We have been trying to buy a property in Brittany for the last 18 months our Notaire refuses to correspond with us he is less than helpful to our agent he has displayed his arrogance and contempt with every effort that we have made to bring this sale to a conclusion.
All what has happened to us is to numerous to mention and most people would find it hard to believe.
Our agent tells us that the notaire will only work on the sale file if he knows that we are going to visit him at his office, we have made 2 visits already this year one in March and the other on July 30th which was supposed to be the day that we signed the Acte de Vente, having made arrangements for the full amount to be paid into the notaires client account before leaving for Brittany.
On the day that we were to sign for the properties we were told by the notaire that the paperwork was incomplete and that we could not sign for the property, we were then ushered to the waiting room where we were coersed into signing a power of atourney which gave the notaires clerk the right to deal with the sale.
That was 2 months ago and now we are waiting for another piece of the transaction to be completed and so it goes on( a bit like this post).
Has anyone else had an experience similar to this and how was it resolved.
We are not to keen to make another visit 1. because they are expensive 2.we fear that if we did, another problem would crop up and our time would have been wasted.
What can we do to make this particular notaire,
who seems hell bent on making everyones life a misery,fullfil his obligation. Our agent tells us that our case is not an isolated one, but by far the worst.

Wow, sorry to read about your problems - truly awful! I don't know why they should be occurring and it all points to gross incompetence on behalf of the Notaire.

I bought a house in France last year and did not have a problem. The whole process should take between 2-3 months. The good thing about buying property in France is that (in theory) it is well regulated, with a clear procedure.

It makes me think that there are other problems behind the scenes, such as the seller's family, which the Notaire is dealing with but is not being professional in letting you or the agent know.

Do you have a solicitor of your own? I found this to be vital. They manage the whole operation for you and liaise with the Notaire and agent. There are a few legal firms in the UK with French speaking lawyers who will have dual qualifications i.e. they are both an English solicitor and French 'Avocat'.

I used a firm called John Howell who charged around £700 but it was well worth it. They even handle all your money transfers for you.

http://www.europelaw.com/

Secondly - you are entitled to your own Notaire. The percentage fee (around 7.5% of purchase price) which goes to the main Notaire can also be used to cover a second Notaire. They would have to split the fee between them. This may help if the first Notaire is being sloppy. I suppose it’s a bit late now though, given that your Notaire will already have received the deposit.

At the end of the day the Notaire is a government official who is really just there to handle the bureaucracy and collect any taxes on behalf of the French state. He has no interest either way regarding the seller or buyer.

If he is being incompetent I'm sure the French authorities would be interested to hear about it, especially if you have already transferred the balance of the money for the house into his account. Your solicitor (if you appoint one) can advise you on all this.

There’s no way you should have been coerced into granting power of attorney to anyone either. Even if the Notaire is on the fiddle, I can’t see how delaying the sale to this extent is going to benefit anyone.

Finally, if you look at the clauses in the compromise de vente there should be some opt outs in case things don’t happen when they should. These are to protect the buyer and seller. There may well be reference to timescale for the sale. In my case the seller wanted a quick sale and I was committed to completing in two months, as set out in the compromis. Had I not done so I would have lost my deposit. There may be a clause which protects you and enable you to pull out and reclaim your deposit should the sale not happen within a specific period.

This whole situation sounds very dodgy to me and my instinct would be to get out and start afresh. My agent tells me that French house price inflation is slowing down as more houses come on the market, so you wouldn’t be missing out too much.

Sorry I can’t be more help but I strongly suggest getting a UK based solicitor on the case as soon as possible.

Bon chance!

This is not on.
You are entitled to have your own notaire, which they dislike as it means splitting the fees.
I would advise you call this notaire and mention you are going to cancel your power of attorney (pouvoir) and have found another notaire who will represent your interests as he is not being helpful at all. Ask (I'd advise a written, registered letter, these always get a reply, indicate you are thinking of possible legal action and want a trace) for the reasons why the sale has not gone through. Usually it is 2 to 3 months MAX.
I'd also advise you to get an appointment with a different notaire if you don't get a sign of movement within a fortnight after your call.

Good luck.
PS : when did you sign the promesse de vente ?

"At the end of the day the Notaire is a government official who is really just there to handle the bureaucracy and collect any taxes on behalf of the French state. He has no interest either way regarding the seller or buyer."

This is the key thing to remember. They don't work for you and generally have no interest in protecting you from boundary issues, potential rights of way problems etc, etc.

My advice is to pull out of the sale (if you haven't signed the promis)and say you want to re-negotiate the price downwards.

Not possible cubota. At this stage a "promesse de vente" will have been signed for them to be at this stage.

However, check the said promesse for a deadline or a completion date, there may be one.
In which case, you can pull out, by "lettre recommandée avec accusé de réception".

Thank you all for your concern and your helpful
advice.
We have at last completed the purchase of the properties and in the end what realy swung it our way in the end was the fact that I let it be known through our french nieghbour to the community as a whole how we have been treated and I don't think that the notaire could bare the adverse publicity amongst his clients, and in particular that by holding up the sale he was denying a lady of 86 years from benefiting from the proceeds of the sale and the freedom of having some spare cash that could enhance her life.
There is more to all of this but you will have to wait for the book that I will write this year entitled "Buying a property in France the hard way".