Demystifying notaires and their fees

Purchasing property anywhere is an intricate and often bureaucratic process as it seems that every country has its own set of peculiar habits and obscure rules that must be followed exactly, often to the bewilderment of foreigners. The French property market is more particular than most and, for a Brit unused to the legal conventions involved when purchasing property in France, nothing illustrates this as well as notaire’s fees…

‘Frais de notaire’ are a compulsory element of any house purchase and hugely important- they are generally not included in the asking price featured in property adverts so must be taken into account when deciding how much you can afford to spend. The fee structure may seem puzzling but can be easily clarified.

A notaire is in essence a cross between a solicitor and a town clerk. They play a significant role throughout the purchasing process, including giving advice every step of the way, answering queries on how to structure the transaction, advise on inheritance laws and other related tax issues that you may want guidance on.  It is their job to ensure due dilligence – they are there to supervise the paperwork generated by a property purchase, and to ensure that all proceedings are in accordance with French law.

Notaires are not salaried by the French government, meaning they earn their income exclusively through the fees charged for their services. Notaire fees however, are not paid exclusively to the notaire- the majority goes to the Treasury, or corresponds to professional fees owed to the land and building surveyors, amongst others. A scale system is in place as the higher the sale price of the property, the smaller the cut taken by the notaire. As a general rule, for a purchase without a mortgage, the notaire receives roughly 1% of the notaire fees.

Here is an easy to use calculator which gives estimations of the Notaire fees you need to pay: Notaire Fee Calculator.