France: cross-border payments and remote closing

A buyer who lives abroad will ask the same questions again and again: when do I pay, how do I send the money, do I have to come, and what can go wrong. This briefing gives your team the sequence and the points that most often cost time in France. It is written for agencies and developers.

The sequence in one view

A buying guide describes the usual stages. After an offer is accepted, the buyer and seller sign a preliminary contract, the compromis de vente or a unilateral promise (promesse de vente). It is usually prepared by a notaire, though it can also be signed privately. Then comes the final deed, the acte de vente, signed before a notaire, with the balance paid at that point (see the buying-process guide on Your Overseas Home). Put the sequence in front of the buyer in the first week, with who does what.

The compromis and the ten-day cooling-off period

A legal guide for foreign buyers states that a compromis typically contains a cooling-off period of ten days under article L271-1 of the Code de la construction et de l'habitation, available only to a non-professional buyer acquiring a dwelling. During those ten days the buyer may withdraw without giving a reason and without penalty. The guide says the right cannot be waived and that the notaire must notify the buyer of it in the compromis (see the guide to buying property in France on Tees Law).

For a buyer abroad, two things go wrong. The first is that the ten days are counted from a notification that must reach the buyer, so a buyer who is travelling or whose address is wrong can lose days; agree how and where the notification will be delivered. The second is the deposit: the compromis fixes the amount and the conditions that release it, such as an unsuccessful mortgage application. We did not verify deposit amounts, so do not quote one; ask the notaire and put the conditions in writing in a language the buyer reads.

Costs buyers should hear from you

The guides we read put total transaction costs, meaning notaire fees, taxes and charges, at about 7 to 8 percent for existing properties and 2 to 3 percent for new builds. The Finance Law for 2025 allowed departments to raise the transfer-duty ceiling by 0.5 points to 5 percent of the price from 1 April 2025 until 30 April 2028; press reports say 27 departments did so from 1 April and 46 more from 1 May 2025 (see the report in The Local). An adviser page puts transfer duty on an existing property in 2026 at 5.80 to 6.40 percent, depending on the department's rate, and total costs at 7 to 8.5 percent (see the 2026 transfer-duty page). Because the rate depends on the department, ask the notaire for a written estimate before the buyer commits.

Moving money from abroad

Advice for your team to pass on:

• send the money from an account in the buyer's own name, in the currency the contract states
• have the evidence of the source of the funds ready before the first transfer, because the bank and the notaire will ask for it
• tell the buyer the cost of currency conversion, and that the conversion date can change the final amount
• do not accept payment from a third party unless the lawyer has documented who the payer is and why
• keep every transfer confirmation with the file
• ask the notaire how and by when the balance and costs must reach them before the deed

In practice the notaire's office handles the balance and the costs on the day of the deed. We have not verified the detailed procedure, so confirm it with the notaire.

Remote closing and powers of attorney

The French notaries' professional site says a notarial power of attorney can be signed remotely by videoconference with an electronic signature, under a decree of 20 December 2020 that added article 20-1 to the 1971 decree on notarial acts. The identity of the client must be certified by a reinforced authentication system, and the notary sends a statement of consent that each party signs electronically. The person who receives the power of attorney then signs the sale at the notary's office. The site says it is up to the notaire whether to allow the remote procedure (see the notaries' page on remote powers of attorney). A press summary adds that the power of attorney is the only authentic act for which remote signing has been made permanent. Check the current position with the notaire before telling a buyer that they need not travel.

A buyer who appoints a representative should choose someone they trust. The power of attorney should list the acts it covers, and the buyer should know what the representative may do with their money. Ask the notaire what the deed will require and whether the buyer's signature at a notary abroad or at a consulate would be accepted instead.

What to tell a remote buyer

• who will act for them in France, and what the power of attorney lets that person do
• that they have ten days to withdraw after the compromis, and how the notice will reach them
• when each payment is due and how it must be made
• which taxes and costs come on top of the price, and that the rate depends on the department
• that the notaire is the public official who prepares the deed, and that they may want their own adviser as well
• a realistic timetable, with the slow steps named: translations, apostilles, any mortgage and the notaire's own checks

For the checks you should run first, see our briefing on serving expat and cross-border buyers in France, and for the recent rule changes see what changed for foreign buyers in 2026.

Working with D.H. Realting

D.H. Realting is a trilingual (Russian, English, Polish) overseas-property platform. We introduce buyers, including expats and cross-border buyers, and support the process. Agencies that handle the deal locally and want to be introduced to such buyers can contact us through our partners page.

This briefing is informational only and is not legal, tax or investment advice. Facts were checked on 12 October 2026 from the sources named in the text; rules change, so confirm with a local lawyer before relying on any point.