Buying a house in France as a foreigner.
Yes, foreigners can buy a house in France: no restrictions, no residency requirement, no extra tax for being foreign. The purchase runs in eight stages, from the written offer to the keys at the notaire's office, typically about three months after the preliminary contract is signed. Budget the notaire's fees on top of the price: roughly 7 to 8% on an existing home, 2 to 3% on a new build.
A guide by John Newman Prentice, English-speaking estate agent at Orpi Les Carmes, Toulouse. What follows is the process I walk my own clients through, within 100 km of Toulouse, in English.
France binds early. Plan for it.
The French system is not the English one translated. There is no chain, no exchange months down the line, no gazumping after acceptance. Instead, the commitment comes early: the preliminary contract (the compromis de vente) binds both sides within weeks of the accepted offer, with a ten-day cooling-off period and written conditions as your protection.
Buyers who expect the English rhythm sign the compromis thinking it is “subject to contract”. It is the contract. Everything in this guide flows from that one difference.
The eight stages, in order.
Money first, houses second
Before the first viewing, know your ceiling. Cash buyers gather proof of funds; mortgage buyers talk to a broker early, because a French bank will look at your whole file, not just your salary. I work with a courtier, a licensed mortgage broker, who tells my clients within days whether their budget is real. It costs nothing to find out and it changes everything you do next.
The search, with the whole market open
France has no single portal that shows everything, and the same house can appear on three sites at three prices. Agencies share mandates with each other, which is why one agent can open the whole market for you instead of you emailing thirty agencies and hearing back from one.
The offer (offre d’achat)
A written offer at a price, usually with a validity period. If the seller accepts, the price is fixed: France has no gazumping culture where a later buyer outbids you after acceptance. The negotiation happens here, once, which is why the offer should arrive armed with the sold-price evidence for that street, not a hopeful number.
The compromis de vente, where it becomes real
The preliminary contract, signed within weeks of the accepted offer, and the single biggest surprise for English-speaking buyers: it binds BOTH sides, far earlier than exchange does back home. You typically pay a 5 to 10% deposit, held in escrow by the notaire, never handed to the seller. Every page of it deserves to be understood before you sign, which is the promise my practice is built on.
Ten days to change your mind
French law gives the buyer, and only the buyer, a ten-day cooling-off period after the compromis. Withdraw in writing within it, for any reason or none, and the deposit comes back in full. After day ten, you are committed unless a protective condition fails. Diarise it; it is the most valuable ten days in the whole purchase.
The conditions that protect you
The compromis carries written escape hatches called conditions suspensives. The classic one is the mortgage condition: if the loan is refused despite a genuine application, usually within 45 to 60 days, the sale dissolves and the deposit returns. Others cover planning certificates or pre-emption rights. They only protect you if they are written in, which is why they get read, line by line, before signing.
The quiet months
Between compromis and completion, typically around three months, the notaire verifies title, purges pre-emption rights and assembles the deed while your financing completes. It feels like silence; it is actually paperwork. This is where a good agent keeps you informed instead of leaving you to wonder whether the silence is normal.
The acte de vente, and the keys
Completion happens at the notaire's office: the deed is signed, the funds move through the notaire's escrow, and the keys change hands the same day. The deed is in French, as the law requires; my clients arrive having read every line with me in English days before, and if a sworn interpreter is legally required, I pay for it. It can also be done from abroad by power of attorney (procuration).
Durations are the customary ranges; your notaire's file and your financing set the real clock. Official references: the public-service guide at service-public.fr and the notaires' own site, notaires.fr.
Two sets of fees, one of them already in the price.
French listings are usually advertised FAI, fees included: the agency commission is already inside the number you see. On top comes the notaire's bill, roughly 7 to 8% on an existing home and 2 to 3% on a new build, paid by the buyer and set by the state; most of it is tax. The external authority on those is notaires.fr, and my own scale is published in full on the fees page.
And the visa question, separated
Owning a French home and staying in France are two different rights. Non-EU citizens can own outright, and still fall under the 90/180-day rule for time in the country unless they hold a visa. The official starting point is france-visas.gouv.fr. Buy first or visa first is a real strategic choice; I walk clients through both orders.
Five questions foreign buyers ask.
1. Can a foreigner buy a house in France?
Yes. France places no restriction on foreign buyers: no residency requirement, no special permit, no extra purchase tax for being foreign. Owning a French property is a separate question from staying in France: non-EU owners still fall under the 90/180-day visa rules unless they hold a visa.
2. How long does buying a house in France take?
Typically around three months between signing the preliminary contract (the compromis de vente) and completion at the notaire, plus however long the search and the offer take. A mortgage adds its own clock: the loan condition usually allows 45 to 60 days to secure financing.
3. What deposit do you pay when buying in France?
Customarily 5 to 10% of the price, paid when the compromis is signed and held in escrow by the notaire, not by the seller. It counts toward the price at completion, and the ten-day cooling-off period lets the buyer withdraw with a full refund.
4. Is the compromis de vente binding?
Yes, and much earlier than English-speaking buyers expect: once the ten-day cooling-off period passes, the buyer is committed unless a written protective condition (condition suspensive), such as the mortgage condition, fails. There is no chain and no gazumping after that point: the price cannot change.
5. Can the whole purchase be done in English?
The official deed must be in French, as French law requires, but the process around it can run in English: John Newman Prentice reads every document line by line with his clients in English before signing, and if a sworn interpreter is legally required at the notaire, he pays for it.
Now you know the stages.
Walk them with someone.
I take English-speaking buyers through all eight, within 100 km of Toulouse, from the first viewing to the keys, in English. At no extra cost.