Notary Signing & Reduced Notary Fees

Approximately 8-12 weeks following your Reservation you will need to complete the sale by signing the Authentic Act (Acte Authentique) at the notary's office, at which point you will become the legal owner of the property, even though it’s not yet built !

Your Attika representative will accompany you to this appointment where there will also be an official translator speaking your native language. The translator's costs are usually included in your notary fees.

The up-to-date stage payment and notary fees must be in the notary's account before your signing takes place - Attika will be there to help you with this.

If building work has not gone beyond the foundations stage you will need to pay 25%-30% and depending on how advanced the construction is you may need to catch up with the stage payments to get in line with the current works.

Notaire fees are significantly reduced for new property and can be calculated at approximately 2.5% - 3%, whereas for resale property they are 7.0% - 7.5%. If you are financing your purchase (off-plan or resale) with a French mortgage then you should expect to add a further 1% - 1.5% to cover the bank checks that the notary (notaire) undertakes.

If you are unable to attend the notary signing, you will need to ensure that you have a Power of Attorney in place. It is best to organise this whilst you are in France. Please speak to your Attika representative about this so that a notaire visit can be arranged for you on your visit.