Absolutely everything you want to know about buying a house in France.

Here is chapter two....all the Bs. If you want a particular topic covered, please contact me.

B&B
You may well be interested in having some activity which brings you in an income from your new home in France. Offering Bed & Breakfast is a popular way of remaining active and helping to pay the bills. If this is one of your plans, then ensure that you buy a property that is suitable. The property should have sufficient bedrooms, preferably with en-suite bathrooms, to accommodate guests. It is also preferable that they are apart from your own accommodation, for privacy. B&B is less than 5 letting bedrooms ; above this figure you must abide by hotel regulations. The French for B&B is .

Carl’s tips :
The most successful B&Bs (as with gîtes) offer good quality accommodation, well furnished and with en-suite bathroom facilities and a healthy breakfast of fresh pastries, bread, jams, juices and coffee. Local fresh fruit and specialities would be a bonus and a swimming pool is very attractive for summer guests. Think of offering packed lunches for those who are touring the area, and if you like cooking, offering evening meals can be both pleasing for you and profitable. An information pack on the area and places to visit and dine out will please your guests. A warm welcome and good accommodation and fare will bring you valuable return trade. Gone are the days of cheaply furnished B&Bs with a shared bathroom down the hall. Today’s B&B clients are looking for good quality and are willing to pay well for it.

BAIL FERMIER See FARMING TENANCY


BALCONY
The addition of a balcony, deck or terrace to a property may well give you added pleasure and access to views. In a village property, this may often be the only way to have an outside area. The points to remember are: if it exists when you are buying the property, ensure that the necessary building permit was obtained for its building (ask notaire to check for building permit), if you are thinking of adding one, then make an application via your Mairie using the form. This is a declaration of works, a simplified planning application which will normally be answered by the Mairie within a month.

If you build one without permission (even a verbal agreement by the Maire is not be enough) you may find yourself in contravention of building regulations, or within the boundaries of an historic monument, and be asked to demolish it.

BANKS
The banking system in France is fairly straightforward, with a number of major players. The Credit Agricole is the largest, with the most branches and is often the only choice in rural areas. Other Banks include BNP Paribas, CLC, CIC, Banque Populaire, La Banque Postal (post office bank) and the Credit Agricole Britline in Caen, plus an increasing number of other financial institutions offering banking services. You do not need a bank in France in order to purchase your property, because you will be sending your funds directly to the notaire’s account via inter-bank transfer. You should know that all notaires use the same bank to hold your funds; the state bank called CDC , which is not a high street bank.

However, once you have bought a property, or if you are buying with a mortgage and so must have an account from which the monthly instalments are debited, you should open an account with a handy local branch. To do this you will normally need to go in person (your agent should help you) and present proof of your domicile (an electricity bill in your name at your home address for a non-resident account, a copy of the Attestation de Vente for a resident account) and your passport. Nowadays you may be asked for an income tax certificate to prove your residence outside of France. It will take about 30 minutes to open the account, and you will be sent your first cheque book within 3 weeks by registered post (after they have checked to see if you have a criminal record etc) and the pin code for your debit card (Eurocard) will be sent within seven days. You will normally be expected to go and pick up your card in person. You will also be given a number of RIBs ( some in your cheque book too). This is the , which details your account numbers and which you can give to anyone with whom you wish to set up a regular automatic bank payment (EDF, France Telecom etc)

Carl’s tips :
Allow at least five days for money to transfer into your account or that of the notaire. Keep a close eye on your monthly statements. Make arrangements for internet banking if you so wish.
Do not go overdrawn without a prior arrangement with your bank. If you write a cheque which is not covered, the bank will probably honour it, but charge you a hefty fee for doing so (around 70€) and they will slap your wrist heavily. If you do it again, you are likely to have your account closed and be forbidden to open one again.
The debit card is not a cheque guarantee card here, and you must only sign a cheque if you have the funds to cover it. You can use your debit card with its PIN code in France Telecom telephone boxes to make a call. Very handy if you don’t have a telephone card on you.
Regular automatic bank payments. It is advisable to set up a number of these, particularly if your property is your secondary residence. To do this, you will find an form, direct debiting mandate, attached to your first EDF (Électricité de France), GDF (Gas de France) or water company invoice. Fill out the details of your account, attach a RIB and return it to them (paying your first bill by cheque). You may also set up automatic payments with France Telecom, your insurance company, and anyone whose bills you need to pay regularly even when you are absent.

BANLIEU
This is the term for suburb of, or district of. In the case of Paris for example, there are several banlieux which are suburbs or dormitory towns for the city. The term banlieu is often associated in a pejorative sense with poor outer city suburbs.

