Plenty of people dream of retiring in France, but few actually do it. According to French-American Immigration Attorney Daniel Tostado, however, “Retirees are in that perfect sweet spot. They’ve made their money. Now it’s time to profiter – to make the most of their time – with the wine and the cheese and the French lifestyle. France is a better country in which to spend money than to make money.”
Drawing on insights from Attorney Tostado and two Americans who retired in France, this article offers a “how-to” guide for crossing the pond in your golden years, including tips for navigating the visa process, health insurance, buying property, and more.
Step 1: Research where to live in France
The first step is to find a place to retire that aligns with your interests, tastes, and French language proficiency. Paris could suit big-city lovers with a basic level of French, whereas those looking for sunshine, cultural activities, and a large expat community might look to Nice. You may also wish to consider university cities such as Aix-en-Provence and Montpellier, which would appeal to retirees seeking smaller, but still lively cities in the South of France.
Keith Van Sickle, an American retiree who enjoys hiking and biking, decided to split his time between California and the village of St-Rémy-de-Provence, next to the Alpilles mountain range.
Photo credit: Keith Van Sickle
Another American retiree, Philip Ruskin, decided to relocate to Paris with his French wife, Daniele. Yet they chose a peaceful arrondissement—the 17th—due to its proximity to green spaces such as the Bois de Boulogne and Parc Monceau. “When we come back to the 17th from being in the 5th or the 6th [Paris’s city center], there’s a sigh, it’s calmer,” said Philip. They also appreciate the 17th’s closeness to a porte, or gate leading out of the city by car, to facilitate weekend getaways.
Photo credit: Alexis Cheney
Regardless of your location preference, it is crucial to test out living there for at least several months before relocating permanently.
Step 2: Decide on whether to rent or buy
If you decide to retire in France part-time, as Keith did, renting a property there could be more practical than buying one. “Most people we know who have bought a second home in France say that they seem to spend half their time fixing it,” Keith said. He noted that second homes for retirees can be burdensome if they seek to rent out their French pied-à-terre, and added that a second home can discourage owners from exploring other places of interest around the country, since they feel obliged to maximize time at their property. To make things easier, Keith and his wife rent a house in St-Rémy-de-Provence, which they subsidize by renting out their house in California. They also have a storage facility in St-Rémy, where they keep appliances and clothes to facilitate their yearly travel.
In contrast, since Philip and Daniele were set on relocating to Paris to be closer to Daniele’s family, they sold their NYC apartment and decided to buy one in Paris.
Step 3: Find a place to rent before you move
Regardless of whether you decide to rent or buy, it is easiest to search for properties to purchase when you are actually in France, so it is advisable to rent at the beginning to allow you to scope out the playing field on the ground. Plus, as part of your visa application (more on this below), you will need to show proof of housing in France for at least three months. Several websites can assist you with finding long-term rentals, such as Airbnb, Vrbo, PAP, Gens de Confiance, SeLoger and Bio Rentals. According to Keith, when renting for several months, it is advisable to start the process about six months in advance, to ensure that it will be available for the entire period, and to vet the proprietor and receive photos or videos of the unit. It is possible to negotiate the rental price by conducting market research and renting off-season.
Step 4: Obtain insurance
As part of the application for a long-stay visa, you should purchase private, international travel medical insurance for a minimum coverage of 30,000€ for the duration of time you intend to stay in France (aka the number of days you request for your visa). Attorney Tostado recommends the following affordable travel insurance companies: Europ Assistance for their Schengen Travel Plus Insurance ([email protected]), Mutuaide for their Universal Annual Insurance plan ([email protected]), and Mond-Assur’s Europe Access Extension Plan ([email protected]). Depending on age and medical history, these private insurance policies can cost approximately 1,000€ per year, with out-of-pocket expenses for routine exams such as a dental cleaning costing approximately 30€ per visit.
However, after three months of being in France, you are eligible to apply for public health insurance (by applying for the Carte Vitale), which costs a few thousand euros per year. “My American clients are blown away by the affordability and quality of healthcare in France,” said Attorney Tostado.
Step 5: Obtain your visa
Once you have secured a rental property and health insurance, you are ready to request your visa. If you are interested in spending more than 90 days out of a 180 day period in France, you should request a long-stay visa. You may apply for the visa on the France-Visas website. For retirees who wish to work remotely from France, the French Consulate and the Prefecture have confirmed in writing that they allow teleworking for those with a visitor status. Nonetheless, given the legal gray area of the teleworking question, you may wish to seek advice on your particular situation from an immigration attorney.
If you are interested in eventually planting both feet in France, then you should stay at least ten months out of the year in the country to be eligible to apply for a ten-year residency card. This card allows retirees to engage in commercial activity in France, such as renting a property out on Airbnb or teaching English.
Step 6: Purchase a home
Identify the “must-haves” versus the “nice-to-haves” in a property
If you dream of purchasing property in France, buckle your seatbelt and prepare for a long journey! According to Philip, the first step in the process is to define the “must-haves” versus “nice-to-haves” of your future home, so you can streamline your search.
