How can I make money from my French house?

Owning a property in France is not just a dream come true - it's also a sound financial investment.

You too can place adverts in your local newsagents, supermarket or local newspaper to rent out your property and actually finance your mortgage payments! Your dream french property can actually pay for itself!

To ensure a maximum return on your investment you must remember the maxim 'location, location, location' and buy accordingly. Buy in haste, repent at leisure.

With up to 32o days of sunshine a year, southern France is the ideal place for year round rentals with holidaymakers, golfers and long-term tenants looking for a little 'dolce vita' in our long winter months.

There are many factors which will determine the amount of rental income your property will generate. Some of these factors include:

• Location of the property
• Distance from the beach, golf course and airports
• Property size and number of bedrooms
• Local amenities (promimity to cafés, shops etc)

Making money from your property rather than leaving it standing empty does, however, entail some risks. These risks can be minimised by employing the services of a property management company who will provide reassurance and a number of important services which will add to your tenants' holiday experience, these include:

Maintenance and Repair

Housekeeping

Gardening

Airport Collection for tenants

Frequent site visits to put your mind at rest while you are away

So why not unlock the full potential of your home in the sun?

How Much do I pay the Notaire?

When you buy a property in France you need to cover not only the price of the property but also the costs involved in the buying process - estate agent's fees [See How Much do I pay the Estate Agent?]and Notaire's fees.

The conveyancing cost consists of notaire's fees, land registry fees and stamp duty - and all are payable to the notaire.

If you're buying property under construction or less than 5 years old, these charges would normally amount to between 2% and 4% of the purchase price.

If you're buying property over 5 years old these can amount to between 6% and 8% of the purchase price (on a sliding scale with higher priced properties attracting a lower overall percentage).

As well as these conveyancing costs there are costs for registering the bank's charge if you have arranged a loan from a French lender. This varies according to the amount of the loan, €1,659 for a loan of €150,000 for example.

The notaire's fees and the stamp duty are based on fixed national tarifs and charges should not vary between different notaires. However, if you are buying a property direct from the Notaire without passing through an estate agent, the notaire will charge a sales commission fee.

None of these fees can be included in the amount of the loan so you need to have some capital put to one side to cover these costs.

Who is the Notaire?

The French Notaire replaces the British solicitor in property transactions - but only one is necessary and he represents neither vendor nor buyer!

The Notaire is an independent public official who has the monopoly on conveyancing (cessation des biens immobiliers) and who collects the taxes due on a property transfer on behalf of the French government.

Unlike in the UK where the vendor and the buyer each have their own solicitor to look after their respective affairs, in France the same notaire usually acts for both parties. It is his duty to ensure that the transaction is valid, that there is legal proof of ownership (the seller's title) and there are no outstanding debts or claims of ownership on the property.

He conducts searches, prepares documents and is responsible for the collection of frais de timbre (stamp duty) and droits d'enregistrement (registration fees).

While most transactions use just the one notaire, you can, if you wish, instruct your own - this will not increase the the total fees, the same sum is then split between the two notaires.

As the buyer it is your duty to pay the frais the notaire (notaire's fees) [see How Much do I pay the Notaire?] and it is always advisable to make the initial deposit and subsequent balance payable to the Notaire not the estate agent.