A l'etude

I signed everything I could for the house before I left in early August, and charged French Help Services with signing the final contract for sale in November. The signings took me to an anonymous little building in grim little village along the Autoroute to the office of the Notaire.

The Notaire is the public official in France responsible for receiving all “actes” and contracts to which parties wish to confer the seal of authenticity. Notaires oversee settlements between husbands and wives, wills, inheritances and have a monopoly in matters related to the purchase of property, which prevents almost any subsequent litigation concerning property contracts.

The roughly 8,000 Notaires spread across France are under the authority of the Minister of Justice and, like lawyers in France, are referred to as “Maître,” roughly equivalent to “Esquire.” Notaire’s practice where they live, in offices called “Etudes,” but can oversee property transactions regardless of the location.

Notaires hold a rather grand position, and are viewed as the knowledgeable, impartial guardians of ethics and business morality in the transactions over which they preside. Notaires are directly responsible for the deeds they receive and for the sums of money, like deposits on homes, with which they are entrusted.

The Notaire does not work for either buyer or seller and, traditionally, there was only one per transaction. Today, things are more complicated and often both the buyer and seller each hire their own Notaire. My purchase was pretty simple and I had other, experienced outside counsel so I opted to pass on the additional expense of hiring my own Notaire.

“Our” Notaire, a middle-age and balding businessman in khaki trousers and a pastel striped shirt, wore his mantle of authority with a certain, self-deprecating charm. He welcomed us all, chatted with the sellers about the weather and asked me if I was happy with the home I’d found. Sitting in a upholstered chair before his carved wooden desk, I watched him draw out the purchase agreement to be signed and listened as he explained his role -- slowly for my benefit, stopping all along the way to see if I had questions. He explained each section of the contract, and everyone waited patiently while I read through every word of every paragraph on every page. I told him my father had been a lawyer and had taught me to never sign anything I had not completely read. He told me my father was wise. I felt no pressure, but a lot of friendly, slightly amused, support. I was relieved to find there was nothing I could not understand, and the few points on which I had questions were patiently answered. The experience was friendly, painless and over in about 90 minutes. Done.

The Notaires de France website is available in both French and English and offers a search facility to help you find a Notaires Office by entering in department number, you can also search for an English speaking Notaire.
http://www.notaires.fr