Building your own home

Discuss your needs with one of our bilingual personal mortgage advisors and together, develop your financial plan or find out exactly how much you can borrow.  You will then receive a detailed quote based on the information that you have given.

This step involves finding your plot of land and ensuring that you have made the right choice. If necessary, call on professionals for advice and check with local authorities for planning permission. The next step will be to sign the preliminary sales agreement. Once you have signed this document no one else will be able to buy the property you have chosen. However, don't forget that you still have 7 days should you wish to change your mind.
Appoint a notary(*). In France, the buying and selling of property is handled by a notary, a public official who ensures that all deeds of sale are authentic. Notaries are responsible for the drawing up of such deeds and, in some cases, the preliminary sales agreement. The advice they give is objective and they must act impartially towards the various contractual parties.  
BNP Paribas International Buyers will be happy to provide you with details of English speaking notaries in France.

(*) Usually, the seller appoints a notary who must act impartially and ensure that the transaction is carried out correctly. However it is possible for the buyer to appoint his/her own notary at no extra cost to the buyer or the seller. The notary fees will be shared equally between the respective notaries.

Firstly, it is important that the architect you choose is fully qualified and registered in France for specific insurance purposes. Once you have signed a contract with the architect and the construction company BNP Paribas International Buyers will then consider if your project can be financed and issue your mortgage application form.

Nothing could be simpler. At the same time, you will also need to submit a certain number of other documents concerning personal details, income and outstandings, and documents related to the construction of the property (building license, building contract…). Once these forms have been duly completed, return them to your personal mortgage advisor with the construction contract and the plans. Following acceptance of your application you will receive your BNP Paribas International Buyers loan offer of which a copy will have been sent to your notary. By law, you must wait at least 10 days before accepting the mortgage. However, be careful not to exceed a 30-day deadline after which BNP Paribas International Buyers will not be obliged to maintain the financial conditions of the offer.

Completion is subject to the fulfilment by the different parties involved of a certain number of conditions precedent. It may take from six to twelve months from the moment you sign the reservation contract to the moment you sign the final deed of sale. The notary will make a written request to us at BNP Paribas International Buyers for the first release of mortgage funds and in turn we transfer the agreed amount to the notary. The rest of the mortgage funds will be released gradually as the construction of the property progresses.
French law stipulates that the notary retains the original deeds of sale and you will be given an official copy.