Buying property in Nice as a non-resident

Your budget will very much determine what you should be looking for and where. Property in Nice sells quickly and so having the budget worked out before you start looking is the best thing you can do. There are two things you need to budget for: the purchase and the running costs.

When buying in France, all the state taxes, local taxes, and lawyer fees are bundled into one fixed cost called the “notaire fees” and this is paid for only by the buyer. Please use the Buying Cost calculator to see how much they are for your proposed budget. These fees are fixed by law and non-negotiable, no matter which notaire you use, and are the only addition to the purchase price.

A French mortgage can be attractive due to the relatively low interest rates. The loan amount is based purely on revenue. There is no equity release. The rule is that your mortgage repayment cannot exceed one third of your net income. This applies whether you are local or living abroad. The rate will vary slightly depending on duration and if it is a second home, as will the percentage of the purchase price that you can borrow. Please use the Buying Cost calculator to see how much you can borrow based on your declared income.

You do not need a French bank account to apply. I would recommend using a French mortgage broker as different banks have different rules for dealing with non-residents, with different minimum and maximum lending limits. The paperwork is also extensive and time consuming. The French banks do not issue legally binding agreements in principle but a good broker will give you an estimate with a high confidence level.

At this point, the only advisor you need is a good buyer's agent. The notaire, ownership structures and choosing your inheritance wishes, banks, tradespeople and everybody else can be decided after you have had an offer accepted for your new property.

A buyer's agent is free in Nice, and you will not have to pay any money up front or if they find you a property. There are some that do demand money like this but it is not normal practice. It is up to you if you choose to accept this. Standard practice is for the buyer and seller agents to split the sales commission. You can read more about how we work in About Us.

Armed with your budget and your dream wish-list, this is where you work with your advisor on turning that into a realistic project. Do not make the mistake of bookmarking a list of attractive looking apartments and planning to view them all. Location location location. Once you know where you want to be then we can find similar looking ones but inside of the limits of where you should be.

Each area has its own feel to it. Distance to the beach is one aspect but also the shops, restaurants, public transport, and the hub of the Old Town. Do you prefer hustle and bustle or quiet residential? Some areas are more likely to have apartments with outside space. Fine-tuning the important items on that wish list to match your budget will set you on the path to success.

There is no wrong way to do it. It is all about personal comfort and confidence. I have sold successfully both showing in person and via video call using WhatsApp or Google Meet. Usually once a buyer has done a first round of viewings in person they are then more comfortable using video after.

The advantage of viewing in person is that you can soak up some of the intangibles, or what people describe as the “vibe” or “aura” of the place. If you do not know Nice very well then even the walk to the building can give you a feeling for the neighbourhood. The disadvantage is that what you are viewing is a lottery of what is on the market that day.

The advantage of video is that you have a high chance to get the best bargain the moment it comes onto the market. If you do like it and have an offer accepted then you can still visit in person before signing the sales contract. It takes two to three weeks to get it ready for you to sign. The disadvantage is if you do not know Nice then you will not have a chance to get to know the surrounding area first. Some buyers like to walk the surrounding streets between viewing a property and putting in an offer.

There is no season, as such, but there are a couple of times to avoid. First is the whole of August. Many agencies close, owners go on holiday without leaving keys, and apartments are put onto Airbnb making viewings impossible. The second is Christmas, mid-December to mid-January, as nobody seems to want to list their property during this period. There is an element of randomness to each year but March to June and September to October seem to have the most activity in my experience.

With so many property portals with hundreds of properties, it can seem like a buffet. However, the number of quality properties sensibly priced in good areas is actually fairly low. The locals have an expression, “In Nice, everything sells”. And at the right price, it does very quickly.

The best thing to do is trust your buyer's agent, talk to them until you are sure they understand exactly what you want, and then book your flight and have a whole day of viewings lined up for you. However let us have some fun and talk about some of the general different client approaches I experience each day:

The Spontaneous – chance of success High – this buyer contacts me and tells me to simply line up some viewings and that they will know the moment they walk in that it is the right one. They may be new to Nice or have been visiting for many years. The place they are living in now they knew was the right one when they walked in, and they have the same feeling about this trip. And very often, this works!

