Merci for my mortgage !
If youre keen to buy in France but worried you might not be able to get a mortgage there, heres some encouraging news.
Frances number one mortgage broker and a leading French bank last month announced that the opportunities for British buyers to get finance are as good as they were before the credit crunch began last autumn.
Mortgage broker CAFPI, which has an international arm based in Normandy, has seen no change in the types of mortgages it has available to foreign buyers. Similarly,bank Le Credit Lyonnais (LCL), which works with CAFPI, has very attractive mortgage opportunities available, including 100 per cent loan-to-value products. This contrasts dramatically with the UK, where the criteria for getting a mortgage have tightened and the choice of products shrunk considerably.
A quick browse on broker www.charcol.co.uk shows a lack of 100 per cent LTV mortgages in the UK, while fixed-rate mortgages typically require a 40 per cent deposit.In France, a 20 per cent deposit is typical, even for British buyers.
According to CAFPI and LCL, the stability in France is thanks to banks safer lending culture and the mindset of French people.
In France the ability to be able to make repayments each month is more important than the asset value of your property, said Kathleen Mackinnon-Helm, general manager at CAFPI International. For this reason fixed-rate mortgages are popular and people tend to stick with them for the whole term, typically 20 years or more,preferring not to change mortgage provider.
CAFPI helps all types of British buyers obtain a mortgage on their French property.
For borrowers with a 20 per cent deposit, LCL is currently offering loans with three- to 15-year terms at a fixed rate of 4.7 per cent, 16 to 20 years at 4.8 per cent, and 21 to 25 years at five per cent. ,