Mortgage in France > Guide > Steps to buying > Prepare my home financing
How much will my French home cost?
Understand all the additional costs
related to your home purchase.
All the costs to consider
When buying a home in France, there are some additional costs to be considered.
These additional costs may be added to the amount borrowed, or they can be paid upfront.
- Notary fees: All the legal aspects of the house purchase are handled by a notary public. The notary is a state employee, in charge of transfer of ownership and collection of associated fees and taxes. You should expect to pay 6% to 8% of the purchase price, which include the notary's fees and taxes payable to the French state.
- Mortgage registry fees: To register your mortgage, you will be asked to pay about 0.10% on the price of the transaction.
- Mortgage insurance: When you take out a mortgage, you must take out insurance to cover the full amount of your loan over the loan term. This insurance covers the loan repayments in case of death or disability or in case of long-term incapacity due to accident or serious illness.
- Agency fees: If you buy through an estate agency, you will have to pay estate agency fees. This can be between 4 and 10% of the purchase price, plus VAT of 19.6%. However, fees can sometimes be split between the buyer and the seller.
Why a Euro mortgage?
In France, the currency is the Euro and all the properties are sold in Euro. So when buying in France, it makes sense to apply for a mortgage in Euros. You may also stand to benefit financially. Interest rates have historically been lower in the Euro zone than in the US and the UK. Besides, with a Euro mortgage, your loan is secured solely on the property you are purchasing. So you will not have to arrange for further equity release of your first home.
Next steps
Steps to financing
Steps to arranging your mortgage loan
Taking ownership
Learn useful words to know when buying in France