The notaire when you buy in France from abroad: role, bilingual practice, power of attorney, funds
The notaire is the pivot of a purchase in France: they check the title, receive the funds, draft the deed and register it. A buyer living abroad has the right to choose their own, bilingual, and to sign by power of attorney. This guide says how, and what Home Select organises with the practice.
By Jean Mascla, founder of Home SelectUpdated · 14 min read
What is a French notary, and who do they work for?
For nobody in particular, and that is the whole point. A notary is a public officer appointed by the State, holding their mission from the ordinance of 2 November 1945: they confer authenticity on deeds, are bound to impartiality towards all parties, and are professionally liable for the validity of what they receive. This is not a lawyer serving one side.
What a French notary is not, and what they are confused with
Mistaken for
Actually
A lawyer defending your interests
An impartial public officer, informing both parties alike
A mere witness to signatures
The drafter of the deed, liable for its validity and effects
A professional free to set their price
An officer whose fees are set by decree, the same everywhere
The seller’s notary, hence against you
The drafter of the deed, bound to inform you as much as the seller
How does a sale before a notary unfold, step by step?
In two deeds separated by two to four months, and most of the work happens in that interval, out of your sight. There the notary queries the municipality, the land registry, the managing agent and the land publicity services, and what they find decides whether the deed can be signed.
The preliminary contract: a promise or a bilateral contract, signed at the notary’s or privately. It sets the price, the conditions precedent and the deadline for the deed.
The cooling-off period: ten days for a non-professional buyer, with no reason and no penalty, from notification of the preliminary contract.
The investigation: the notary gathers the mortgage register extract, planning documents, co-ownership papers, and notifies the municipality of its pre-emption right.
The financing: the bank issues the offer, the eleven-day reflection period runs, then funds are called by the notary a few days before the deed.
The authentic deed: reading, signature, handover of keys, and payment of the price from the practice’s account, never hand to hand.
After the deed: registration with the land publicity service, then delivery of the title deed, several months later.
Can you choose your notary, and on what conditions?
Freely, and with no territorial condition for a long time now: a notary in Lille can receive the deed for a property in Nice. The real question is therefore not whether you may choose, but what you choose, and for a foreign buyer the decisive criterion is neither proximity nor reputation, it is the working language of the practice.
The choice criteria, and their real weight for a non-resident
The criterion
Its real weight
The language the practice works in
Decisive: a deed is read in full before signature, and it is in French
Nil: fees are set by decree, they are identical everywhere
Geographic proximity to the property
Low: competence is national, and the deed can be signed remotely
What do you actually pay under the name of notary costs?
Taxes, mostly, and the French expression is misleading to the point of having become an international misunderstanding. What the buyer pays to the practice splits into three very unequal masses, and the share that actually goes to the notary is the smallest of the three.
The three masses, and who they go to
The mass
Who it goes to
Its share
Transfer duties
The State, the department and the municipality
The great majority of the total on older property
Disbursements
Third parties: land registry, managing agent, surveyor, registration
A small share, advanced then billed at cost
The notary’s fees
The practice, the only pay for its work
The smallest of the three, set by decree and degressive
Two consequences follow, pulling in opposite directions. The first is reassuring: negotiating notary costs makes almost no sense, since most of them do not belong to the notary. The second costs: these charges are higher on older property than on new, and they are paid in cash on the day of the deed, generally without being financed by the loan.
How much time passes between the preliminary contract and the keys?
Two to four months, and this is not administrative slowness: it is the sum of three public-policy periods that neither the notary nor the parties can shorten. Wanting to sign in three weeks is not ambitious, it is legally impossible.
The periods that make up the interval, and who imposes them
Period
Length
Who imposes it
Buyer’s cooling-off
10 days
The law, with no reason and no penalty
Municipality’s reply to the notice of intention to sell
2 months
The Planning Code, silence meaning waiver
Mortgage condition precedent
1 month minimum, 45 to 60 days in practice
The Consumer Code, and your bank
Gathering the co-ownership documents
2 to 6 weeks
The managing agent, and this is the only truly negotiable delay
Can you sign without coming to France, and how?
