Buying a home collectively
Can a number of people buy a home together?
French homes may be purchased on an individual or on a collective basis. However, if you intend to buy a home collectively, all buyers will be asked to jointly apply for the mortgage. For purchases made by two people or more, it may be advantageous to buy the home through a Civil Real Estate Company (“Société Civile Immobilière”, or “SCI”). A notary or a specialised solicitor can set up the SCI and provide you with advice about its benefits and implications.
Establishing an SCI
An SCI can be described as a property-holding company. It enables two or more people to purchase a property together.
Creating an SCI provides the buyers with two main advantages as opposed to buying a property as separate individuals.
• It facilitates the transfer of a share of the property to someone else should one of the buyers wish to sell their interest. In doing so, the remaining parties who also purchased the property are not obliged to sell their shares if they do not want to.
• It can provide greater flexibility in the context of French inheritance laws.
To obtain further information about SCIs, please seek advice from your notary or a specialised lawyer.
For a list of notaries or specialised lawyers able to provide you with additional information on SCIs, please click here. |
An SCI has its advantages, but it can be costly. Fees to set one up can run to €1,500 or more. As a separate entity, the SCI has administrative and accounting obligations.
Creating an SCI does not necessarily provide any tax advantages for the property buyers. If you require additional advice on tax implications with regard to the creation of an SCI, we suggest that you contact an independant tax consultant, the French tax authorites or your notary.