BARN
If you are buying a rural property in France you are more than likely to become the owner of a barn , as most rural properties have been farms in the past. The barn was the working outbuilding of the farm, where animals were housed, hay stored and farm machinery parked. Most barns are built in stone with timber and tiled roof, measure between 80m2 and 600m2 plus and are no longer used for the purpose for which they were built. This is because the property you are buying is probably no longer a working farm, many farmers have stopped livestock activity and even livestock farmers have found these old buildings unsuitable and too small for today’s activities and have built large modern livestock sheds.

The traditional barn comes in many shapes, styles and sizes depending on the farming in the given area. In the South West for example, most are built in hard limestone with a tiled roof, are rectangular and are set at right angles to the house, and apart from it. In the Gers, the barn is often a huge extension under the roof to the rear of the house. The front gable end will have a large set of double doors to the left, allowing access for large farm machinery into the parking zone within, and to the right a smaller set of doors leading into the cow stables. The stables have a row of mangers to one side (between six and twelve is normal) at which were tied the cows during the cold winter months. Over the stables is the hay loft, from which hay was thrown down into the main area and then fed to the cows through serving hatches in the wall of each manger. Today, many of these barns serve no useful purpose apart from storing tractors/mowers and quite often a whole range of rusting, antique farm machinery.

So, the idea of converting a barn to workshops or stables (for which no planning is required unless the workshop is commercial) or to habitation (for which planning permission is required) comes to mind. In fact you may have been looking for a property with a barn, with precisely the idea of converting it to letting , or to a guest cottage for friends. Firstly you must ascertain whether the planning authorities will grant change of use to habitation for the barn. If you are in the process of buying a property with the objective of converting the barn, then you must ask your notaire to insert a suspensive clause in the purchase contract regarding obtaining such permission. The notaire will request a certificat d’urbanisme for change of use from agricultural to habitation. Once this is obtained (from the DDE) you are assured of being able to undertake your project. The CU is valid 18 months, renewable once only for 12 months provided the rules do not change, and you must put in detailed plans and an application for a building permit < permis de construire> within that period. My advice is to do it as soon as possible as rules change, and to get a registered local architect to do the plans and submit your application. In fact although this is obligatory for all buildings more than 170m2, use an architect even if the building is smaller as you will avoid many pitfalls. You should have your permit within two months. Do not start work until you have it, but get on with lining up the artisans and getting quotes.


Carl’s tips :
When putting in your plans, you must consider in advance just what you want to do. How many gîtes do you need, is this feasible within the barn you have, how big should each one be. Remember a mix of sizes is good for satisfying a variety of demands.
Speak with the letting agent you will be using as he will be able to advise on the best set up. Generally speaking I would opt for spacious, well equipped gîtes with good living room and en-suite bathrooms, heating and private terraces. A mix of one, two and three bedroom units will satisfy most demands and will allow you to do B&B in the smaller unit off season. Furnish your gîtes with good quality furniture and fittings.
A swimming pool is essential for good occupancy levels in the southern part of France.
Make sure that the gîtes have privacy, and that the distinction between gîte areas and your own private areas are clear.

BARRAQUE
This is a slang word for a large old house. It usually denotes a house in poor condition. You would not call a fine Maison de Maître a barraque unless it looked in very poor state.

BASTIDE
This is the word for a fortified village. There are many bastides in the South of France dating from medieval times when there were religious wars and also wars between England and France over territories. Most were built by the French to keep off invaders, but some were built by the English (Monpazier for example) to protect the territory they had gained i.e. Aquitaine. These villages are usually set up high on top of a hill, surrounded by ramparts and with a fort dominating the countryside below, although there are some valley and riverside bastides ( Aiguillon for example).

BERGERIE
Literally a sheep shed. A building where the shepherd would put his flock either at night or for the winter. These are usually small, rectangular stone barns with a low roof and open plan interior, suitable for a small flock of sheep. These buildings make ideal conversion projects for guest accommodation or artists studios (subject to planning permission).

BOLET
Quercy farmhouses were built in stone, with two rooms on the first floor (living/kitchen and bedroom) raised over a winemaking cellar. Stone stairs lead up the middle of the front of the house to a porch area with the front door. Over this was built a timber framed and flat terracotta tiled porch, with 3 steep pitches. This created the entrance, which is not only a distinctive and attractive architectural feature, but a practical way of protecting visitors and owners alike from rain and sun at the entrance door. Some areas also use the term balet.

