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More information about Shared Ownership - 1 More information about Shared Ownership - 2 More information about Shared Ownership - 3 (this page) Home page Buying a community property in France Your guide to apartments and developments Taken from Buying a Home in France by Survival Books : Survival Books: read before moving abroad In France, properties with common elements (whether a building, amenities or land) shared with other properties are owned outright through a system called 'co-ownership' (copropriété), similar to owning a condominium in the US, but are referred to here as community properties to avoid confusion with part-ownership schemes such as timeshare. Community properties include apartments, townhouses, and detached homes on a private estate with communal areas and facilities. Almost all French properties that are part of a development are owned en copropriété. In general, the only properties that aren't community properties are detached houses on individual plots in public streets or on rural land. Under the system of copropriété, owners of community properties own not only their homes (parties privatives) but also a share (quote-part or tantième) of the common elements (parties communes) of a building or development, including foyers, hallways, lifts, patios, gardens, roads, and leisure and sports facilities, according to the size or value of your property. Some 45 per cent of the French population lives in apartments in cities and towns. Many modern community developments are located near coastal or mountain resorts and they may offer a wide range of communal facilities, including a golf course, swimming pools, tennis and squash courts, a gymnasium or fitness club, and a restaurant. Most also have landscaped gardens, high security and a full-time caretaker (gardien/gardienne), and some even have their own 'village' and shops. At the other extreme, some developments consist merely of numerous cramped, tiny studio apartments. Note that community developments planned as holiday homes may not be attractive as permanent homes. Other advantages and disadvantages of community properties are listed below. Further information about community properties can be obtained from the Association des Responsables de Copropriété (ARC), 29 rue Joseph-Python, 75020 Paris (01 40 30 12 82, : www.unarc.asso.fr ). Advantages The advantages of owning a community property may include the following: * Increased security. * Lower property taxes than detached homes. * A range of community sports and leisure facilities. * Community living with lots of social contacts and the companionship of close neighbours. * No garden, lawn or pool maintenance. * Fewer of the responsibilities of individual home ownership. Community properties are also often in locations where owning a single-family home would be prohibitively expensive such as. a beach-front or town centre. Disadvantages The disadvantages of community properties may include the following: * Restrictive rules and regulations. * Excessively high community fees (owners may have no control over increases). * A confining living and social environment and lack of privacy. * Noisy neighbours (particularly if neighbouring apartments are rented to holidaymakers). * Limited living and storage space. * Expensive covered or secure parking. * Acrimonious owners' meetings, where management and factions may try to push through unpopular proposals. Note also that communal facilities in a large development may be inundated during peak periods; for example, a large swimming pool won't look so big when 100 people are using it, and getting a game of tennis or using a fitness room may be difficult. Checks Before buying a copropriété property, it's wise to ask current owners about the community. For example: * Do they like living there? * What are the fees and restrictions? * Which is your parking space (if any)? * Are owners required to pay part of the taxe foncière as well as the taxe d'habitation? * How noisy are other residents? * Are the recreational facilities readily accessible? * Would they buy there again (why or why not)? * Is the community well managed? You may also wish to check on your prospective neighbours. Permanent residents should avoid buying in a development with a high percentage of rental units, ie: units that aren't owner-occupied. If you're planning to buy an apartment above the ground floor, you may wish to ensure that the building has an efficient lift. Note that upper floor apartments are both colder in winter and warmer in summer and may incur extra charges for the use of lifts. They do, however, offer more security than ground-floor apartments. Note that an apartment that has apartments above and below it will generally be more noisy than a ground or top floor apartment. Cost Prices vary considerably with the location, for example from around E50,000 for a studio or one-bedroom apartment in an average location to hundreds of thousands of euros for a luxury apartment in a prime location. Garages and parking spaces must often be purchased separately in developments, a lock-up garage usually costing between E10,000 and 150,000 euro and a parking space from 3,000 to 5,000 euro. If you're buying a resale property, check the price paid for similar properties in the same area or development in recent months, but bear in mind that the price you pay may have more to do with the seller's circumstances than the price fetched by other properties. Find out how many properties are for sale in a particular development; if there are many on offer, you should investigate why, as there could be management or structural problems. If you're still keen to buy, you can use any negative aspects to drive a hard bargain. Under the 'Carrez' law, the exact surface area (excluding cellars, garages, parking areas or anything less than 8m2) must be stated in the preliminary contract. Community fees Owners must pay service charges for the upkeep of communal areas and for communal services. Charges are calculated according to each owner's share of the development and not whether they're temporary or permanent residents. For example, 20 apartments of equal size in an apartment block would each pay 5 per cent of the community fees. General charges cover such services as caretaking, upkeep of the garden and surrounds, swimming pool maintenance and refuse collection. In addition to general charges, there may also be special charges for collective services and common equipment such as lifts, central heating and hot water, which may be divided according to the share of the utility allocated to each apartment. Check the level of general and special charges before buying an apartment. If you're buying a resale apartment, ask to see a copy of the service charges for previous years