Notary and agency fees, credit: a real estate purchase costs much more than the displayed price. A simple tip allows you to reduce the budget.
Purchasing real estate represents a significant investment. To the price of the house or apartment are added costs that are impossible to escape. You must, in fact, take into account the notary fees, or acquisition costs, which include the land registration tax (TPF), costs and disbursements, the notary’s remuneration, but also the costs linked to the financing of the property when you subscribe to a bank loan, and of course the fees of the real estate agency if the sale is not made directly with the owner. All these costs considerably increase the bill and must be estimated when considering a real estate purchase.
The amount of notary fees depends on several factors, including the type of property (new: 2 to 3% fees, old: 7 to 8% fees), the price of the property, its location, but also any specific services and the type of financing. It is possible to lower the bill a little by taking into account what we call “furnishing furniture”. Article 534 of the Civil Code defines “furnishing furniture” as “furniture intended for the use and decoration of apartments” (tapestries, beds, seats, mirrors, clocks, tables, porcelain and other objects of this nature), but also non-built-in household appliances (kitchen hood, oven, dishwasher, washing machine, refrigerator for example).
Thus, it is possible to ask the notary to subtract certain items of furniture from the sale amount. Notary fees will then be calculated on this sum, and not on the amount of the property. The seller must then provide an exhaustive list of these “furniture items”, with an estimate of their value. He will also have to provide invoices. Be careful though, don’t expect astronomical sums, the amount of the deduction is limited.
An adjustment by the tax administration is possible, which is why we rarely value more than 3 to 5% of the value of the property. And this must always be notified and justified in the deed of sale! However, it is worth discussing it with the notary to see if it is worth it or not.
