Once you have your reservation contract, you can work with your preferred lender to put together your funding package. Once that is in place, you can move onto the next step of signing the contract in the presence of a notaire to complete your purchase.
Completing your purchase
Finding the best funding package for you
Once you have signed the reservation contract with Bouygues Immobilier, you can start looking for the best funding package. You must begin that process within 30 days, and you have 2 months in which to secure a loan offer. A Bouygues Immobilier adviser can guide you through this stage if you wish.
Important: make sure you select the best funding partner for you.
- Brokers. Brokers act on your behalf to search the market for the best funding package for your needs and circumstances. As a result, they can often negotiate very advantageous conditions for you. If you use an online broker, you can run illustrations based on a series of different scenarios (different repayment periods, for example).
- Banks. Consulting your bank may seem the most natural thing to do, but you should also check out what other banks have to offer. The benefit is direct dialogue with an adviser who can guide you and offer you a personally-tailored package. This may make it easier for you to negotiate the lowest possible interest rate, lower or even zero arrangement fees, favourable early repayment conditions, etc.
- LCL. This bank has entered into a partnership with Bouygues Immobilier. Under the terms of this agreement, buyers of Bouygues Immobilier homes receive a special package of conditions.
Putting together your funding application
The documents required for your loan application may differ from lender to lender. However, you will normally be asked to supply:
- your reservation contract
- evidence of your monthly income
- your tax returns for the two previous years
- evidence of your deposit
- a fiche familiale d’état civil or fiche individuelle d’état civil (both are French official documents accepted as evidence of identity)
Tax incentive schemes can be a key issue in funding
When estimating the amount you can borrow, don't forget that the rent you receive from your future tenants will cover part of your loan repayments. You can also make use of a tax incentive scheme to make your purchase even more profitable. This way, you can reduce the tax you pay over a minimum period of nine years. So in a given year, the amount you actually pay out will therefore be less than your loan repayments.
With Borloo, Robien and Scellier, you have the choice of 3 tax incentive schemes in 2009. Please don’t hesitate to use our advisory datasheets to help you decide which scheme would be best for you. You can also discuss your options directly with your Bouygues Immobilier adviser.
With Borloo, Robien and Scellier, you have the choice of 3 tax incentive schemes in 2009. Please don’t hesitate to use our advisory datasheets to help you decide which scheme would be best for you. You can also discuss your options directly with your Bouygues Immobilier adviser.
Comparing your funding offers
Comparing loan offers is about more than simply comparing interest rates. Look at the whole package, including:
- the total cost of the loan (interest, fees and insurance)
- the loan period
- insurance cover and cost
- bank charges
- TEG (Taux Effectif Global – the equivalent to APR). All lending institutions must inform you of this figure, which reflects the all-inclusive annual percentage rate (in addition to the loan interest rate, it also includes administration fees, security charge fees and insurance). This is the only reliable indicator for comparing loan offers.
At this stage, an experienced Bouygues Immobilier adviser will be able to help you compare the offers you receive.
When your loan application has been accepted, the lending institution will issue you with an offer. You must then wait for at least 10 days (the legal cooling-off period) before replying with your acceptance.
Remember to forward your offer to your Bouygues Immobilier adviser, because it is needed by the notaire to prepare the acte authentique de vente (deed of sale).
Interest-only loans
Interest-only loans are particularly well-suited to buy-to-let investment. It works like this: throughout the period of the loan, you pay back only the interest. This is a tax-advantageous way of doing things, because this interest is deductible from the taxable rentals generated by the property.
In the final month, you repay all the capital in a single lump from a savings account run in parallel with the loan contract.
In the final month, you repay all the capital in a single lump from a savings account run in parallel with the loan contract.
Signing the acte authentique (formal conveyance document)
Once everything is in place, a meeting is arranged with the notaire for the official signature of the deed of sale. Naturally, your Bouygues Immobilier adviser will be on hand to accompany you at this final stage of your purchase.
If, for any reason, you can't be there, your notaire can sign the contract on your behalf. All you need to do is to remember to complete the formalities required to delegate that responsibility under a proxy arrangement.
If, for any reason, you can't be there, your notaire can sign the contract on your behalf. All you need to do is to remember to complete the formalities required to delegate that responsibility under a proxy arrangement.
Paying for your property purchase
If you are buying off-plan
Under a Vente en l’État de Futur Achèvement (VEFA), the deed of sale specifies the stage payment schedule, which is based on milestones in the construction work. When you reserve your property, you will have paid a deposit equivalent to a maximum of 5% of the purchase price*. If you are buying an apartment, you will be asked to pay 30% more on completion of the foundations. Other payments will then follow as construction work progresses, but these may never exceed the following maxima:
- 70% at the “watertight shell” stage (roof in place and the building sealed to the elements)
- 95% on completion of the building
- The remaining balance is payable at the point of handover (art. R-261-14 CCH) **
At your request, the bank will release the necessary funds at each stage of completion and transfer them to the Bouygues Immobilier account.
* the amount of deposit will vary depending on the date on which the sale is completed. See art. R-261-28 CCH
** See art R-261-14 CCH)
If you are buying a completed property
You must pay the full amount of your purchase at the time the deed of sale is signed (less the 5% paid with the promesse de vente or preliminary sale agreement). In this case, there is only one release of funds by the bank or lending institution.