BOUNDARIES
One of the most important subjects relating to the property you are buying.
All land is registered at the land registry , of the department. Land is divided into relatively small plots of homogenous nature (i.e. pasture, wood, house plot etc) each with a unique number ( although it is not uncommon to find one parcel N° with several different natures within, marked 1 a,b,c etc) . The boundaries of the plots make up your property. The cadastral plan of a property shows the various land plots that make up the whole property, and these are numbered and with defined limits. Each plot may represent a different type of land ; pré (pasture), friche (scrub) bois (wood) and sol (house plot). The cadastral plan is to scale, usually of 1/1250th or 1/2500th, so the length of each boundary and its relation to other plot boundaries can actually be measured off the plan, and its limits defined in relation to buildings, or geographical landmarks.

In rural areas, each property takes its name from the name of the land, or lieu dit (a place called). These names are often old French, whose meaning may have been lost. So, the full reference for a land plot, as shown in your contract, will be something like:

Commune de St Amans du Puy, section A, N° 157 Cap del Puy 1ha 20a 33ca

The translation of this is: In the commune of St Amans du Puy ( where the Mairie is) on Section A of its cadastre ( it may have several sections) plot N°157 is at lieu dit Cap del Puy and measures 1 hectare 20 ares and 33 centiares or 12 033 m2 in surface area.

When buying a property you should get the agent and owner to walk the boundaries with you to show you the various boundaries that define the property, and then ensure this matches what you see on the cadastral plan at the notaire’s office .The boundaries are rarely fenced, and if they are, do not rely on fences to define a boundary as they have often been installed with a more practical objective (eg. keeping sheep in) than actually marking the legal boundary. With a copy of the cadastral plan in hand, you should be able to identify clearly all your boundaries. If you have any doubts, ask for clarification and enrol the help of your notaire if doubts persist.

If you are buying a property where one or more of the plots is being divided before the sale, then a surveyor < géomètre> will be employed (either at vendor’s, buyer’s or shared cost) to survey the land and to instal new boundary markers which are securely embedded in the soil at appropriate points. The newly divided plots are given new cadastral numbers by the cadastre (takes 3 weeks) and you will be given a new cadastral plan by the notaire at the time of completion.

Carl’s tips :
Here are one or two interesting and helpful points about defining boundaries:

They usually follow the topography of the land .
Boundaries may be ditches, ancient farm tracks, streams, cliff edges, but rarely fences.
Different plots have different natures ; eg woods, pasture etc. An irregular shaped plot is often a wood, and a regular plot a pasture or arable land.
When a boundary is on a steep slope or even a cliff, then the top plot usually owns right down to the lowest edge of the slope or cliff. This is important to confirm when trees are growing there. Trees that block your view may only be cut down if they are yours or if the owner of the adjacent plot gives you permission.
If you bound a stream, then your boundary is in the middle of the stream. If you have plots both sides of the stream, then you own the section of stream that crosses your land. If you bound a river, then your boundary is often just a few metres into the river, but other rules may apply regarding rights of fishermen/council workers etc to walk along the banks. The general rules are of course subject to variations.
In urban environments you need to question the notaire carefully on the subject of party walls . Are they shared, or yours or the neighbours?
If you notice a plot or path without a number on the cadastral plan, this will usually belong to the commune (as in the case of a chemin rural, or farm track).
When you are signing the purchase contract, check off the numbers in the contract against the numbers on the cadastral plan (make sure there is a plan with the contract) and ensure this matches what you think you are buying. When there are many plot numbers, first count them and then check them off one by one against the plan.
Boundary disputes, once you are owner, should be discussed a) in front of the notaire and b) if necessary clarified by employing a géomètre to settle the issue officially.
When buying a plot with building permission, ensure that you get the buildable part clearly marked by géomètre so that you do not inadvertently build part of the house on a non-buildable part of the plot, or even on the neighbour’s plot.

BON DE VISITE
When you go to an estate agent in France, particularly a French agent used to dealing with his local clientele, you will be asked to sign a bon de visite before or after viewing properties. This bon de visite will show your name, the agent’s stamp and details of the properties, prices and location that you are visiting with him. This document serves several purposes:

First and foremost, this is proof that it is this particular agent who has shown you a specific property. In signing this document, you are promising that if you choose to buy this property; you will do it through this agent, to whom will be due the sale commission. NB If you do otherwise and buy the property through another agent or even directly with the owner, the agent with the signed bon de visite can legally claim his commission from you.
It serves as a clear record of what you have visited with this particular agent, and what the terms /prices are.
It serves the agent as a record vis a vis the vendor as to visits he has arranged.
The bon de visite is the French agent’s protection against the common French practice of getting to know properties via the agent and then trying to come to a private deal with the vendor, thus avoiding paying the agent’s commission.

