Jargon Killer
Buying a house in any country is a stressful time in your life, however, if you’re trying to buy in a country where the language might not be your first, could be even worse.
Below you will find some of the more common terms you may be coming across whilst you’re looking for your French Property and going through the French Mortgage Process.
| FRENCH | ENGLISH |
| Acheteur | Purchaser/Buyer |
| Acompte | Deposit |
| Acte de Vente | Final Sales Agreement |
| Assurance Décès | Mortgage Protection Insurance |
| Bail Commercial | Rental Agreement |
| Compromis de Vente | Preliminary Sales Agreement |
| Clause Suspensive | get out clause – it is imperative that this is included in the ‘compromis de vente’ if you are applying for a loan as it protects your deposit should your loan application be unsuccessful |
| Contrat de réservation | Reservation Contract |
| Depot de garantie | Deposit |
| Expertise | Evaluation undertaken by the lending bank to confirm the value of the property being purchased |
| Frais de dossier | Bank arrangement fee |
| Frais de notaire | Notary fees |
| Geometre | Surveyor |
| Hypothèque | Legal charge taken on the property being purchased by the bank |
| Impot sur le fortune | Wealth Tax. For non-residents this tax is imposed on the net value exceeding 790.000 of a property in France. For residents the tax is imposed on world-wide assets exceeding 790.000€. The tax starts at 0.55% per annum and rises to a maximum of 1.8%. |
| Location | Rental |
| Mandat de Vente | Sales Contract |
| Notaire | Notary (solicitor/lawyer in charge of registering and legalising the deed of sale, also of collecting the charges and taxes associated for the government) |
| Offre de Pret | Loan Offer |
| Proprietaire | Owner |
| Propriété | Property |
| Remboursement par anticipation | Early repayment on a loan |
| SCI (société civil immobilière) | Company structure for buying property |
| TVA | VAT |
| Urbanisme | Town planning office |
| Usufruit | The right of usage of a property for life, used for inheritance. |
| Vendeur | Seller |
| VEFA (vente en l’état future d’achèvement) | Off plan / New build property |