The 'Deed of Sale' is known in French as the 'Acte Authentique de Vente'. It is generally signed by both the buyer and the seller, at the notaire's office.
If you are unable to attend the signature yourself, you can have someone else (e.g. a friend, the notaire, or a lawyer) sign on your behalf. To do this, you need to give the person signing on your behalf 'power of attorney'. This is a relatively simply procedure, but requires a bit of time so should be organised well in advance.
The deed of sale finalises the sale and typically occurs some months after the preliminary contract (e.g. the Compromis de Vente). The period of time between the preliminary contract and the deed of sale is required for several reasons:
- At the time that the Compromis de Vente is signed, the buyer and the seller may agree that the deed of sale will be some months out so that the buyer has time to move out of the house and the seller has time to arrange their affairs (e.g. packing and transport of household goods) prior to the seller travelling to France and moving into the house.
- The buyer may require time in which to sell their existing house or to arrange a mortgage for the new house.
- The notaire must perform a number of legal activities prior to the final sale. These are roughly (but not exactly) the activities that in the UK are performed by the solicitors for the buyer and seller. These activities include checking ownership of the property, verifying that there are no 3rd party rights to the property, ensuring that there are no outstanding debts secured by the property.
Once the notaire has satisfied himself (or herself) that all the legal requirements are met, he will set a date for the deed of sale. Prior to this date, the purchaser must transfer the money to purchase the house to the notaire. The notaire will hold the funds until the deed of sale is signed and complete, at which time he will transfer the funds to the seller. In the event of part or all of the house being paid for by a mortgage, the mortgage bank will pay the funds direct to the notaire. The money transfered to the notaire must be sufficient to pay:
- the price of the house (less the deposit already paid), plus
- the taxes on the house sale (i.e. French stamp duty), plus
- the fees charged by the notaire for his work, including any disbursements that he has had to make.
Once the deed to sale is signed, the keys to the property are normally handed to the new owner and the new owner can move in. Traditionally, the various parties (e.g. buyer, seller, estate agent, notaire) have a drink to celebrate after signature. |
