Found a French Property for sale? Be careful what you sign!

Browsing through the windows of the Agent Immobilier, you may well stumble upon the French property of your dreams. You are only in France for a week or so and you want to make sure this dream French property does not escape you, so you go into the Estate Agent, make an offer and sign whatever they tell you to sign, and pay whatever deposit they ask for. On the journey home, you start to reflect on things. What have you just signed? It was in legal French, did you really understand it? The Agent said it was OK to sign, and he seemed trustworthy....but he would wouldn't he? Where did you really pay your deposit to? Can you recover the deposit if you pull out of the purchase? Have you committed yourself to harsh conditions? What if the property has something wrong with it?

I hear this scenario on a regular basis, and clients hesitantly approach me realising that they have perhaps not exercised the level of caution they would if they were buying a property in the UK.

Ideally, you should never sign anything that you have not had checked by an expert independent lawyer familiar with English law and French law. You should not pay a deposit without understanding where it is going and what the terms are for holding and returning it.

It can be hard when you are being pressured to sign and the Agent reassures you that everything is OK, but a good agent will not object to you having the contract independently checked, and make no mistake, whatever you are asked to sign will be a form of contract committing you to its terms, whether called a pre-contract or an offre d'achat or a promesse de vente. Get it checked. We can usually check basic documents on a same day basis, so there would be minimal delay. Take advice, get it right, relax and enjoy your dream French property purchase. For more information visit www.frenchlawconsultancy.com or email John Kitching, a bilingual French law solicitor john@frenchlawconsultancy.com or telephone +44 (0)1663 74 54 88

France out of World cup

Those who registered an interest in a free French Will package should France have made it through the group stages will be disappointed that Les Bleus did not manage to pull it off, eventually losing 2-1 to South Africa. However, the French Will package is being offered to them at half price as a gesture of good will. Eyes now turn to England to see if they can scrape through against the mighty Slovenians!

Free Will if Les Bleus make it through!

Oh dear, losing against Mexico and drawing against Uruguay is not quite what France was expecting. They are on the verge of failing to qualify for the knock out stages. However, if France DO qualify for the next round of the 2010 football World Cup, I should be happy to offer a Free French Will package. All you need to do is register your interest with me before France's next match kicks off at 3pm on Tuesday 22nd June 2010.

Simply email john@frenchlawconsultancy.com with the subject heading Free French Will and give your name, address and contact details in the email.

Good luck!

John Kitching

French Law Solicitor

www.frenchlawconsultancy.com

£1 finally hits 1.20€ - highest for 18 months

According to some currency dealers, the technical levels for exchange rates have finally attained 1.20 Euros per pound, the strongest position of the pound against the Euro for 18 months.

This is still only the technical level for large commercial level currency transactions, but it remains the highest level since 2008, and results from the recently weakening Euro and a few days of volatile currency rates. The Euro is currently at its lowest rate against the US dollar since April 2006.

The 1.20 €/£ rate is expected to trigger a flood of property transactions from purchasers who have secured the exchange rate through a "forward contract", although the rate has not yet passed down to all but the most expensive property transactions. However, given the volatility of the markets over the past weeks, this level may come or go rapidly. If you are considering purchasing French property, it would be wise to contact a currency dealer to discuss securing an exchange rate and to discuss the prospects for the currency market.

We are happy to independently recommend currency dealers if you require assistance.

John Kitching French Law Solicitor www.frenchlawconsultancy.com info@frenchlawconsultancy.com

French Property prices - Paris on the up

The average French Property price continues to rise in Paris, according to a study from website drimki.fr . As shown from the data, location is all important. Some areas perform well, while others continue to struggle.

The chart below shows the district of Paris, the average price per square metre in the district, and the monthly price variation.

Prix de l'immobilier	Prix moyen / m2	Evolution mensuelle
Paris 1er	8074 €	0.94%
Paris 2eme	7004 €	1.43%
Paris 3eme	7647 €	0.73%
Paris 4eme	9227 €	1.52%
Paris 5eme	8139 €	1.89%
Paris 6eme	9646 €	1.06%
Paris 7eme	9077 €	-0.11%
Paris 8eme	7868 €	-0.87%
Paris 9eme	6578 €	1.54%
Paris 10eme	5897 €	1.63%
Paris 11eme	6175 €	1.94%
Paris 12eme	5941 €	0.54%
Paris 13eme	6060 €	1.88%
Paris 14eme	6685 €	1.18%
Paris 15eme	6666 €	0.5%
Paris 16eme	7437 €	-0.18%
Paris 17eme	6066 €	1.06%
Paris 18eme	5737 €	1.45%
Paris 19eme	5090 €	1.88%
Paris 20eme	5252 €	0.16%

John Kitching www.frenchlawconsultancy.com

info@frenchlawconsultancy.com