Frequently asked questions

Yes. France places no restriction on foreign ownership of residential property: any nationality, resident or not, in your own name, with the same protections as a French buyer. Owning a home does not give a right to live in France; there is no French "golden visa" for property. More.

About 7.5 percent of the price for an existing apartment. Transfer duty in Paris is 6.32 percent for deeds signed between 1 April 2025 and 31 March 2028; the notaire's regulated fee and registry costs make up the rest. The 5.81 percent still quoted on many sites is the old rate. Breakdown, examples and calculator.

Three to four months from accepted offer to keys: a preliminary contract within a couple of weeks, a 10-day cooling-off period for the buyer, then about three months for the notaire's checks, the city's pre-emption right and your financing. The steps.

A notaire is a public legal officer who must handle every French property sale: title checks, taxes, escrow and registration. The notaire is neutral, but you may appoint your own at no extra cost, since the two notaires share one regulated fee. We recommend it, and can introduce English-speaking notaires.

No. Both the preliminary contract and the final deed can be signed by power of attorney. Most clients visit for the final selection and sign remotely.

Yes, on stricter terms than residents. All French mortgages are capped at a 35 percent debt-to-income ratio and 25 years. Non-residents should expect a larger deposit and full documentation of worldwide income. More.

Notarial averages for the prime arrondissements ran from about €10,000 to €14,000 per square metre in Q2 2026. Genuinely exceptional apartments — high floors, views, terraces, intact period features — sell well above, and prime agencies quote €18,000 to €25,000 and more for the best addresses. Prices by arrondissement.

An apartment in one of the cut-stone buildings erected during and after Baron Haussmann's rebuilding of Paris (1853–1870): high ceilings, herringbone parquet, marble fireplaces, mouldings and wrought-iron balconies. The complete guide.

Off-market means offered privately, without public advertising. No reliable figure exists for its share: the numbers published by agencies contradict one another. What is certain is that at the top of the market many owners prefer discretion, and access depends on relationships.

Only within tight limits. A main residence can be let to tourists for at most 90 nights a year since 1 January 2025. A second home cannot be let to tourists without a change-of-use authorisation, with fines of up to €100,000. Furnished leases of one to ten months (bail mobilité) are the legal alternative. More.

Annual property taxes, including a 60 percent Paris surcharge on second homes; the real-estate wealth tax (IFI) if your net French property exceeds €1.3 million; income tax on rent; and capital gains tax on sale, at 36.2 percent before allowances for most non-European residents and 26.5 percent for those affiliated to social security in the EU, EEA, Switzerland or the UK. Details and sources.

Yes. We prepare short selections of private residences for families, executives and houses in fashion, art and sport, for stays of a month or more and for the major dates of the Paris calendar. Every home we present is offered within the rules that apply to it.

We are a private property advisory in Paris. For buyers we define the brief, search listed and unlisted properties, visit, film and present a short selection, then coordinate the purchase. For owners we present a home discreetly to qualified buyers. We work with licensed agencies and with notaires under written agreements.

Under a written agreement signed before any work begins, which states who pays, how much and when. Nothing is charged for a first conversation. When we work alongside an agency, fees are shared under a written agreement between professionals, at no extra cost to you.

No. Owners who come to us want discretion, and buyers want a selection made for them rather than a catalogue. Tell us what you are looking for and we will tell you what exists.

English and French. Documents are summarised in plain English, and we can arrange sworn translations where the notaire requires them.