Buying a property in France is not complicated but it is different. Most estate agents in the South of France are familiar in dealing with foreigners and will make a great effort to explain everything to a buyer. A few, however, see a foreign buyer as a chance to sell an over-priced or defective property. See the Problems section for more details.

It is easy to find yourself committed to buying before you are quite ready thanks to a contract called a "compromis". In France signing a compromis commits you to buying a property and if you decide later not to buy, you can end up out of pocket. See more information in the Compromis section.

The South of France is the land of secondary residences. Because of this many properties have been built on a limited budget and maintenance may have been neglected for much of the year. Consequently, these properties can have some very undesirable features. See the 2nd residences section.

Once you have made the decision to buy something take a look in our Extend It section in order to avoid some of the pitfalls when you develop your property.