In France, the buyer is typically solely responsible for all legal costs and fees incurred in relation to property transfers. These vary, depending on whether you buy a new home or an older property. It’s difficult to give an exact calculation of total costs, but generally, you can expect to pay 8% to 9% for a traditional village house or rural cottage, and 3% to 4% for a newly built house or apartment.
Legal fees include not only the notary's fees ( frais de notaire), but also disbursements, taxes, various duties, as well as searches at the land and mortgage registry. In addition, sales tax may be payable for properties less than five years old where there has been no previous sale. The notaire’s fees range from 8% to 14% of the purchase price (this may be 3% for a brand-new property). Contacts on the ground in France have warned us that some notaires try to charge additional fees to English speakers. Obviously, you must expect to pay more than a French person if documents need translation, but determine what the fees are before you proceed.
Commission charges are the fees charged by the real estate agent for the purchase, and usually represent between 5% and 10% of the purchase price. French real estate agents are allowed to set their own commissions. This cost may be payable by the vendor or the purchaser—there is no standard practice—but in most instances, the purchaser is liable. Commission fees are often built into the selling price. Ask about this when you make initial contact with an agent and begin inspecting properties. You’ll want to know if you are liable for a real estate agent’s commission fee before signing any preliminary contract.
A point worth noting is that you can shave some euros off purchase costs by deducting the agency commission fee from the sale price and paying it directly to them. This will save on notaire costs. Say you have your eye on a $100,000 property. To make things simple, we assume the agent has included her 10% commission fee in this price and that the notaire will be charging 10% on top of that. You will be charged $110,000. However, pay the agent $10,000 and the notaire is left with 10% of $90,000. You’ve saved $1,000. This must be made clear before you sign the initial agreement.