Buying or Selling a Renovated Property in France

Once a property has been renovated, and is sold one has to pay tax on the profits, in other words if you pay 100,000 Euros for a property and renovate it, and its now valued and sold at 250,000 Euros, then 150,000 Euros is taxable (we understand this is about 40% of profits). One can produce all receipts for the work done and we understand this is deductible from that amount. The Notaire deals with this paperwork. So be warned and keep every receipt and bill as one can be faced with a huge capital gains tax demand.

Another thing that has come to light, in the event of us selling our property, is that it was good that we had decided not to renovate the two barns into Gites, as once that had been done then we would have had to have paid 19.6% tax when selling, unless the property has been owned for over 5 years.

We had not heard of this before, and certainly no one had even suggested this, so anyone who has renovated and is in this position may we suggest you check with the Notary Office whether it would apply also to you. It could be a rather hefty sum to pay once sold.

When buying a French property which has been renovated one should make sure you have the 10 year artisan guarantees for electrics, plumbing, heating, etc. in case anything goes wrong, and also you could have problems trying to sell the property on in the future without these. All legitimate artisans French or English, registered under the French system will provide these guarantees. No French person will normally buy without them.

There is a new survey that has to be done by law now by the seller, which is done before signing, and this now takes into account the insulation factor of the property. The cost for this is depended upon the selling cost.

We find the French law very complicated and not easy to find things out until one is put in that position. We say check and double check as once you have signed the papers you cannot back out which is why we decided to go through a French Immobilier and not to try to sell it privately.

When considering buying a property do check out http://www.joinusinfrance.net/html/buying_in_france.html