty of households’ solvency and in spite of the new mortgage loan with reinforced 0% interest, Century 21 is staying prudent.
The network estimates that the possibility of arise in house prices in France of between 2 to 3 % should not be discounted, but notes that the evolution of the market will mainly depend on interest rates.
“This rise in prices is very closely linked to and dependent on interest rates as these days, most other levers permitting access to housing have been called upon already,” concludes Century 21.
Sextant French property is a network of more than 160 estate agents and 50 developers in France offering a selection of 12,000 French property for sale.
They also offer French property investment such as French Leaseback properties
In order to improve their service to their customers they set up a division who can also help customers who bought through a different French estate agent.