From 17th February to 4th March 2012.  Don’t miss it!

Nice is celebrating with colourful parades (including the flower parades on the Promenade des Anglais), musicians and dancers… Lots of fun and entertainement.

Snowed over ½ metre on Thursday night in Bourg St Maurice and carried on throughout Friday. Excellent snow conditions for powder hounds!

1. Family matters:  Dealing with pre-nuptial agreements, wills, divorce settlements, and probate.

2. Real estate is a major part of a notaire’s work, and covers valuation, negotiation, draft of pre-sale agreements and of deeds of sale.

3. Business /corporate matters:  To advise clients on the way to set up their French company (SCI or SARL) in connection with their second home purchase

Listed properties are properties of special architectural and historic interest and as such are subject to a conservation order – Monument Historique: MH; or may be registered on the more impressive ISMH Inventaire Supplémentaire des Monuments Historiques: ISMH list.

Please note that official approval is required in order to carry out any works to a Listed Property. It is usually recommended to use the services of an architect to put forward any modifications.

We had a great show this weekend and were delighted to see so many of you. We hope you enjoyed the food and wine on offer, we sure did!!!  Hopefully we will be able to help you find the property of your dream.

 Date: From 13th to 15^th January 2012

Where: Earl court: London

Don’t miss it : http://www.thefranceshow.com/

Have you looked at our Facebook page if not click here

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Latitudes-French-Homes-For-Sale/174655942583242

Whilst in many areas of the world banks are experiencing difficulty in meeting the requirements of potential lenders as a result of the tightening money markets in response to the so called “liquidity crisis” the French banks have not at this time had to pull back there lending as far as first feared.

Loan to value

The maximum loan to value available today is 85-80% of the purchase price inclusive of estate agents fee excluding notary fees (PP&A).

The loan size is subject to valuation of the property to ensure it offers adequate security.

Interest rates

At the highest end of the loan to value 85% of PP&A the interest rates on offer are considerably higher than those at 80% of PP&A.

Typical variable            Typical fixed

85%     4.20%  (APR 4.8%)     4.55% (APR 5.1%)

80%     3.10%  (APR 3.40)      3.60% (APR 3.90%)*

A very slight improvement in rates is possible at lower loan to values.

Products

The payment option range in France is considerably more basic than that on offer in the UK. The products on offer are either pure repayment or interest only; occasionally a product can be arrange to start as an interest only becoming repayment after a pre agreed period (i.e. 5 years interest only followed by 15 years of repayment).

The interest rate calculation is again quite simplistic rates are either variable through out or fixed for periods of 3, 5, 7 years up to a maximum of the term of the borrowing.

Arrangement fee(s)

Arrangements fees are usually 1% of the mortgage raised, individual banks may apply a cap of 900 – 1500 €.

Life assurance

Life assurance remains compulsory with the majority of French banks.

Notes to the state of the mortgage market.

• This figure is an assessment of the total cost of borrowing and includes the provision for the interest, life assurance, bank arrangement fee and notaries fee for registering the mortgage.
• Your French home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a mortgage or other loan secured on it

The sterling equivalent of your liability under a foreign currency mortgage may be increased by exchange rate movements.

For a personalised mortgage illustration:  http://www.charleshamer.co.uk/calculator.aspx

Both the seller and buyer may choose their own notaire or they may choose to  use the same notaire. The choice is theirs.

If two notaires are instructed, the notary’s fees are paid by the purchaser and are shared between the seller’s notaire  and the buyer’s notaire’s