Step 6
When you’ve found the house (barn, farm, villa – whatever) and you’re ready to put in an offer, consider getting quotes for building work before committing yourself.  Unlike the UK, it’s very rare for structural surveys to be carried out on buildings in France, although it’s perfectly possible to commission one through a British surveyor (there are a number working in France, try www.surveyors-en-france.com for starters).  Most French people buying an older property would ask an architect or builder to come and take a look.  Better safe than sorry, after all.

Step 7
Sure you’re doing the right thing? Then sign the preliminary sales agreement or compromis de vente. Once this has been counter signed by the vendor it becomes legally binding, although there’s a seven day cooling off period during which you can pull out, but the vendor can’t (which effectively protects you from gazumping). Pull out after the seven days are up and you’ll lose your deposit. Various let-out clauses, called conditions suspensives, can be inserted into the compromis, typically covering things like rights of way, planning permission, or your mortgage application being approved. Once the seven days have elapsed, you’ll have to stump up the readies (usually 5-10% of the purchase price) as a deposit, and then you’ve got a couple of months to get your ducks in a row while the notaire does the conveyancing.

Step 8:Two months left - break open your piggy bank
If you’re going to need a mortgage to fund your purchase, now is the time to complete your application, and open that French bank account we talked about earlier. On the subject of money, you might need to prepare any personal assets you intend to use for the purchase (e.g. give notice for any savings you want to withdraw, sell securities, etc). Hopefully you’ve done your financial planning carefully from day one and things won’t be going pear-shaped on this front… will they?

Step 9:One month to go - the final countdown
Now you need to confirm the date and time of the signing of the acte de vente with the notaire, and make any necessary travel arrangements (if you’re not going to complete in person, you’ll need to complete a power of attorney form). Your place in the sun has to be insured in your name from the date of completion, so contact an insurance company now and get the relevant form so this can be finalised painlessly on the day when you finally sign the acte de vente.

Step 10:Your big day
It’s time to take a deep breath, say “I do”, and sign on the dotted line. Completion is usually organised at the notaire’s office; all the relevant parties (vendor, purchaser or their proxy, possibly another notaire appointed by the purchaser, plus the estate agent, maybe a search agent or a translator) put on their Sunday best and gather round the notaire’s desk while he reads through the title, checks that all is in order, and then asks each party to sign the contract. The reading through of all the papers plus each party then initialing each and every page makes for a fairly time consuming ceremony, but hey, it’s your big day, so enjoy it. Once the deed is done, you can crack open the champagne, raise your glass and drink to your new home in Languedoc Roussillon, south France. 
Sincerely yours,

For further information go to www.creme-de-languedoc.com