Capital Gains on French properties

If you are thinking of selling your French property, you might wonder if you are liable for Capital Gains (impôt sur la plus-value).

If your house in France is your main place of residence, you will be exempt from capital gains.

However, if you are not a French resident, you will be liable unless you have owned your property for over 15 years.

Some building work may be deducted from Capital Gains (extension, conservatory, etc) but you need to be able to prove the work has been carried out by supplying your local notaire with invoices from registered builders.

Small improvement jobs like fitting a new bathroom or kitchen can not be deducted.

Check with your notaire before putting your house on the market. He or she will be able to tell you if you are liable for capital gains or not. If you are, he or she will keep the tax amount from the sale proceeds and pass it on to the tax office!

Property surveys in France

When you buy a property in France you need to be aware that you buy it as seen. The vendor has to provide the seller (and the notaire) with reports identifying the presence of asbestos (lutte contre le saturnisme), lead in paint (amiante) and the presence of termites and parasites. New reports include septic tanks (raccordement au réseau d’assainissement), electrical safety (état de l’installation intérieure électrique) and energy consumption in the house (diagnostic de performance énergétique).

All these reports are carried out by specialist companies and are – of course – written in French. It is very important to read and understand them before signing any papers (compromis de vente).

Recently I had to interpret for an English couple who was buying a property in Brittany. Although the agent was English, he didn’t fully explain the septic tank report. When I translated at the notaire’s for them they found out the septic tank was in good working order but was not conforming to the new regulations. They had to think about having a new septic tank installed within a couple of years. A septic tank could be rather pricey (between 5,000 and 10,000 euros) depending on the ground, access, size of the plot, number of bedrooms, etc. If this couple had known about the septic tank issue beforehand, they would have probably asked the vendor to reduce the price. Unfortunately it was too late to negotiate anything as they were about to sign the final papers (acte de vente). Negotiations are done before signing any paper so before signing the compromis de vente.

When you buy a house in France, take your time. Seek advice from a translator if you don’t speak French. You could save a lot of money and stress!

See my post about ‘Why you should employ a translator / interpreter when buying a house in France’ here.

Shopping hours in France

I was in Dinan (Brittany) this morning to interpret at a notaire’s office for an English couple who was buying a property in France. Each time I walk through Dinan on a Monday I always find it surprising to see most shops shut!

Indeed apart from some bakeries, tobacconists, newsagents, post office, souvenir shops, tourism office, etc other shops (cloths, shoes, hairdressers, beauticians, florists, banks, insurance companies, etc) are usually closed on Monday mornings or all day Mondays.

Most banks in France are open from Tuesday to Friday 9 am to 12 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm and Saturday morning from 9 to 12.

Most hypermarkets and DIY shops in France are open from Monday to Saturday from 9 am to 8pm and remain open at lunchtime. Smaller supermarkets and DIY shops shut between 12.30 pm and 2pm.

Only a few supermarkets are open Sunday morning from 9 am to 12pm.

So if you are renting out a gite (self-catering accommodation) in France this summer, make sure you shop on arrival (gite rentals are usually from Saturday to Saturday)!

You can find some fresh fruit and vegetables from a local market. Around Dinan you will find a market on Sunday in Cancale or Betton (near Rennes).