Buying in France

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[2574]

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Morning all,

We are pretty taken with a yacht currently lying in France and plan to have a punt at buying her. We've not purchased in France before and would be interested to know from anyone who has what the process is like and if there are any obvious mantraps to avoid. I've always thought that putting a bag of money in to a UK brokers hands is a little hair raising and that feeling is only magnified in France because I don't know the process/law over there.

I'm thinking of using a lawyer, either French or English, to make sure we get it right - has anybody else done this and therefore know a lawyer that has done a decent job?

Rob

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There was a thread about this not long ago - how to prove the yacht is the vendor's to sale, liens etc. Do a search. It is apparently not so hairraising. I hope not, as I shall be going down the same road soon!

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>
 
It is said, with some justification as far as I can tell, that buying in France is easier and safer than in this country. The brokers are efficient, often speak English (depending on the area) and are very willing to undertake all the necessary paperwork.

One potential snag is that in France the Bill of Sale for boats is virtually unheard of, and you may have to work hard to get the vendor to sign one. Because of French Sale of Goods and product liability legislation, the buyer has many more rights than in Britain so the legal back up of a Bill of Sale is not so important. For the same reason, they are less into condition surveys and may be a bit surprised if you want to bring someone over to prod and poke at their pride and joy.

All French boats are registered so if you base the boat in British waters with British registry, you will have to de-register it in France first. The broker will know about this and handle the paper work, but do make sure it is done. The French register will detail mortgages and debts and the broker should have done searches into this as well.

If you are worried about any of this, do employ a solicitor, but make sure it is one who has experience of this sort of thing because it is a bit specialised. Another easy solution is to employ a British broker with an international business to act for you. This may cost a bit - I don't know how much - but could be worth it for the peace of mind.



<hr width=100% size=1>JJ
 
Hi Robih,
We bought our present boat in France about 5 years ago. It is easier for
ownership to be checked as there is a sort of registration document
with the photograph of the owner(s). There is a lot of paperwork to fill
out but nothing that you need a solicitor for. The most difficult thing
was transferring the money. This took lots of phone calls and faxes.
Having a fax machine was useful for rapid document transfer. Having
someone who speaks good French is essential. Make sure that there
is an inventory of all equipment included. Somewhere in the process
the handheld VHF disappeared - it could have been someone from the
boatyard.

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Génial, Sybarite, merci! This helps a great deal.

<hr width=100% size=1>Adriatic links here: <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html>http://www.comoy.com/saillinks.html</A>
 
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