FAQs

In general, interest rates here in France are typically 1-2% lower than in other countries like the UK. The gap is even wider with say the USA.

The French mortgage will be denominated in the same currency as where your property is located.

If you rent out the French property, the mortgage loan interest is tax-deductible against the rental income.

Your currency exchange risk is simply limited to the monthly mortgage payment, and not the overall mortgage amount borrowed.

You can lock in very low interest rates for the complete loan duration. No need ever to re-mortgage.

And finally, if having a € mortgage on your French property reduces its NET value below the level of 1 300 000€ you will avoid having to pay the annual French property wealth tax (known as ‘ IFI ‘ locally : impôt sur la fortune immobilière)

Most banks will lend up to 70% of the price including the Estate Agency Fees, with some lending up yo 85 %

Currently, all mortgages in France are client status-backed, meaning that the banks will look at your income and outgoings.

The main underwriting calculation across France is that the banks will allow you to spend up to a third of your gross monthly income to cover the cost of the new French mortgage : but this one-third amount must also include any existing monthly loan repayments you may have elsewhere (other mortgages, rent, car loans, personal loans etc etc).

If you already have some rental income from other properties, French banks will add a proportion of this to your monthly income calculation.

Let’s get you pre-approved right now : click here to quickly fill in our online form

The short answer is yes.

The long answer is that it depends in which country your company is incorporated and to which national tax authority you submit both your personal tax returns and the corporate trading accounts + tax returns.

Contact us to find out if the French banks will accept your business location.

Interest rates here in France/EuroZone are known to be very low and relatively stable.

The interest rates are generally 1-2% lower than UK interest rates for example.

The Euro Interbank Offered Rate (EURIBOR) is used as the primry base rate calculation and generally there will be a margin of anything form 0.5%-2% added to the EURIBOR-index base rate to determine the client’s own personalised interest rate.

More information is on our dedicated Interest rate page

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The very first thing to do is to verify that you are, in principle, financially ok to seek a mortgage from a French bank.

Click here to quickly fill in our online form.

Generally, the French bank process of receiving a formal mortgage offer can take anywhere from a few weeks to two/three months depending upon when you produce your financial documentation and how quickly we can achieve final approval from the banks.

Once you have decided on a French Euro mortgage, you will need to send us the required supporting documentation.

When the bank has a complete application file, they will send you a personalised mortgage illustration.

The definitive loan offer is made upon approval from the bank’s senior lending committee.

Upon receiving the offer, you must wait a minimum of 10 days before sending it back : this mandatory “cooling-off period” here in France is legally-binding and cannot be overturned.

After you have formally accepted and returned the mortgage offer, it will remain valid for up to eight months depending on the bank.

You must complete the purchase of your property during this period.

Generally speaking, French banks only lend on residential-type properties when lending to international clients who live overseas in another country.

French bankers tend to avoid financing business ventures for overseas client, as for obvious reasons, the client is not physically in the country to run the new business.

However, if the borrower is already a permanent resident in France and has been in the French income tax system for at least 3 years, then the application for a commercial mortgage would become easier.

Perhaps not if we are honest…

However, we get asked all the time if a client can borrow from a French bank if they are say of a certain nationality or live and work in a certain country.

The best thing to do here is check out this webpage first and then to contact us directly to verify your status.