1. Find the ideal property

Love at first sight will sometimes work out. Making up a list of your current - and future - needs, however, is a much safer way to go about things. Whether you decide to invest in new or pre-owned, put down on paper exactly what it is you want. Take into account the need for certain facilities and features: thermal and noise insulation, car parking, wine cellar, lift, quality of shared spaces etc.. Even if your purchase is as an investment, these features will serve as plus points when renting or, further down the line, selling it. And remember, you can always consult your property advisor or the local authorities about upcoming development projects.

 

2. Need professional advice?

Professional advice is essential whether you are buying new or pre-owned. You'll find your COGEDIM advisor able to give you precious help by analyzing your needs with you, exploring the possible resale options and guiding you towards the most appropriate solutions. Experience, professionalism, proven market knowledge and a genuine ability to listen are qualities that all our advisors possess.

If you are buying off plan, your advisor will also be able to guide you around the plans available for your future house or apartment, helping you to fully visualize your future home and giving you clear, professional advice in relation to the various sales plans.

COGEDIM provides its customers with precise, comprehensive documentation, enabling them to visualize both the layout of the property and its immediate surroundings. No nasty surprises or misleading illustrations: we make a point of only using pictures which are as close to reality as possible. Need proof? Visit any of our reference developments and ask your sales advisor to show you the sales pack prepared for it!

3. Financing your purchase

Before committing yourself, make an assessment of your income and the way it varies over time, in order to determine your ability to take on debt. In general, your repayments should not amount to more than 30% of your monthly revenue. When drawing up your budget, remember to take into account the purchase costs (notary, moving sosts, installation etc.). Various categories of loan are available for financing your purchase (fixed and variable rate, endowment loans..), with interest varying according to the amount you pay. Are you eligible for any of a range of special loans (zero-interest, 1% employer loan, end-of-term loan, etc.)? With the aid of simulation tools, COGEDIM will do everything it can to help you see how your purchase would be affected and your advisor will be able to identify the program or programs which best correspond to your needs and circumstances.

4. Sales contracts

Once you have identified your ideal property, you will be asked to sign a pre-contract. When buying pre-owned buildings in France, this is usually called a "Promesse de Vente" or "Compromis de Vente". When buying new, the contract is called a "Contrat de Réservation".

This contract commits you to buying the property in question. The law, nevertheless, gives you a 7-day cooling-off period in which you can change your mind, withdraw from your commitment and be entitled to the complete repayment of your deposit. Once this 7-day period has passed, the deposit will remain the property of the vendor unless they breach a clause in the contract, or should any conditional clause built into it be otherwise breached. This could happen, for example, if you have included a term in the contract which makes your purchase conditional on your ability to obtain a loan.

Purchases are always completed with the signature of the deed of sale ("acte authentique de vente"). At this point, legal and administrative formalities are settled through the notary. Before reaching this point, however, you will be required to take an option on the property by signing a "Promis" or "Compromis de vente", on a pre-owned building, or a preliminary contract or reservation contract when buying new.

In either case, it is the seller who commits to selling you the real estate by a date established in the "promesse", or to reserve for you an asset in a collective building or a house on an estate yet to be built.

5. Monitoring the construction of your property

When you buy off plan (known in France as "VEFA: Vente en l’Etat Futur d’achèvement"), it will often be the case that several months pass between the moment when you sign the preliminary contract and the moment you take delivery of your property. When you buy through COGEDIM, you regularly receive news on progress of the development and the completion of particular stages of construction. Whenever possible, the program head will write to the buyer to give an update on current status. Once the partitioning stage has been reached, buyers are invited to visit their future apartment in order to make an initial check that everything about it is consistent with what they agreed to. This is also the time to start planning any work sourced from external providers, such as kitchen or control system installers, joiners etc.

6. Instalments

Instalments are spread out over the course of the works. In all cases, the balance will only be requested upon delivery. Only once the agreed price has been paid in total does the buyer receive the keys.

STAGE OF COMPLETION	% AT EACH STAGE	CUMULATIVE TOTAL
Placing of deposit	5 %	5 %
Signing of deeds	29 %	34 %
Floor laid on ground floor	6 %	40 %
Floor laid on 3rd floor	10 %	50 %
Floor laid on 5th floor	10 %	60 %
Topping out	10 %	70 %
Start of partitioning	10 %	80 %
Start of painting work	10 %	90 %
Confirmation of completion of works	5 %	95 %
Delivery	5 %	100 %

7. Delivery and after-sales service.

With COGEDIM, you always have a dedicated point of contact responsible for the delivery of your property and the solving of any of those minor problems or imperfections that form part and parcel of the construction process. In general, this person will be introduced to you when you visit the site to see work in progress. They can be reached by phone or by e-mail to answer any questions or inquiries that buyers may have. Your representative is the person who will brief any company or workman who may be called in to add the final touch to your apartment and resolve any outstanding issues.

8. Warranties

Buying off plan is a very structured process and buyers are covered by three types of warranty against defects. Knowing them will allow you to buy in complete confidence:

Maintenance warranty:

This obliges the developer to repair any faults that may appear (whatever their nature or level of importance) that are pointed out to them during handover or during the first year following delivery.

Building warranty:

This applies during the two years following handover and covers all equipment, with the exception of household electrical appliances and furniture, which can be removed or replaced without damaging the property's structure. It would apply, for example, to roller blinds and sanitary fittings.

10-year warranty:

For a 10-year period following delivery, this covers any damage that may compromise the solidity of the real estate and any fittings forming an integral part of it, or which make these unfit for their intended use.

These guarantees are contained in an insurance contract, the terms of which are given to the purchaser with the keys to the property.

To find out more:
www.notaires.fr
www.anil.org