-
Phone scams, gardening, insurance claims: 5 French practical updates
Our roundup of recent practical articles you may have missed
-
Many older electrical installations in France have security faults
‘Electrical installations age, like cars, and you need to call an electrician to check them’, the national electrical safety observatory warns
-
House ruined by wood-rotting fungus - ‘French insurance will not pay’
Fungus can be swept in through windows and vents and lead to extensive damage. Insurers consider it homeowners’ fault
Cheaper mortgages make buying in France easier
Historically low interest rates and a buoyant housing market mean that there may genuinely never have been a better time to buy a property in France.
Lending rates in May fell below the historic lows of late 2016 – and experts say they do not expect any rises now before spring or summer 2020.
All terms combined, borrowers benefited in April from an average rate of 1.35% (compared to 1.39% in March), according to figures from the Observatoire Crédit Logement CSA, the leading body in this field. In detail, 15-year fixed loans average around 1.09%, 1.27% over 20 years, and 1.47% over 25 years.
Since the beginning of the year, banks have reduced their lending rates by an average of 0.15% – making new mortgages, or renegotiating existing loans, an attractive proposition.
Some institutions have reduced their rates for the second or third time since January, by as much as 0.3%. In most cases, banks in France can lend up to 80% of the purchase price of a property.
However, you must fulfil strict affordability criteria that take into account your debt as a percentage of your annual income – and how reliable that income is. Generally, the annual costs of servicing your total debt cannot exceed a third of your eligible earnings.
If your income is not stable, perhaps if self-employed, this requirement can be more strictly applied, although it might be relaxed if you are in a high-earning job that is relatively secure.
