Leaseback properties are very popular in France. good yields, great location, affordable prices, lower interest rates, makes the scheme very attractive for investors. Some developments can be sold in a matter of three to four weeks. Your chance to have the unit you want at the right price might be sometimes limited if you don't act quickly. We would therefore advice our clients to have a second alternative when hunting for a new property to avoid disappointment. If you know already how much you want to spend with your new purchase, It would be wise to get a Mortgage in principle decision from a French bank should you want to go through that route.. You will have to go through to a reservation process. Once you reserve a unit with us, a deposit of usually 5% will be required to secure a unit. Payments will have to be made to the Notary's escrow account within 72 hours. Past that delay, you might potentially lose the unit. It is always recommended to keep a copy of your transfer just in case you might want to get a full refund. Another copy will be sent to the developer for confirmation. At that stage, we will prepare and send you the reservation contract. You should note that developers will ask you to sign a French version of the contract. Sometimes contracts will be translated in English although this tends to be rare as the developments sell so quickly on the French market place. Contracts should be signed and returned within 3 weeks to the developer to complete the reservation. This should give you enough time to get legal advice about the content of the contract and all aspects of the buying process. (Income, Capital and Inheritance Tax) All parties (Developer, Management Company) will then countersign the documents and will send it back to you by recorded delivery. Please note that the day you receive your contracts, you will be notified and will benefit from a 7 days cooling off period. Should you want to change your mind during that time, you will have to write a cancellation letter to the developer in order to get your deposit back. Once the countersigned contracts have been received you should complete your mortgage application. You will not be able to complete the transaction if you haven't got a Mortgage offer signed and returned to the bank. ( this doesn't apply if you pay cash of course). So it is very important to communicate with us about your situation. Should you have difficulties to obtain a mortgage offer, your deposit will be fully refunded providing that the terms & conditions specified in the contract have been fully respected. The bank should now submit your signed copy of the mortgage offer to the notary who will start to proceed with the final documents. You will receive a dossier and a copy of the "Projet d'Acte" (Title Deeds). You do not have to go to France to sign your deeds. A "procuration" proxy can be notarised with a public Notary here in the UK. For UK customers, the documents will have to be officially stamped by the Foreign & Commonwealth Office in London. This is called "Apostille". There will be a small charge for that process being currently £27. We will be happy to get the Apostille done for you. Once the "procuration" is notarised and sent back to the French notary, It will give power of attorney to the French Notary clerk to sign the final "Acte Authentique" while you are abroad. Once the "Final Acte Authentique" is signed, the property is then yours and the project is completed.