Hi everyone:

I haven't been particularly active on the message board for quite a while but there is something that this community might be able to help me with.

I'm currently researching buying property in France as well as how Leasebacks work. I'm particularly interested in the legal aspects of these transactions. I've been reading quite a bit of information online as well as a number of books that have been published on the topic. (FYI, no, I'm not in the market myself, rather I'm writing a paper for a course I'm taking.)

Is there anyone out there, someone who is not French, who has bought property in France, whether for their own use or as a vacation rental, and who would be willing to talk to me about the process? Any help would be appreciated. Feel free to respond to this thread or e-mail me. Thanks in advance.

Hi David, C'est moi! But is is a long story even though we bought a regular on-the-market for sale house.
Before I go further nothing I am addressing is about lease-buyback (except car rentals)--are you referring to the OLD FOLKS sale trick of selling the house at a discount with rights to live in it until they die?

The best guidance we got about the details was Hamshire's book LIVING AND WORKING IN FRANCE. We couldn't have done it without that and a friend Margaret who house-hunted with me and spoke the French language necessary to make it sensible.
There are catches in several places along the way and one, for the start, is that an owner can turn his house over to many agents and each agent sets his own price for the house (building in his commission). But let's say I just saw a house I loved and I tell the agent I want it. If he agrees to present it (and some don't you see) then papers are drawn up to apply to buy and if accepted a 20% deposit is normal. People are a bit loose about that and you can normally go home, make the arrangements and wire the funds. The paperwork goes through a Notaire (who is one of the rich people in town), a specialist in law who is not a lawyer, but do get legal advice, from someone who speaks perfect English.
A date is set to buy and then the rest of the money must be in the notaire's account before closing. You show up and sign the papers and it is yours. There is an additional approx. 10% you are going to pay on top of everything mostly for fees and to the notaire. The agent gets his check that day and from then on just ducks behind a tree when you walk by forever more-or like mine, moves to Spain.
Still, despite pages worth of glitches (like our deposit disappearing for months in the Bank de France) it is a do-able thing if you are willing to steel yourself.
I must say I have NEVERNEVER looked back--it is the happiest and smartest thing I have ever ever done!!!

Susan,

Thanks for your reply. That some very helpful information for me. I had a feeling you were out there :-). Hope you are well otherwise. Best,

Hi, David. You've already contacted me by e-mail and gotten my article on buying property for International Living, but now that I read your post, I'm curious what you mean by "leasebacks." Are you talking about selling/buying a property "à viager?" There's considerable risk in that. Stories are legion about people who entered into one of those arrangements and died before the house owners did.

Anyway, assuming that if you are seriously contemplating buying a French house you can read some French, the definitive information on all aspects of doing so can be found in the Guide du Logement series published by De Particulier à Particulier. I'm sure if you go to their website you'll be able to find it. I'd lend you mine, but they're more than 10 years old and probably out of date.
Good luck!

Thanks for your continued interest in helping me. No, I'm not going to be buying real estate in France -- remember, this is just for a research paper.

I haven't read much about leasebacks, but, from what I understand, you can arrange a deal with the Company whereby in return for granting them exclusive rights to rent your property as a vacation rental for a period of time (nine years, I believe) they help fund your purchase with a percentage of the vacation rental income. I might have it backwards because I haven't read that much about it, but it's some arrangement like that.

Thanks for the tip about De Particulier a Particulier. I'll check it out. Best,

I'm not familiar with that sort of arrangement, David. Another resource you might use, though, is the www.totalfrance.com website. It's for expatriates owning property in France, and I'd bet there are a few people there who would know about leasebacks.

Good luck!

David, I have read only one article about leasebacks in France and it was written by a British couple who were happy with the arrangement. Not many details provided. And, alas, I can't remember the URL where I read it. Would love to learn more.

Pick up a copy of France magazine. It's a UK publication. There is an ad in every issue for a development in Souillac (Dordogne) for a leaseback deal. Apparently, you put a down payment and own the unit, or certain weeks of the unit. But you lease back the unit to the developer for most of your ownership time, reserving a couple of weeks for yourself.

The developer rents out "your" unit for whatever the market will bear and gives you your guaranteed "lease" payment whether or not they rent the unit, or if they rent it for a very high sum. You are guaranteed income from the property, enough to offset some but not all of your costs. After X period of time the "lease" is over, and the developer may or may not offer to lease from you again.

That is about all I can tell from the ad.Good luck.

David, France magazine has a web site with a discussion forum (click here). There's another, better forum at the site of its sister magazine, Living France. You'll find a great many British owners of French property on that site. I'm sure you'll find much information there. (Click here for a link to that forum.)