Because Avecoeur covers every aspect relating to property investment including property development, interior design and furnishing, property management, property selection advice and finance it means that we are in a unique position to be truly able to help the client from A to Z. Below you will find a summary of the new build buying process process you can expect to go through if you purchase and potentially then rent out a property through Avecoeur:
- Consultation, search and selection: When we receive your enquiry we will attempt to find out a little about your investment and lifestyle goals along with your specific property requirements. This way you won’t just be bombarded with properties which may well be unsuitable, but instead receive thought through suggestions tailored to you. We are on hand to answer any questions you may have about the properties available or the regions of interest and of course provide rental, mortgage and cash-flow simulations where requested. Also due to our in depth knowledge of the rental markets we are able to tell you where the best yields and capital appreciation are likely to be rather than just suggesting the Cote d’Azur or Paris for example because they are the most well-known.
- Finance approval: One of the first things we do after the initial consultation is to find out if you require a mortgage or not. It is crucial that you are pre-approved by a bank or mortgage broker like us before you spend many hours and possibly days on viewing trips without any knowledge of how much you will actually qualify to borrow. Pure Buy to Let mortgages like those found in the UK where the mortgage is mostly based on the rental income of the property do not exist in France. French banks’ lending criteria are based almost entirely on the person’s income and not on the future rental of the property you wish to buy. Our finance department has created a mortgage application form that takes just 10 mins to complete and you can know the same day exactly how much you can borrow and at what interest rate.
- On site or online viewings: Once one or several properties have been selected a viewing trip can be arranged which will be either with an Avecoeur representative for our own developments and ones we represent or with the developer. Alternatively, since most of the time the new developments we sell are off-plan so there will be no property to walk around, we can arrange online viewings of the property/building site and talk you through it and show you the surroundings and views etc. In addition the use of google maps, street view and google earth can often provide such a vast amount of information that purchasing a new development through purely online viewings is a perfectly safe option if you can’t get over to the location yourself.
- Purchase advice: Finding the right property is just one part of the process but it is important then to examine which purchase structure suits you best. Much of the time a standard reservation contract will suffice, however to reduce the amount of tax you will pay another purchase structure may suit you better such as buying using the Tontine arrangement or setting up a French company such as an SCI or SARL particularly when you want to be able to give shares of the property to various family members and reduce any inheritance tax. We will listen to your financial goals here and liaise with the notaire so that they can provide some clear options for you.
- Full administration and coordination: There will be a fair bit of paperwork to read through and sign for your French property purchase and Avecoeur will handle all the paperwork for you and explain what you are signing and how to do it. In addition we will liaise with the various parties involved such as the developer (if not us directly), the notaire, the bank etc to ensure the sales process runs as smoothly as possible.
- Property rental management set up: Should you wish to earn a rental income from your holiday home when you are not there or if you are purchasing purely as a rental investment then we can offer you our rental management service. The details of this service are indicated in the property owners section of our services list. Apart from the rental income and full property management you will also be able to claim back the VAT included in your property price which is a huge saving.
- Furnishing, utilities connection and snagging list: Whether you wish to rent your property out through Avecoeur or you simply don’t have the time it takes to connect the utilities, choose and install a kitchen, furniture & to decorate then our furnishings and decoration service could be just what you need. Additionally, if you can’t be at the property to receive the keys and to do the snagging list with the developer then we can do this for you too.
- After sales service: Whether or not you sign up to our rental management service or not we will still be happy to field any questions you may have throughout your ownership of your property. You may receive some documents in French that you don’t understand or need an answer to a question and we are happy to help you through that at no extra charge.
