Fynis International Mortgages offers international buyers a customised mortgage service for French properties: a holiday home or rental investment. We can normally arrange your French mortgage, from start to finish, ready for your signature at the notary office (of your choice), within 2 months.
The process for an average application for a French Mortgage, when carefully prepared by Fynis International Mortgages for France, is detailed below.
Determine your options: ask your calculation
Whether you’re considering buying a house in France as a getaway retreat or as a rental investment, it is advisable to first determine all available options open to you. Once you have a set criteria in place, you can stay focused and search only for properties that meet your requirements. In the long run, this saves you precious time and effort.
We will be glad to help you understand your options, without any obligation or cost, as part of our service. You can request your personal mortgage calculation here. Once you have sent on your data, you will receive an overview of possibilities available to you within 2 working days.
Agreement on the price
You have found your home of your dreams. You can make a bid without being tied up. Only the signing of a Compromis de Vente (French buying contract) obliges you to take further steps. Once the seller has accepted your bid, they will ask a notary to compile the Compromis de Vente, the preliminary purchase contract. That’s the best time to contact Fynis International Mortgages: we will guide you further.
We ensure that the Compromis de Vente comes up with the correct texts that are important for applying for the mortgage. During the period when Compromis de Vente is being drafted, we already start compiling your file!
Compromis de Vente
A notary compiles the Compromis de Vente. We will assist you in checking the document. We also look at the technical inspection reports. Once everything is ok, you can sign the contract.
Your file
The sale process continues! As soon as your bid is accepted we start compiling your file. We will send you a list of all documents which are required. You can send these documents to us by email. Once all the documents have reached us, we examine them to make sure everything’s in order before giving you our feedback. Next, we provide you with the mortgage application form. Once the form has been filled in and returned, we will forward your dossier to the bank. We take great care during this stage, as to a large extent it determines the success rate of your mortgage application. Patience may be needed while the bank reviews the documents, but feedback is usually received within 1 to 2 weeks. The bank will probably have additional questions if they choose to proceed with the application. We will take care of dealing with all bank queries. In some cases, you may be required to provide additional documents.
Translation
In general, your documents need to be provided in English, French, Dutch or German, depending on the bank. It is important to take care of any translations required as early as possible. If necessary, we can help you with this.
Life Insurance
You must have a full-cover life insurance in order to obtain an international mortgage for France. In most cases, the bank will send you an insurance offer and ask you to accept it as part of the deal.
French bank account
You will need to open a French bank account. The French bank providing you with a mortgage loan, will debit your monthly mortgage payments from your personal French bank account. In some cases, the issuing bank may provide you with an official offer, usually delivered by post (DHL). However, you are at liberty to open an account with any French bank you wish. This account must be set up at least 10 days prior to signing the conveyance of property documents with the notary.
Value estimation
The bank takes care of estimating the value of the property, at its own cost. It is not necessary for you to be there while the property is being assessed; someone else may take your place. In most cases, this will be the real estate agent. The value estimation report is an internal document, so you will not be provided with a copy.
Final offer
Once your file is in order, and if the value estimation did not provide exclusions, the bank will make you an offer – which is legally binding (for the bank). This offer includes all the terms and conditions applicable to the loan. It is most often written in two languages: French and English. We can help you with all of your questions and after a mandatory reflection period of 10 days, you may choose to accept or reject the offer without penalty.
Signing the contracts
If you accept proposed offer, the bank will then draw up the official documents and forward them to your notary. The notary will contact you to make an appointment to transfer your mortgage contribution (the down payment). Please ensure that you have already transferred the money you contribute yourself to the notary’s account. You will receive a receipt confirming this transaction. It is also possible to appoint a local notary as proxy; in your absence, he/she will be able to sign on your behalf.
Keys
Your mortgage is settled! You have the keys to your house. Still got questions concerning your French Mortgage? No problem. Even after the process has been completed, you can always count on Fynis International Mortgages for assistance.