Notary fees for a property purchase Biarritz in the Basque Country

Alexandra ETASSE, in charge of the law firm's International Department, is a certified specialist of Private International Law Her dual training and professional experience, both in France and abroad, enables her to assist international clients, border residents, or clients residing outside of France, for the purchase, financing and estate planning. mortgages or financing, and any other subjects pertaining to legal and taxation aspects as regards real estate ownership. She also helps her clients find the most suitable way in which to acquire property in France and structure the financing and purchase of real estate in France. She mainly handles international cases, in particular for English-speaking clients or any other international clients, for the acquisition and sale of property in France, cross-border financing, loans carried out by foreign citizens, and any other issues pertaining to the legal and fiscal aspects of real estate. For all matters fitting into an international context and real estate transactions, or financing plans, the International Department of ETASSE et Associés law firm assists and advises its clients whether they be foreign, non-residents, border residents and expatriates or French people residing abroad. The International Department of ETASSE et Associes will assist you in any purchase or sale in France with an international aspect, be it that you are foreigners without a command of French, or French nationals abroad, or even in a cross-border situation. The International Department of ETASSE et Associes will take charge of drafting the compromis de vente (sales commitment) or promesse de vente (sales undertaking) and the final deed of sale while providing you with expert advice on Private International Law. We will give you guidance throughout your project so that it can be achieved with the greatest possible success. As soon as we receive the documents pertaining to your file, the International Department of ETASSE et Associes will carry out a comprehensive study in order to discuss with you all the questions that concern you regarding taxation (e.g.: advice on the ISF wealth tax and international taxation), real estate capital gains for non-residents, notary's fees, setting up financing in an international context, deciding on your matrimonial regime, estate planning, protection of the spouse and/or heirs. … Naturally, all the legal particularities occurring in your case will be analysed as will the specificities relating to any international considerations. The objective of Alexandra Etasse and of the International Department of ETASSE et Associes is to answer your questions, assist you in your purchase or sale project and to ensure complete legal certainty.

It is best for mixed couples (where one of the two spouses is of foreign nationality) or couples wishing to relocate or already living abroad, to formalise a marriage contract within which they shall choose the law applicable to their matrimonial regime. Failing this, in many cases, the nature of their matrimonial regime will remain uncertain. In general, the spouses will have the choice between the three following laws: -the law of the State of which one of the spouses is a national at the time of the act, - the law of the Sate within which one of the spouses has their habitual residence at the time of the act, - or the law of the first State on the territory of which one of the spouses will establish their new habitual residence once married. Apart from this choice of law, you need to anticipate any difficulties linked to the coexistence of several legal systems throughout the world so as to secure at best the effectiveness and recognition of your marriage contract abroad. To do so, feel free to contact Alexandra ETASSE, who specialises in International Law and heads the international department of ETASSE et Associés, and who will therefore be able to help and advise you in order to consider together the terms for the drafting of the marriage contract 

Marriage, a union and mutual commitment between two people, is considered as being international in the three following scenarios: the union of two French nationals living abroad, of two foreign nationals living in France, or two spouses of different nationalities. Though these situations are increasingly frequent, special attention however needs to be paid to the requirements for international marriages to be recognised in order to ensure the latter's full effectiveness and avoid any subsequent difficulties. Generally speaking, to be recognised, a marriage must comply with the local rules applicable in the location where the marriage was celebrated, as regards the formal requirements (ex: civil or religious marriage, etc.) and the personal rules applicable to the spouses (depending on their nationality), as regards substantive requirements (ex: age of majority). The situation of French nationals abroad and foreign nationals in France must thus be distinguished. * conditions for the recognition of marriages between French nationals abroad: Many formalities must imperatively be observed should French nationals marry abroad. Before marrying, the future spouses will need to request the French consulate of the country in which the marriage is to be celebrated to establish a "certificate of no impediment". Next, the spouses will need to "publish the banns". Finally, the marriage will imperatively need to be recorded in the French civil status registers. To do so, the spouses will need to contact the French Consulate or Embassy. *conditions for the recognition of marriages between foreign nationals in France: In this case, the local rules – i.e. the French rules – will apply. The marriage will thus be celebrated before a French Civil Registrar. If the two spouses share the same foreign nationality, their marriage may also sometimes be celebrated in front of their country's consular or diplomatic authorities. However, the substantive requirements under the law of each of the spouses' countries will need to be observed (ex: as regards the age of majority) and the spouses will need to make sure that their national laws do not impose a religious celebration as a condition for validity. If the foreign law imposes the latter requirement, it would then be in the spouses' best interest to carry out a religious marriage after the civil marriage in order to ensure the effectiveness of their union in their country of origin.

Generally, the preliminary agreement provides for approximately three months between the signing of the preliminary agreement and the signing of the deed of sale. During this period, the purchaser must obtain financing and more specifically their loan offer. The exact time limit for the purchaser to provide evidence of this loan offer is indicated in the preliminary agreement; in practice it is between 45 and 60 days. If the purchaser does not obtain a real estate loan, if he provides evidence that the loan has been refused and that the conditions laid down in the preliminary contract have been met, he can in principle be released from all obligations and recover his security deposit. If the purchaser obtains his loan, once the loan offer has been received the borrower will have a minimum of 11 days from receipt to accept it. 

Yes you can choose a notary anywhere in France to assist your in a property purchase. The purchaser and the seller can have different notaires, and  this will not incur any extra charges or fees

Even without a marriage contract, the spouses are necessarily subject to a matrimonial regime and their marriage entails financial consequences towards each other and third parties. In the absence of a marriage contract, the law implicitly chosen by the spouses in order to define their matrimonial regime must be determined. The rules in order to determine this "implicit choice" are different according to whether the spouses were married before or after 1 September 1992. *For spouses married after 1 September 1992 The provisions of the Hague Convention of 14 March 1978, which came into force on 1 September 1992 in France and several other countries, apply. The nature of this convention is "universal", i.e. it also applies to spouses who are nationals of third-party countries that did not sign the Convention, in order to determine their matrimonial regime in France. The principle is set out in article 4, paragraph 1, which provides that in the absence of a marriage contract prior to their union, the spouses are subject to the law of their first habitual country of residence once married. However several exceptions to this principle are provided so as to designate the spouses' common national law instead of the law of their first habitual country of residence. More specifically, these exceptions apply in the absence of a common habitual residence after marriage and with spouses of the same nationality. *For spouses married before 1 September 1992 For spouses married before 1 September 1992, the rules of French international law and case law apply; the latter adopt the principle of freedom of choice and consider that this choice translates by the selection of the spouses' first matrimonial place of residence. However, this matrimonial place of residence must have a certain stability. In general, a period of two years is needed in order to determine the matrimonial place of residence. However, case law specifies that the presumption in favour of the first matrimonial place of residence may be invalidated by other relevant evidence, depending in particular on the behaviour of the spouses once married.