Late Summer French Mortgage Tips

Late summer and early autumn is often the busiest time of the year for buyers of second homes in France committing to new purchases. Here we look at two key points to ensure your French property purchase remains on track!

Don’t Let Sterling Weakness Derail Your Plans

For many British buyers of second homes in France the weakening sterling exchange rate is having a real impact on the sterling cost of completing your purchase.

However many savvy buyers, who had been thinking of completing their purchase in cash are instead looking at the benefits of borrowing in Euros to reduce the sterling cost of buying in France. The idea is that by financing part of the purchase price with a flexible French mortgage the amount of sterling that needs to be transferred to France to complete the purchase is reduced. Borrowers then have the option to repay their French mortgage as an when the exchange rate moves back in their favour, thereby reducing the sterling cost of purchasing the French property.

Whilst there can be no guarantee over the future direction of exchange rates, French mortgage rates are at, or very near to historic lows, ensuring it has never been cheaper to take out a mortgage against a property in France.

Fast Track Your French Mortgage Application

As we’ve already acknowledged now is a very busy time of year for buyers of French properties committing to their purchase. Furthermore it coincides with the holiday season in France ensuring this busy period occurs at the same time as the French banks (amongst others!) running on skeleton staff. It is therefore not uncommon for the French mortgage process to take considerably longer than usual at this time of year, particularly when approaching the lenders directly.

However the French Entrée Mortgage service is pleased to offer a fast track service to help you avoid any delays. Due to our relationships with the French banks we are able to obtain a decision for you in as little as 48 hours from submission of your paperwork. This compares very favourably to the six week time period that can be quoted when approaching some of the French lenders directly.

If you need more information, or wish to discuss a specific project, please contact our FrenchEntrée mortgage consultants.