What are the additional costs of buying a French property?
In addition to the standard fees, most lenders will charge an up-front fee of 0.5 – 1.0 % of the amount borrowed. There is also a cost for registering the mortgage, usually between 1 – 2% of the loan amount. Life assurance costs vary between lenders, but are generally 1% of the loan. French house prices normally include agent’s fees. If you see a property quoted with FAI after the price, it means ‘ Frais d’ Agence Inclus'(Agent Fee Included). So, the buyer in France usually (but not always) pays the agents fee. The price of the property, excluding the agent’s fee is called the ‘ net vendeur ‘ price. In addition, the buyer has to pay the notaires fees. It is also worth knowing that if you are borrowing in France to buy the house, the notaires fees are increased by a further 1 – 1.5% to pay the ‘frais de garantie’ – mortgage registration tax, making the total notaires fees 8%. If you choose to use a mortgage broker, there may be additional broker fees. FrenchEntre Mortgages Services char
