For Those of You Who Live in/Own Property in France....
 

I'm in the process of selling my house in St-Cirq. Of course I have a notaire, but he's not wildly communicative by either email or Skype. I need to furnish him with the acte d'achat, the original of which is inside the house in St-Cirq and therefore not accessible to me at the moment. So while the keys to the house are en route to the notaire for him to gain access to the house, how can I get a copy of the acte d'achat? I've emailed and left a message at the cabinet de notaire that I originally used to buy the house 20 years ago, but no response yet. I assume that that notaire would have it on file - yes? Would the mairie in St-Cirq have it? I doubt it, but who knows? I'm in a bit of a hurry to get this done, and back-and-forths with the French in the Dordogne are rather painfully slow. Any help appreciated. All I need to do is get my hands on the acte d'achat and I'm good to go.

Merci d'avance...

Go there!!

Well duh, Waldo. Except I can't at the moment. I have a consultancy with USAID that I have to complete for the next 6 weeks or so that requires me to be on the ground right here.

How long do you think that it will take for the keys to reach the present notaire? Unless you already have a potential buyer, I would think that the time for the mail to get there is insignificant in the overall scheme of things.

I do have a potential buyer, Michael, as of yesterday. The keys have been Fedexed to the notaire as of this morning, but I'm not sure he's going to run over to the house immediately (trying to reach him to confirm that today). I do have to act quickly on this for reasons related to my divorce settlement (the house in France is mine, but I have to pay out some $$ from the sale of it to my ex - not a huge deal, but I have to show up in court in 10 days to explain where in the process I am at the moment). It's a bit more complicated than that, of course - I'm not obligated to sell the house, but want to buy a smaller place anyway, so it makes sense.

For a transaction as large and important as selling or buying a house, how can you possibly trust someone to look after your interests, other than being there yourself. If you get burned, you will have no one but yourself to blame. I'm sure you don't have to be a rocket scientist to know that!

Waldo,

That is totally uncalled for. St. Cirq just asked a simple question and was certainly not looking (and I am sure has no need of) that sort of useless advice...

Other than the Notaire, St. Cirq, I don't think anyone else would have the acte on file. I 'll try to ask my friend who works at the Marie about it anyway.

- Kevin

And bad advice at that!

Who, other than someone whose function is to do this closing, would Waldo suggest handle these matters?

Normally the Notaire who handled the sale will have a copy of the Acte. I'd keep calling. With the holidays, offices haven't been well staffed, but there should be someone there. Also Notairs are particularly busy this week because 'one of the candidates' for the Presidential election is promising to make changes to succession laws/taxes, and people are rushing in to cover themselves before it happens. (This from a Sarlat Notaire who is handling an imminent sale)

no ideas, St. Cirq [unless you have an extremely helpful neighbour] but good luck with it anyway.

divorce and house selling/purchase are recognised as two of life's most stressful events, and you are combining at least 2 of them.

Waldo, apparently you have no clue about real estate matters in France. For the moment all I needed to know was whether an acte d'achat was a public record that would be available through the original notaire or on file at the mairie. I'm perfectly capable of executing a real estate transaction in France and know the proper channels for getting it done. There is absolutely no need for me to be there right now. We're not even close to closing. Don't bother commenting again, thank you.

Thanks, Kevin. I'm waiting to hear back from the original notaire, who I'm sure will be able to offer me the appropriate advice, but in the meantime if you find out something from your friend, I'm all ears.

Thanks, ann and Carlux. Not really combining divorce and house sale, as the divorce was years ago (just dealing with the last bit of fallout). I didn't know about the connection with imminent changes in the succession laws, but that would explain why I'm not getting much feedback from the notaire (in previous dealings, he's always gotten back to me quickly, but it's been a few years). Is it Philippe Laurent by chance?

I can't think of any bases you haven't covered. About 3 months after we closed, we got a huge packet from the notaire who handled our purchase. I'm assuming this is what is locked inside your house.

Hope he gets the keys and gets in the house tomorrow. Next Tuesday is a holiday and you can bet there's a possibility his office will "fait le pont" and not open until Wed.

Can he get started on other aspects of the compromis, at least schedule the diagnostics (tiques?) and meet with the buyers?

As you no doubt remember, things move at a different pace here.

Good luck!

Im not normally negative - but I thought this was a travel forum, not an advice board on the dispatching of property.

Yes, cajinjoe, I got the packet too, years ago (delivered in a straw market basket by a woman from the cabinet du notaire - I thought she was a neighbor bringing me eggs!). I'm not sure he'll get the keys tomorrow, though that's what Fedex promises, and I know Tuesday's a holiday - just keeping my fingers crossed. And yes, he's getting started on the rest of it - not meeting with the buyers right away, as first off they haven't even seen the property in person and they're here in the States at the moment - they're not even definite buyers, just very interested. And oh yes, I'm familiar with the pace over there - especially where I'm located.

Exciting time, though. I'm getting excited about going property hunting again over there! Can't stay off the immobilier websites!

It is a travel forum, stevelyon, which gives travelers or prospective travelers advice on travel related subjects of mutual interest. You can bet your boots that every one of us who would love to own vacation property in France are reading these exchanges with interest.

I know all about taking a shuttle or taxi from CDG, and how to use an ATM ---- I'm learning something new here!

The original notary who gave your acte d'achat at the time of purchase will have a copy and that is all you need.

Good luck StCyr! Hopefully you'll share your property hunting.

It will be even more complicated when I sell, because I bought my apartment through one notaire and the <i>combles</i> through a different one.

St Cirq, was anyone else your proxy or witness at the signing? If there was an immobilier there, they may still have a copy on file, if they represented either party?