Yes, by two routes, and the choice between them is not neutral. A notarised power of attorney transfers the signature to an agent present at the practice. Remote appearance, opened by the decree of 3 April 2020, has you sign yourself, by video link, from another notary’s office or from home depending on the arrangement.
The two routes, and what separates them
The point
Notarised power of attorney
Remote appearance
Who signs the deed
An agent, in your name
You yourself, on screen
What to prepare
A power of attorney received by a notary, translated and apostilled if from abroad
An appointment, a connection, and an identity document
The lead time
Two to four weeks, the time for the apostille
A few days, the time for a slot
What is lost
You do not hear the deed read out
Nothing, if the link holds and the language is understood
What should be checked in the deed before signing it?
The deed is read in full before signature, and that reading is the only moment when an error is corrected at no cost. Six points deserve to be followed word by word, because an imprecision there produces effects good faith does not repair.
The six points to follow during the reading
To check
What an error there produces
The buyers’ identity and matrimonial regime
A property owned by someone other than you think, and a complicated succession
The property description, lots and shares included
A cellar or parking space not actually sold, discovered later
The furniture split and its value
A contestable duty base, and a possible reassessment
Easements and special conditions
A right of way or a use restriction that follows the property
The mortgage register extract and the release of charges
A property bought with a mortgage still registered on it
The statement of sums and the source of funds
A transfer blocked on the day of the deed for a missing document
Aix-en-Provence, Provence
What risks weigh on a foreign buyer before a notary?
None to do with the security of the deed: that is precisely what authenticity guarantees, and it is one of the most protective systems there is. The risks are elsewhere, in what the deed commits you to without your having understood, and they are all linguistic or patrimonial in nature.
The three real risks, and what covers them
The risk
What it produces
What covers it
Signing a deed read in a poorly understood language
Fragile consent, and clauses discovered afterwards
A practice working in your language, or an interpreter
Buying under a badly transposed matrimonial regime
Ownership split other than intended, visible at succession
A declaration of applicable law, received by the notary
Ignoring the law that will govern transmission
Forced heirs your own country does not recognise
A will designating the law of your nationality
Does taking your own notary cost more?
No, and this is probably the least known fact in the whole French property purchase. When two notaries act, one for the seller and one for the buyer, they do not charge twice: they share the same fees, set by decree. The total cost to the parties is rigorously identical.
One notary or two: what changes and what does not
The point
A single notary
Two notaries
The cost to you
The scheduled fees
The same fees, shared between them
Who drafts the deed
They do
The seller’s, as a rule, the other reviews and argues
Who explains what you are signing
They do, with equal impartiality towards the seller
Yours, in your language and at your pace
The timeline
The shortest
A few days more, for the back and forth
Which law will govern the transmission of your French property?
That of your last habitual residence, unless you decide otherwise, and that sentence is worth rereading: since European regulation 650/2012, a single law governs an entire international succession, and by default it is that of the country where you last lived, not that of the country where the property sits.
Three situations, and the law that applies
Your situation
The law applying by default
You live abroad and own a property in France
The law of your country of residence, for the whole estate
You settle in France for your last years
French law, including for your assets left abroad
You designate the law of your nationality by will
The one you chose, the regulation expressly allows it
How are the fees calculated, and why are they degressive?
By price brackets, with a rate that decreases as the price rises, the whole set by decree. This scale explains something that often surprises: the notary’s share, relative to the price, is markedly lower on a prestige property than on a studio, although the work is not proportionally less.
Fees are proportional to the price, in brackets, and each bracket’s rate decreases: that is the degressivity.
They are identical in every practice in France, being set by decree: comparing them makes no sense.
A discount is possible above a certain amount, at the practice’s discretion and within a limit set by the text.
They cover neither transfer duties, paid to the State and local authorities, nor disbursements advanced to third parties.
