Buying Property in France

French Property

Regions of France

Finding Property

Many families from the UK have moved to France for a better life. The main attraction is the lower cost of housing across the channel, but better health care, schools, good food, cheap wine and a more relaxed pace of life are further attractions. Over the last ten years there have been a multitude of television programs on UK TV showing us the opportunities for house buying that exist in France. What some people fail to realise is that many of the TV shows were produced several years ago and prices are not now as shown. House prices doubled between 2000 and 2005 in France just as they did in the UK. Opportunities to buy old farms cheaply for renovation have diminished. Nevertheless, there are still areas where property can be bought at very reasonable prices compared to the UK.

France has the same population size as Britain, but more than twice the land area. This makes it much easier to aquire large plots of land in France than the UK. A common practice for young couples in France living outside the big cities is to buy a plot of land and build a house to their own design. They often stay there for many years expanding their home when necessary. There are no legal restrictions that make this any more difficult for a UK couple to do in France. You just need to know a few basic things about land types, property taxes and where to look. It does of course help to be able to speak some French. The younger generation in France know English better than most Britains know French, but they are proud of their language and they will appreciate your attempts to learn it. Where else in the world is dictation a national pastime with the highest respect awarded to those who know every twist of the languages complex spelling rules? Fortuneately many estate agents do have English speaking representatives who specialise in selling to the Brits.

If you are going to buy property and retire to France then knowing about tax and inheritance laws is essential before you embarque. France has a wealth tax that kicks in when your total world wide assets including your house exceed about £400,000 in value.