Glossary 

 

Our glossary defines frequently used mortgage terms. Click on one of the following letters of the alphabet to locate a specific term on this page.

Legal fees or Notary’s fees and costs / Frais de notaire

Notary fees in France, or “frais de notaire” (because they are paid through the notary) are usually near 10% of the value of the French property for an existing property and more like 5% on new property. As an example, you must pay as notary fees:
- Conveyance fees (“Frais de mutation” )
- Charges for mortgage security (“Frais de garantie”)
- Notary fees (“frais de notaire”) – they include the cost of certain acts, such as the registration of the mortgage and the official documents needed, like the deed of purchase.
The fees and costs charged by the notary, which are fixed by French law, consist of two parts: firstly, the costs relating to the sale/purchase, or conveyance (“acte de vente”), which arise whether or not a mortgage is taken; and secondly, the specific cost of registering the mortgage on the property (“frais d’acte / frais d’hypothèque”)…
Concerning the notary’s fees, the conveyance costs will range from 6% to 8% of the purchase price and the cost of registering the mortgage on the property will range from 1% to 3% of the mortgage amount. In addition, you may have to pay VAT for properties under five years old where there has been no previous sale, but in this case the conveyance fees would be lower. You should check with the Notary the exact settlement amount and the method of payment.
 

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