Published on : 09 May 20192 min reading time

Procedure and negotiation

Property rights in England are very different from property rights in Latin countries. If you want to acquire a property across the Channel, you will have to respect an acquisition procedure that differs slightly from the one we know in France. After having visited some goods then having selected the one that you want, you must formulate an offer of acquisition with the owner. As in France, this one is generally written and details the conditions of purchase (bank loan, deadlines, and particular conditions if necessary …). This step will allow you to enter into negotiations with the seller who can accept or refuse your offer.

Warning: unlike France, an offer made at the posted price does not oblige the seller to accept it and overbidding is common. To avoid falling into the trap of an endless negotiation, we can accompany you in this process.

Bank loan and surveyor

If you are using a bank loan, the lending institution may ask you for an expert price valuation of the property. Called “surveyor”, this estimate of the value of the property is the responsibility of the purchaser and is most often organized by the lending institution.

 Contract signature

Once these steps have been taken, if the seller and the buyer agree on the terms of the sale, they can proceed to the signing of the contract. Upon signing, you will be asked to pay 10% of the amount of the fixed acquisition price as down payment. Finally, it is once the balance paid that the registration of the act can take place. It takes an average of 8 weeks for all of these steps.

Warning: if you have never bought in England, you must anticipate the transactional, organizational and tax issues of your purchase. We support you in all of these research-related steps up to the signing of the definitive contract for the acquisition of your future property in London.