and the minutes of the last annual general meeting, as owners may be 'economical with the truth' when stating service charges, particularly if they're high. If you're buying a holiday apartment that will be vacant for long periods (particularly in winter), don't buy in an apartment block where heating and/or hot water charges are shared, or you will be subsidising your co-owners' heating and hot water. If necessary, owners can be assessed an additional amount to make up any shortfall of funds for maintenance or repairs. You should check the condition of the common areas (including all amenities) in an old development and whether any major maintenance or capital expense is planned for which you could be assessed. Beware of bargain apartments in buildings requiring a lot of maintenance work or refurbishment (note that properties in ski resorts usually require more maintenance than those in coastal areas). However, under French law, disclosure of impending expenditure must be made to prospective buyers before they sign a contract. Owners' meetings can become rather heated when finances are discussed, particularly when assessments are being made to finance capital expenditure. Fees vary considerably and can be high for luxury developments with a range of amenities such as a swimming pool and tennis courts, eg: E1,000 per year for a two-room apartment and double this for a four-room property. However, high fees aren't necessarily a negative point (assuming you can afford them), provided the community is well managed and maintained. The value of a community property depends to a large extent on how well the development is maintained and managed. Since January 2002, all copropriétaires have been required to pay service charges quarterly, the amount being adjusted at the end of the year when the annual accounts have been approved by the committee. Owners also have the right to make payments from a separate bank account. The managing agent of a copropriété should send the notary handling the sale a statement of the seller's account regarding the payment of community fees and any work in progress but not yet completed (for which owners are liable). The vendor should obtain a Certificat de l'Article 20 stating that he doesn't owe any money to the copropriété; otherwise the notary must withhold payment to cover any fees due. Management The management of a copropriété is regulated by French law, and the rules and regulations are contained in a document called the Règlement de Copropriété. If you don't understand it, you should have it explained or get it translated. All decisions relating to the management and upkeep of a community development are decided by a general committee (syndicat des copropriétaires) presided over by a manager (gérant/syndic). He is responsible for the management, efficient daily running and the apportioning of charges relating to the building, eg: insurance, repairs and maintenance. The manager bills individual owners for service charges and management fees. The committee must hold a meeting at least once a year to approve a budget, discuss other matters of importance such as capital expenditure and, if necessary, appoint a new manager. Owners must be given 15 days' notice by registered letter of the annual meeting or a special meeting and the opportunity to add items to the agenda no later than six days before the meeting. All decisions are made by a majority vote. Owners who are unable to attend may vote by proxy. Restrictions The rules and regulations (règlement de copropriété) governing a community development allow owners to run their community in accordance with the wishes of the majority, while at the same time safeguarding the rights of the minority. Restrictions usually include such things as noise levels, the keeping of pets, renting, exterior decoration and plants (eg: the placement of shrubs), rubbish disposal, the use of swimming pools and other recreational facilities, parking, business or professional use, and the hanging of laundry. Note that French law doesn't allow anything to be forbidden without good reason (for example, pets may be forbidden only if they cause a nuisance to other owners), so any such restrictions may be unenforceable. You should also check whether there are any rules regarding short or long-term rentals or leaving a property unoccupied for any length of time. If necessary, discuss any restrictions with residents. Garages and parking A garage or private parking space isn't usually included in the price when you buy a new apartment or townhouse in France, although secure parking is usually available at an additional cost, possibly in an underground garage. Modern detached homes usually have a basement (sous-sol) that can be used as a garage and cellar. Smaller homes usually have a single garage, while larger properties may have garaging for up to four cars. Parking isn't usually a problem when buying an old home in a rural area, although there may not be a purpose-built garage. When buying an apartment or townhouse in a new development, a lock-up garage usually costs an additional E10,000 or E15,000 and even a reserved parking space can cost E3,000 to E5,000. Note that the cost of a garage or parking space isn't usually recouped when selling, although it makes a property more attractive. The cost of parking is an important consideration when buying in a town or resort in France, particularly if you have a number of cars. It may be possible to rent a garage or parking space, although this can be prohibitively expensive in cities. Bear in mind that in a large development the nearest parking area may be some distance from your home. This may be an important factor, particularly if you aren't up to carrying heavy shopping hundreds of metres to your home and possibly up several flights of stairs. A lock-up garage is important in areas with a high incidence of car theft and theft from cars (eg: most cities and popular resorts) and is also useful to protect your car from climatic extremes such as ice, snow and intense heat. Taken from Buying a Home in France by Survival Books : Survival Books: read before moving abroad More information about Shared Ownership - 1 More information about Shared Ownership - 2 More information about Shared Ownership - 3 (this page) Home page There are over 2,000 features and articles on this site about French life and living in France. Do browse through our website and please use the advertising links, they help pay for the site. I do try to reply to all mail - Contact Me - most is about property or living in France. I publish comments in this newsletter which I believe are of interest and may help find answers for people wanting to come to France. I hope readers will go to the adverts which help support our overheads. |
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