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In short
French Finance helps UK and international buyers finance a property in France. We check your case against the criteria French lenders actually use, then introduce you to one of the specialists we work with, who takes it to lenders that accept non-residents. We do not lend money and we do not arrange or advise on loans ourselves.
Who are we?
French Finance is a London-based service for UK and international buyers of property in France. We are part of the OverseasLend group, which runs property finance sites for individual countries. Our sister sites Spanish Finance, Italian Finance and Portuguese Finance cover Spain, Italy and Portugal, each written for its own country’s rules.
Why does French Finance exist?
Because buying in France with a mortgage is harder from abroad than most people expect. Mortgages on property abroad fall outside UK mortgage regulation, and many UK mortgage networks will not arrange them, so most high street brokers cannot help.
French lending also works differently. All your repayments, borrower insurance and any mortgage you already have included, must stay within 35% of your income. Terms normally stop at 25 years, lenders care a great deal about age, and a legal ceiling on the all-in rate, the taux d’usure, can rule a loan out. The purchase itself runs through a notaire with its own contracts and deadlines. Our guide for non-residents sets out the rules in full.
Source: HCSF measure on home lending, in force since 1 January 2022.
How do we work?
We start by prequalifying you. That means checking your deposit, income, existing commitments, age and the property against the criteria the lenders we work with actually use. Those lenders usually want a deposit of around 30%, a loan of at least about €200,000, a solid income and a loan repaid by about age 70. Prequalifying first means neither you nor your estate agent spends time on a purchase that cannot be financed.
If your case fits, and you agree, we introduce you to one of the specialists we work with, who sources the lender and works with you through the compromis and application to a firm loan offer. Some lenders can issue a written decision in principle once they have assessed your documents.
Our how it works page sets out each step.
What will we do and what will we not do?
We will:
- explain the French rules and costs in plain English, with dated and sourced figures
- tell you honestly if your case is unlikely to fit what lenders want
- introduce you to one of the specialists we work with once you have agreed to it
- point you to the leading, reputable currency transfer providers we work with if you need to move money to euros
We will not:
- lend money, or arrange or advise on a loan ourselves
- present a market average as a rate you will be offered
- handle or hold your money at any stage
- give tax or legal advice, which you should take from a qualified adviser
How do we write our guides?
Every figure on this site carries the date it applies from and its source, and our calculators read their figures from the same dated table. We do not publish best-buy rate tables, because nobody can be offered an average. We write in plain English, and when a French term matters we give it in French, explain it once and link to our glossary. Where a figure is market practice rather than law, we say so.
Who operates French Finance?
French Finance is a trading name of Propertas Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 09828477, 2nd Floor, 105 Farringdon Road, London EC1R 3BU. Propertas Ltd is not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Mortgages on property outside the UK are not currently covered by UK mortgage regulation.
You can email us at this address or call 020 7566 0044.
Full details, including who we work with and how we are paid, are on our regulatory information page.
Which languages do we work in?
We work in English with buyers. With estate agents in France we work in English or French, and we have a page for estate agents in English and une page en français.