The Notaire

The act of sale in France is conducted by a Notaire ( Notorary Public )

The big difference between British and French systems is that rather than buyer and seller using their own solicitors, the French notaire acts for the state, and thus is impartial.
The notaire is a public official and given the title of Maitre. The notaire is highly qualified in the French legal system - it takes seven years to qualify. A notaire is able to advise in specific areas of law, such as property law, family and corporate law. The State confers on the notaire powers to legalise property purchase agreements which cannot be enforced by any other means. The notaire is deemed to be a Public Official and provides security to the contracts he supervises and is liable for his professional acts. A notaire is responsible for the conveyance, preparing the various documents, confirming the seller's title to the property, checking that there are no other mortgages on the property, etc.. The notaire also has indemnity assurance, which provides a financial guarantee to the client.

The purchaser is free to choose their own notaire, but can use the same notaire as the vendor. As notaire fees are fixed, using two notaires will not increase the total fees; the fees are split between the two notaires.

For a list of notaires throughout France and a search facility for those who speak English see the website notaires.fr