Tips for buyers
Buying a house in France need not be a stressful experience and indeed is legally a lot more straightforward than under English land law. However, there are a lot of differences in the systems and buyers need to be prepared to accept that things may not always go exactly to plan. The golden rule in buying abroad has to be: do your research! France is enormous and complex and covers an almost global range of climates, geographies, geologies and cultures. Here are my top 10 tips. 
1. A vague wish to buy in France has to be focused and consolidated well before viewing actually starts. This can be helped along by reading articles and books, but ultimately personal knowledge and experience must be gained and this means visiting. Every area of France has its individual quirks and characteristics and you need to understand these as fully as possible before you commit to the expense of buying a property. I regularly receive emails from people who believe they wish to buy a house from me and yet clearly have no idea where in France I am based. A common example is something along the lines of "We are landing in Calais at 9am and so will be with you by lunchtime". Based in Creuse, I am at least 6-7 hours drive from Calais. Of course, everybody has to start out as a novice at this game, but to be this lacking in awareness and yet professing to be ready to buy is very dangerous. Before making a decision to buy, you must at least be sure you will like the area!2. Take as much advantage of local knowledge as you can. If you speak any French at all, make an effort to speak with residents. Even if your French is non-existent, estate agents and ex-pats who have preceded you can offer invaluable experience and advice.
3. At the risk of sounding contradictory, take what you read with a certain pinch of salt and in particular remember that every area of France is individual and what is true in one part may not be true in another. Many writers dwell on horror stories of crooked notaires and sellers who strip everything bar the wallpaper, but this is not the norm. Be alert but try not to assume everyone is out to trick you, as this will only generate ill-will.
4. Do not set your heart on one property you have seen advertised and organise your whole trip around this. The Internet is a marvelous tool for research purposes but it is impossible to capture fully what a house is like. You may hate it on sight. It is a better policy to give your agent as much information as possible about what you want in a house and then discuss the ones they propose.
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5. Remember that house hunting is a serious business and is hard work. In rural areas such as mine, you might drive 300 or 400 kilometres in a day's viewing and it is rarely possible to see more than four or five houses in one day, so do not set yourself too punishing a schedule. It is a mistake to think that you can successfully combine a house-hunting trip with a family holiday: children naturally become bored and restless if expected to spend day after day driving around between houses. If you have younger children, try to find some way to make sure they do not have to suffer this. Perhaps one parent could stop with the children while the other does initial viewings, or possibly arrange to travel with friends so that there is always someone available to mind the children.
6. Be clear in your mind what you want from the house and how you are going to use it, but try not to be inflexible about features which have little impact on your enjoyment of the house. For instance, many of my clients at first insist that they want a detached house. This restricts the options quite considerably. But being attached by means of half a metre of solid stone is not quite the same prospect as being attached via the cardboard wall often found in modern houses, so think hard about what is really important to you.
7. Do not assume that what you know about property in the UK is going to be applicable in France. In Creuse where I am based, building methods are totally different from what most people are used to in the UK: houses are constructed of stone and oak and built straight on to the bedrock. No damp proof courses, no bricks, no felt under the roof tiles. Accept that local methods will be different.
8. Be honest with your agent about your situation. If you are on an early reconnaissance trip, tell the agent this, as then they can make an effort to show you a range of properties which will help you to narrow down which features are important to you. Do not make an offer unless you are serious and have the money available, as no-one will thank you for wasting their time.
9. Teach yourself to look past cosmetics such as wallpaper. Many French homes are decorated in what appears to the British eye to be the most appalling taste, but this does not really matter as it can be changed very easily. Equally, houses are often extremely cluttered, or in the case of empty houses very dirty. Try not to let this sort of thing distract you from looking at the building and its location. You may miss a bargain if you are too fussy about surface issues.
10. Finally, have fun! Keep a cool head and remember what the objective of the whole exercise is. DO NOT let yourself get stressed or feel pressurised into making hasty decisions. While it is true that really good properties do sell quickly, it is also true that there is always another coming along.
 | Keeping these points in mind should make your house-hunting an enjoyable experience and lead to a happily-ever-after purchase. |