Latest information on property purchases and sales following the new confinement period in France

Confinement Autumn 2020

How does the latest confinement period affect your property search or sale?
As you know, France went into lockdown again yesterday and our offices are now closed to the public. However, we are still very much open for business, with all staff working and available on the usual contact numbers.

If you have an ongoing purchase or sale…
Please rest assured that we will continue to ensure it progresses smoothly. Some Notaires are continuing to receive clients, whilst others have returned to signings by “power of attorney”, either way the process should not see too much disruption. We have processed hundreds of sales “by proxy” this year.

We have been told by the FNAIM that, if necessary, you will be able to travel to the Notaire’s office for any signings and also that travel for moving into a property will be allowed.

For those travelling to France from within the EU you may be asked to either provide paperwork showing a “negative” test result (from within the last three days), or potentially could be tested upon entering France. You will also need to have a copy of the appropriate travel documentation (see link below).

If you are still looking…
Currently you will not be able to travel and visit properties in person. The silver lining here is that many of our properties have virtual tours, video, floor plans and additional photographs not shown on our website. Our agents are available by phone or video link to give you a virtual viewing and answer any detailed questions you may have. This worked particularly well during the previous lockdown, with hundreds of clients able to better define their search and organise viewings for when lockdown finished. We even had many sales agreed following virtual viewings.

If you have your house on the market with us…
We will continue to promote your property to both domestic and international buyers. Our agents are used to offering “virtual viewings” to clients and we are in contact with them by video conference, phone and email. In fact, during the last lockdown, visitor numbers to our websites soared and we saw record enquiry levels.

If you are thinking of putting your house on the market…
Now is an excellent time to start the process, as pent up demand starts to build. The FNAIM has informed us that our agents will be able to visit your property (with the appropriate travel documentation) and take on the mandate, provided the property is empty or temporarily vacated by yourselves. Please be aware that they would follow the strictest safety and hygiene measures and would talk you through these, on the phone, before the visit takes place.

Please note, rules and regulations are changing constantly and information is subject to change. We will endeavour to keep you informed throughout but for the latest information you can visit the official Government site here. This site also has links to the attestations needed to travel.