When buying a French property, there is no escaping paying around 7% in ‘notaire fees’, but just what are these fees, and can you reduce them?

In fact, very little of the amount you pay is actually a ‘fee’. Most of the charge consists of tax, amounting to 5.09%, a sum which itself comprises a number of different taxes to the benefit of the local councils and central government. These taxes are collectively referred to as the droits d'enregistrement.

The taxes are not payable on a new property under 5 years old being sold for the first time, although you are liable for VAT at the rate of 19.6%, and a tax called the publicité foncière, at the rate of 0.7%.

Building land is charged at the normal rate of 5.09%, with no VAT applied.

The actual ‘fee’ (frais) for the notaire (French notary)is a scale rate that is determined by the government. The rate is a percentage of the purchase price, with different rates applying on a sliced basis. For the most part, the rate that applies is 0.825%.

So, for a property costing €225,000 the amount you will pay in actual ‘fees’ is around 1% of the purchase price. More precisely, you will pay €15,420 in total fees and charges, of which €2760 are the actual notaire fees.

Nevertheless, if you are taking a mortgage against the property, then there will be another 0.26% in notaire fees of the loan amount. There will also be lender fees.

In addition to the taxes and the fees, there are a number of small disbursements that are charged. The sums relate to formal enquiries and land registration.

As the taxes and fees are laid down by law it is not possible to negotiate with the notaire to reduce them. However, depending on your circumstances, it is possible to keep them to a minimum.

• If, as part of the transaction, you are meeting the cost of the estate agents fee then, within the legal documentation, the notaire is normally able to keep the fee outside of the purchase price of the property, so that it is not added to the total price for calculation of the taxes and fees.

• If you are buying property with furniture/effects in it, and you have agreed a separate price for these items, then you should ensure they are listed separately in the sale contract.

• Finally, if you are in a strong negotiating position, there is no reason why you cannot agree with the seller that the fees are shared. You will find few willing to do this, so you might be better off negotiating a reduction in the purchase price.

Whatever you do, remember that you can appoint your own notaire at no extra cost, as the fee is shared between the two notaires acting in the transaction. You can read more about appointing your own notaire in our guide to Buying Property in France.