Ancillary deeds, a notarised power of attorney or a will, carry their own fees, also on a set scale.
Which mistakes cost the most before a notary?
They all look alike: having treated the visit to the notary as a closing formality, when it is the only moment where everything is decided and fixed. After signature, what was written produces its effects, including what was not read.
Six mistakes, and what they actually cost
The mistake
What it costs
Giving up your own notary to save money
Nothing saved, the fees being shared, and a review lost
Signing a deed read in a poorly mastered language
Clauses discovered afterwards, with no useful remedy
Preparing source-of-funds documents the night before
A postponed signature, and sometimes a lost deed date
Saying nothing about a foreign matrimonial regime
Ownership split other than intended, visible years later
Not making a will on the French property
An estate governed by a law you did not choose
Overvaluing the furniture to reduce duties
A reassessment, and penalties exceeding the saving sought
What Home Select organises with the notaire
The notaire is the pivot of the purchase: they check the title and the planning position, receive the funds on their account, draft the deed and register it. You have the right to choose your own, alongside the seller’s, at no extra cost: the fees are shared. Home Select introduces, from the briefing, a practice used to non-resident buyers and working in your language.
We prepare with you the file the practice expects (civil status, supporting documents, origin of funds), we arrange the power of attorney if you do not come to sign, and we keep the calendar between the bank, the notaire and the seller through to the deed. The deed, legal advice and the holding of funds stay with the notaire, under their responsibility.
Frequently asked questions
Does taking your own notary cost more?
No, and this is probably the least known fact in a French property purchase. When two notaries act, one for the seller and one for the buyer, they do not charge twice: they share the same fees, set by decree and identical from one practice to another. The total cost is rigorously the same. What you gain is a review by somebody who did not draft the deed, and, if the practice works in your language, a reading you genuinely understand.
Why choose a notary used to non-residents?
The authentic deed follows strict rules, and an overseas buyer’s journey adds specifics: power of attorney, international funds, cross-border tax. We connect you with a partner notary who handles these files routinely and can assist you in English: every clause is explained in a language you master.
Can I sign without coming to France?
Yes. For the sale agreement, remote signing is common; for the deed, the notary prepares a power of attorney, to be executed before a local notary, an embassy or by whatever form your country admits. The partner notary orchestrates these formalities and points you to the simplest route for your residence.
Who reviews the sale agreement before I sign?
The partner notary reviews and explains the sale agreement clause by clause before anything is signed: suspensive conditions, deadlines, diagnostics, possible easements. In France, a private buyer then has a ten-day withdrawal period: we make sure you use it with full knowledge.
What are the purchase costs for a non-resident?
The same as for a resident: transfer taxes for the most part, plus the notary’s fees and formalities. The partner notary gives you the itemised figures before the sale agreement, so your purchase budget includes them from the start.
How do I justify the origin of my funds?
Anti-money-laundering rules require the notary to verify the origin of funds, especially from abroad. The partner notary tells you which documents are expected (savings, sale of securities, gift, inheritance) and how to proceed so this check never delays the signing.
Which French taxes concern a non-resident owner?
Depending on your situation: rental income to declare in France if the property is let, property tax and, for a second home, vacant- or second-home dwelling tax depending on the commune, and capital gains tax on resale. The notary and, for more complex structures, a partner tax adviser give you the exact framework for your country of residence and the applicable tax treaties.
How does capital gains tax work on resale?
Non-residents’ capital gains are taxed in France, with allowances that grow with the holding period, and country-specific obligations that may involve a fiscal representative. It is a point to prepare before listing: the partner notary walks you through the mechanics and the expected amounts.
Should I buy in my own name or through a company (SCI)?
It depends on your family, tax and estate situation: an SCI can simplify a transfer between heirs living in some countries, or create constraints elsewhere. There is no universal answer: the partner notary, with a tax adviser if needed, studies your case before the purchase, because this choice is hard to make afterwards.
In which language do exchanges take place?
In French or English, as you prefer: the partner notary translates the key points and writes the explanations in your language.
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