The Planner – chance of success Low – this buyer has pre-selected a list of properties that they are going to come over and view in a month or two. They only want to view those properties. I usually recognise each of them and know a number are already under offer or sold. If this is pointed out then they insist they will not book in to do viewings without a complete itinerary sent in advance with property details for each. They end up viewing properties that have remained online because they are over-priced or have a hidden defect. Are you a Planner? To turn failure into success, maintain a top 5 set of properties. Two weeks before arrival, send them to your agent and insist you want viewings of properties “materially the same” as these but let them choose the final viewings. This can be a reasonable compromise.

The Obsessive – chance of success High – this buyer spends every evening poring over property websites. Bookmarking dozens of properties. Pasting descriptions into a translator trying to get more clues about each one. These buyers initially are the most likely to run up the wrong alley, making assumptions with faulty data. However after a long chat about properties and areas, it is like re-pointing a guided missile in the right direction. I have had some send me over 50 links and we have discussed the pros and cons of each and every one. However when they walk into a property they like… they make an offer on the spot. No fear about whether they have seen enough or missed one. In Nice, getting your offer in first is make or break in getting the good deals, and these buyers get the good ones.

The Meticulous – chance of success Low – this buyer worries about a list of small details that are important to them to the point of losing the bigger picture. Some of them the listing agent can offer an opinion but is unable to give a definitive answer. When will the common areas be repainted? How many renters compared to owners? Will I be able to buy a parking space nearby? Doing due diligence is an excellent thing to do but if you hesitate too long then another offer will get accepted. Are you a worrier? My advice is to write them all down and put them into two lists. The first is “Unknowables” which you have no control over, like whether residents will one day ban Airbnb in the building. The second is “Deal-breakers”, like if it must have a cellar. The unknowables you will just have to accept the risk. Send the deal-breakers to your agent so he can pre-filter those properties out for you.

Of course nobody really falls into one stereotype and the above is a bit of fun. I treat every buyer individually.

Your agent will advise you on whether the property is fairly priced or not. After a few viewings, most buyers get a pretty good feeling themselves. Some agents suggest an “offer 5% below” rule of thumb but it is really on a case-by-case basis. There are some important differences to how things are done in Nice and many other countries.

First: the price is the price. The list price is the maximum asking price and if you offer the list price then you automatically get the property with no more negotiation. If somebody else has put in an offer then you cannot go above the list price to secure the property. It is simply whoever offers the list price first. If multiple offers at asking price are received the same day then the owner will choose which one to accept. Obviously the more secure the financing is, the more attractive it becomes.

Second: there is no auctioning. An offer is presented to the owner and he will either accept, refuse, or make a counter-offer. If multiple offers are received then they will all be presented as they come. The agent will not go to two buyers and try and start a bidding war.

Negotiation can take a few hours to a few days depending on how many owners, their work schedule, and their time zone. Once an offer is accepted in writing then we move onto the compromis de vente.

If you have gotten this far then by now you should have already spoken to me and be confident about this part. However maybe you are too shy to call and that is alright. That is why I have put together this website. Start with the “Buying process” page and then explore the other guides too.

At this point you will want to choose a notaire, and with your agent go through the contract as well as all the building documents, AG meeting minutes, legal tests, and the other annexed documents. I can provide an English-speaking notaire for you to use who can also answer any questions, unlimited for free as their fees are covered in the transaction cost, as well as any other questions such as inheritance law or using company structures.

This can all be done remotely over video. You do not need to be in Nice to either review or sign the documents. The deposit can be sent directly to the notaire from abroad, or via a currency broker if you want to get a better exchange rate.

On the day of signing you get the keys. At this point, the job of a normal estate agent is done. Dealing with English-speaking buyers that usually live abroad, I know the value of a network of skills that they can then tap into. From a full renovation to managing Airbnb rentals, I am happy to help in any way I can with recommendations of teams I know have previous happy clients. It is an investment I am happy to make: the best publicity is word of mouth.