With about 5,000 offices, 7,500 notaires and 40,000 assistants, the notarial profession has representation all over France and has an effective monopoly. The Notaire is the public official responsible for receiving all the "actes" and contracts to which the parties wish to confer the seal of authenticity, to assure their date, to hold them in trust and to deliver authentic copies of them.
The deeds which a Notaire draws up, like judicial decisions, have a probative and binding force. He advises and informs on questions relating to private, family, business, fiscal, company and administrative law. In other words, he draws up and receives your consent to the contracts which concern your affairs.
He has the monopoly in matters relating to purchases, sales, exchanges, co-ownerships, land plots, leases, mortgages etc. He can form companies, organise the selling of businesses and prepare commercial leases, rural leases etc.
The Notaire helps in matters of property valuation and also in seeking an amicable solution to a disagreement between private individuals. He is rather grandly referred to as the impartial arbitrator of contracts and the adviser of people, firms and organisations. He guarantees the morality and the validity of contracts. He is directly responsible for the deeds he receives and for the sums of moneys with which he is entrusted. The Chambre des Notaires guarantees his services and is the only profession in France to do so.
On request he must inform you of his professional fees which are generally fixed by decree. He must provide you with an account statement and the cost of the deeds you have given him to draw up. He has to let you have a copy of the deeds which affect you.
You have to provide him with the necessary information, proof and documents to enable him to draw up a deed. Upon completion of the transaction he has an obligation to collect all taxes imposed and to pay them over to the relevant authorities. The Notaire is subject to professional secrecy in absolute terms and no person can release him from it. He has an obligation to inform parties of the extent of the responsibilities which they are undertaking and in choosing the legal form which is best suited in order to eliminate any subsequent legal or fiscal problems.
The Notaire he has an important role at every stage of the purchase process of French real estate and property; his intervention is not compulsory for the first stage [The compromise] but it is for the later stages as he has a monopoly over the preparation and signing and execution of the final deed.
The Notaire has the monopoly for preparing the final deed and for obtaining all relevant searches about the property. He has to check that each party has full capacity or the right either to sell the property or purchase it. He is responsible for all searches relating to the current title of the property and for checking that it does not reveal any easements or restrictions which could reduce the value of the property or affect its enjoyment. He will also check that no mortgage or charge exists over the property. If so he will do all that is necessary so that existing mortgages and charges are repaid on completion. He will also check the position with regard to planning and check that the searches do not reveal anything likely to reduce the value of the property. He will check that all rights of pre- emption have been waived. He will not be able to complete the purchase before the local authority has provided him with the relevant information
On the day of completion the Notaire has to read the deed through completely to both the vendor and purchaser and make any relevant amendments. He receives the money from the purchaser; instructs the estate agency to hand over the keys and pays the proceeds to the vendor and any other appropriate person such as lender or tax authority.
The Notaire is responsible for having the title deed registered at the Land Registry. He will keep the original deed indefinitely but will provide you with a copy of the title which has been registered at the Land Registry and proves your ownership of the property. This takes about two months after completion. You can however ask for a copy of the signed deed on the completion day.
Author Resource:-
Mark Russell is founder of Limousin Homes - The specialists in French real estate and property sales in the Limousin region of France. For more information visit the Limousin Homes website
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