During the show, French notaires whose duties cover all the fields of law (real estate, family, business, rural matters, etc.) will be able to give you advices on your current issues.

Regarding Estate planning, the notaire assists his clients in taking the necessary precautions to avoid common and costly errors. His duty is to ensure that the sale or purchase is completed without risk.

The notaire is familiar with the real estate market. Thanks to the notaires’ real estate register, which records all transactions in France, he can provide you with accurate figures on property prices in a given area, town or region.

During the show, French notaires whose duties cover all the fields of law (real estate, family, business, rural matters, etc.) will be able to give you advices on your current issues.

Regarding Estate planning, the notaire assists his clients in taking the necessary precautions to avoid common and costly errors. His duty is to ensure that the sale or purchase is completed without risk.

The notaire is familiar with the real estate market. Thanks to the notaires’ real estate register, which records all transactions in France, he can provide you with accurate figures on property prices in a given area, town or region.

More informations :
www.thefranceshow.com/pre-register.aspx

These consultations are not a substitute for seeking the services of a notaire, but provide the initial information that is often needed prior to the drafting of an instrument.

The profession has set up a legal information service which can be contacted by phone at 01.44.82.24.34 Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

With more than 38 000 visitors and 600 exhibitors, this exhibition is a very important event for the Anglo-Saxons eager to carry out a real estate investment in France.
Notaries from various french regions will give advices. They will answer questions about legal safety for real estate in France and questions about patrimonial or tax issues.

Thus, at the death of the owner of a real estate purchased in France, this immoveable asset will be submitted to French inheritance law. But French law, contrary to English law, has rules which guarantee a reserved share in the estate to some heirs (children, or failing that, the father and the mother). To avoid this rule and to allow for example the surviving spouse to dispose of the real estate located in France, different methods exist such ad the “tontine”, the change of marital scheme, and, with reserves, the purchase by a civil company (SCI : Société Civile Immobilière), or, the capital contribution of the real estate to an SCI On the other hand, the “indivision” ownership can generate some difficulties.

Indeed, the Franco-British Tax Treaty of May 22, 1968, in Article 13 states that the gains of a resident of a contracting State resulting from alienation of real property (…) and located in another State, are taxable in that other State. In other words, if a British resident were to sell
real property in France, that person will be taxed in France. We will therefore examine how that tax will be established. The developments below take account of the amendments proposed by the draft Finance Law for 2004 (indicated in italics) and which shall not come into force until the final adoption of the draft law by the French Parliament.

The Principle

You understand that all gains realized on the sale for consideration by private persons (sale, contribution, exchange, and expropriation) fall within the scope of realized gains on real property.
These concern sales for consideration pertaining to :
- converted real property (purchased or built by the assignor) or not converted, regardless of the function of the buildings sold,
- on the rights relating to buildings (usufruct, bare ownership, servitudes, high-elevation rights),
- on sales of rights in non-transparent real property companies provided that such company is not subject to corporate tax.
However, the realized gains resulting from the free transfer (gift) inter vivos or on death (succession) are not subject to tax.

If the borrower can fulfil the legal requirements, he will benefit of the provisions of the Law of 13th July 1979 (Scrivener Law). For its part, the bank will request a guaranteed commitment to reimbursement.

The law applicable to the credit for land purchase

The law applicable to the loan contract is determined by the Rome Convention of 19th June 1980 on contractual obligations. Under this Convention, the parties (the borrower and the lender) choose the law applicable to the loan contract. According with article 4 § 1st and 4 § 2nd of this Convention, in the absence of a choice, when the lender is a bank, the loan contract is subject to the law where this bank has its activities (bank’s head office or branch). In practice, in most cases, the loan contracts specify the applicable law.

Enforcement of Scrivener Law

The provisions of the Scrivener Law define the conditions of information and protection of the borrower concerning real estate. This law disrupted the procedure of loan allocations.
The Scrivener Law applies when the law applicable to the loan contract is the French one. It can also apply when the law applicable to the contract is foreign. In this case, Scrivener Law will be applicable if the loan contract is intended to finance the purchase of a real estate located in France and if either the lender or the borrower is established in France. To guarantee the protection of the borrower, the main principles are as follows : to inform clearly and precisely the borrower and the guarantor about their financial commitments, the respect of a cooling off period and interdependency between the deed of sale and the loan contract.

The poor relation of French inheritance law: until recently the surviving spouse had only a reduced legal title to succeed his/her husband/wife. Bloodline has always taken precedence over the marriage bond but this principle has now been significantly attenuated by the Law of 3rd December 2001 on the rights of the surviving spouse and children born from an adulterous relationship.
It modernises various provisions of inheritance law. This law gives the surviving spouse a genuine boost. His/her inheritance title is facilitated and because of the accommodation right that the legislator gives him/her for the future, his/her lifestyle is preserved. It will come into force on 1st July 2002 with the exception however of certain provisions and in particular the granting to the surviving spouse of temporary habitation rights in the home and the right to use the furniture in it.

The mutual agreement generates rights and obligations that the purchaser must know before he’s signing this deed, even if the transfer of property of the asset is postponed to the day of the signature of the authentic deed.

Right to retract or cooling-off period

Since 1st June 2001 the non professional purchaser of a dwelling house, benefits of an option of retraction if the preliminary contract is concluded under private signature, or of a cooling-off period if the preliminary contract is concluded by an authentic instrument. During this period, any down payment is forbidden.

Right of retraction

The non professional purchaser can retract within seven days from the following day of the first presentation of the letter signifying the contract. This rule provision applies to the instruments under private signature which the matter is the construction or purchase of a building used for accommodation.
The contract is signified by a recorded-delivery letter or by any other kind of method with the same guarantees for the determination of the date of receipt or delivery.

Cooling-off period

A cooling-off period is allowed when the preliminary contract must be established as the authentic deed. The contract must not be immediately signed by the parties. The notary must send the deed to the purchaser which has seven days period to think and indicate if he gives up the purchase.

To understand the law applicable to the purchase of a property located in France by an English person, we need to refer to the Rome Convention of 19th June 1980 on contractual obligations. Where the subject of the contract is a real property right, we presume that it presents “the closest links” with the country in which the property is located. Thus, the sale of a property is France is subject to French law.
But the Rome Convention does not govern all matters relating to the contract. The legal capacity of the parties, minors or incompetent persons, would have to be examined by reference to their personal law. In the case of a husband and wife, the law of the matrimonial system will determine their powers of administration and disposal. If the purchasers do not travel to France to conclude the transaction, there will be a problem of representation and power of attorney.
On the purchase, one must also consider how this asset will be bequeathed, together with its tax implications.


The advantage of purchasing within a company

The acquisition of a property in France can be carried out either in the form of a property or in the form of shares in a property company, which under French Law are similar to moveable property. The nature of the acquired property – moveable or immoveable – plays a determining role vis-àvis the future estate of the purchaser.

French and English inheritance law

French private international law contains a double rule in terms of inheritance : the law of the deceased’s domicile in respect of moveable assets and the law of the location of the property in respect of immoveable assets. The same rule of conflicting laws is admitted in England.
The purchase of a property located in France will entail the application of French law to the conveyance of that property and, in some cases, can break the unity of the estate. The purchase of a moveable asset will keep this new asset within the whole of the inheritance governed by the law of the deceased’s domicile. The purchaser must be informed of the fate of that property in his future estate in the deed of purchase.