The average local agent will always insist on you signing a bon de visite. This is normal practice and you should sign it in good faith.

BOURGEOISE
A is often a 19th century, classic looking town or village house, double fronted on two floors. A maison bourgeoise is usually large, symmetrical, with spacious high ceilinged rooms, laid out typically with corridor with two rooms right and two rooms left and the same layout upstairs. Garden to front and rear. Moulded plaster ceilings, marble fireplaces, decorative tiled floors. These houses were originally built by the bourgeoisie or upper middle classes and expressed their standing in the community.

See also Maison de Maître

BRICOLAGE
Do it yourself (DIY) in English. Today, DIY has taken hold in France, and the French are finally upgrading their houses themselves rather than paying handsomely for local artisans to do the job. Outlets such as Castorama, Bricomarché, Mr Bricolage offer a good choice of materials, good service and advice, delivery.

Carl’s tips :
Beware of cheap, own brand paint as you might find yourself painting a wall with something similar to milk. Buy the best you can afford.
Bricollé. This is a derogatory term for something that has been badly done. It doesn’t mean done by an amateur, it means bodged.

BOULANGERIE
Virtually 60 million French people live within walking distance of one. Yes, the ever present , or bakery, is to be found in every self respecting village and on every street corner in the urban environment. Even most supermarkets have their own in-house bakeries and these are ofetn very good.
Note : A sells bread made by a nearby boulangerie.

BUILDERS
For your renovation project in France, choose your builders strictly by recommendation (from your agent, Maire, friendly neighbour). Do not take pot luck with the Pages Jaunes (Yellow Pages). Take the same precautions you would do at home ; get recommendations, insist on seeing work done for other clients and speak to their customers.

Depending on the scale of work, you may choose a firm of general builders or individual artisans. For most renovations you will end up employing a handful of individual artisans for the different jobs involved ; electricians <électriciens>, plumbers , stone mason or builder , tiler < carreleur>, labourer , glazier , painter , roof builder , roof tiler , cabinet maker <ébeniste> door and window maker .

These are usually highly skilled individuals and the only problem you will encounter is to co-ordinate them so they work together, and in the right order. Do not leave this aspect to chance, or your project will be without end .

Carl’s tips :
For all work, only pay against invoices, showing the registered N° of the artisan, N°SIRET and the correct rate of TVA. For certain building/renovation works on old properties this is currently reduced to 5.5%. The rules are complicated…ask your builder.
Do not pay cash in hand.
Do not pay more than 10-30% deposit up front, and never pay the full amount until the work is completed to your satisfaction.
Do co-ordinate the different artisans with care.
Do employ a works supervisor if you are going to be absent, or if it is a complicated project.
For all major works, ensure you get a valid copy of the artisan’s certificate of insurance providing indemnity against faulty work for two years ( plumbing and smaller work) to ten years , for all major building works, pools, roofs, walls etc.

See also Insurance (Domages ouvrages)

BUILDING PERMIT
The Permis de Construire (PC). This detailed planning permission is required for all significant building projects.

Complete renovation of a ruin
Barn conversion
Extensions
Outbuildings of more than 20m2
Balconies
Large covered terraces
New houses

The Certificat d’Urbanisme (CU) of a property will specify for what sort of work a PC is necessary. The PC application is relatively complex and strictly regulated. This should be duly completed and deposited at your local Mairie. They will approve or otherwise the project and then send it to the town planners at the prefecture (DDE) for official approval. If they approve the project, they will deliver your PC within 2 months. If you have not completed the application correctly or omitted certain documents, then the toing and froing could cost you precious months.

Carl’s tips :
Do get the application completed and fully documented by a good builder, works supervisor or architect. They know what is required and their valuable knowledge will save you a refusal or two.
Do not start work until you have a positive PC. Do not do the work if the PC is refused. The DDE will order destruction of any works for which a PC is not obtained.
Do display the PC on site.
Don’t expect this to be free. You will pay a tax in several stages as works progress.
Most PCs have a life of 2 years plus 1 extra year if extended. You should have started and completed the works within this time. The DDE will ask you annually for a progress report. If the PC expires before the end of your project, do get it renewed.You should not interupt works for a period of longer than a year.
Do not accept a jovial ‘yes, get on with it’ from your friendly Maire. Always get a PC where required, for if not you may regret it later.