There are so many differences between buying a home in France and buying a home in the U.S. When we found the watchmaker's home, we began googling "how to buy a home in France" and found that there wasn't too much information available for potential home buyers.
While we took an alternative route to buying a home abroad (I'll get into that later), we ended up learning SO much along the way that would have been incredibly helpful to know during the first initial days of the buying adventure.
This page is to help other potential home buyers in France weave their way through all of the steps that you need to know in order to begin the process of buying abroad.
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Step 1: Wish List
So, you're finally ready to take the plunge into becoming a home owner in France? Everyone I have talked to who has purchased a home abroad seems to think that finally deciding to do it was the biggest step and none of the people who took the leap regret it. Actually, the only regret they all seem to consistently have is that they should have done it sooner and not worried themselves with the should I, shouldn't I thought process. So, here you are, you've decided you should! Congrats! This is where the real fun begins!
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Step 2: The Search Begins
Here in the U.S., most of the general population of homes for sale can be found on Zillow or Trulia. Even if they are homes from specific agencies (like Howard Hannah or Berkshire Hathaway) , most homes can be discovered on these two sites. In France, however, there are so, so many sites listing homes, which makes it a bit daunting, especially because most of the sites have completely different inventory.
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Step 3: Paying for the Home
Before you fall too far down the rabbit hole of searching for your picture perfect French dream home, you should start to consider finances. Depending on your country of origin or what your residency status will be once you've moved, you may go a completely different route to financing your home.