Daniele and Philip sought an apartment in the Haussmannian style, typical of the 17th arrondissement. These apartment buildings typically are de taille humaine (i.e. relatively short), with large rooms, thick walls, high ceilings, and tall windows that let light stream in.
Other bells and whistles to consider include a balcony, elevator, triple-glazed windows to muffle street noise, parking space, washing machine (or the space to install one), functional fireplace, and air conditioning (note: not all building cooperatives authorize window AC units).
Identify properties of interest online, or with the help of a house hunter
Once you have your dream home in mind, you are ready to start your search! Websites such as Bien’ici and Figaro Immobilier aggregate listings of French properties. The websites also reference the agency that has posted the property so if you continue to like properties posted by a particular agency in a certain neighborhood, you may select to work with them for your search. It is important to note that each agency has its own inventory of properties and does not share listings with other agencies, so you should carefully select your agency of preference. Plus, not all agents are created equal, and it is key to find an agent who understands your vision and prioritizes your search, since they will eventually receive compensation proportional to the property’s purchase price (usually between 3% and 10% of the purchase price).
If you have not yet moved to France, or you do not have time to visit several properties on short notice, you may consider a house hunter or chasseurs d’appartement such as Adrian Leeds or Melissa Ryan of MR Agency. House hunters typically charge a fee between 2.5% and 4% of the net selling price of the property and can work in your best interests (which agents are not guaranteed to do).
Visit properties and ask questions!
Once you see a property of interest, Daniele recommends phoning the agency incessantly until they arrange a viewing—either virtually or in person. She also recommends that when on the tour, you ask several questions, such as:
- Will there be any major renovations occurring soon? (You do not want to be surprised by a 50,000€ bill to redo the roof.)
- What is the voting history of the Syndic (i.e. co-owners association)? (This will indicate if the building is up-to-date on repairs or not.)
- Does the building allow air conditioning? (Not a given.)
- Does the building allow owners to rent out the property on Airbnb? (Also not a guarantee.)
- Does the apartment unit get natural light?
- Is it difficult to heat the unit in the winter?
- Does the unit get too hot in the summer?
- When the windows are open, can you hear street noise?
- Who are the upstairs neighbors?
- Can you hear the upstairs neighbors if they wear high heels?
Make an offer
If you are satisfied by the answers to your questions and ready to make an offer, the next step is to call the agency and offer the list price. Unlike in the U.S. where negotiation is commonplace, in France, the agency is legally required to sell the property to the bidder who offers the list price. If you bid below the list price, you are not guaranteed the property, even if the seller accepts the offer. Some agencies require you to make the offer in writing, called an offre d’achat immobilier (see a template on immobilier.lefigaro.fr).
Hire an expert to inspect the property, and a notary
Daniele advises buyers to hire an expert to inspect the property for any hidden defects that a novice buyer may not notice with the naked eye. Depending on the size of the property, inspections cost between 400 € and 1,500 €. The advantage of an inspection is to alert the buyer of any renovations that may need to occur, and anticipate any previously unexpected costs. The inspection thus serves to either reassure or dissuade the buyer from following through with the purchase. Should the expert report reveal high estimates of required repairs, the buyer may also use the report to negotiate the final sale amount.
It is also recommended to hire a notary, or notaire, who is an accredited legal professional appointed by the Ministry of Justice who oversees the sale of the property. (The fee to hire a notary is approximately 7% of the purchase price.) One notary represents the seller, and another represents the buyer. Together, the notaries ensure the transfer of property ownership. Although you are not required to hire a notary, it is in your best interest to do so since their purpose is to protect you. They review many technical documents (i.e. co-ownership meeting reports from the Syndicat), confirm there are no liens on the property, and verify that renovations to the apartment were done with proper authorizations. They also finalize the sale agreement (compromis de vente) and authenticate the title transfer (acte de vente). Although the rates of notaries are set by the government (approximately 7% of the property price), their quality can vary. Attorney Tostado recommends two notaries: Ambroise Chartier ([email protected]) and Pauline Lachiche ([email protected]). A full directory of notaries and property inspectors in France may be found on the notaires.fr website.
Obtain financing
Photo credit: Paris Property Group
For Americans, the easiest way to finance a property is to secure financing outside of France, as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act reporting requirements deter French financial institutions from lending to Americans. (Though there are ways to circumvent such barriers and obtain a loan from a French financial institution, such as by establishing a French real estate holding company, or Société Civile Immobilière. This webinar on buying property in France offers more details on how to do this.)
Regardless of your financing source, at the time of purchase, you are required to pay the notary fees and taxes. To simulate the fees associated with purchasing a property, see the notaires.fr website. On an annual basis, expect to pay property tax and common building charges (i.e. electricity, concierge fees, and cleaning and garbage collection, which range from 200€ to 800€ per month). The good news at least is that, due to the Franco-American Tax Treaty, you will not be required to pay U.S. tax on your French property.
Close the deal
Closing is a two-step process: the first step is to sign the promissory note (the compromis de vente). The buyer has ten days to accept the terms, and during this period, the seller is prohibited from selling to anyone else. At this point, the buyer receives a dossier containing detailed reports about the property (i.e. the energy rating, any insect infestations, etc.), and can step away from the transaction if they so wish. If they decide to proceed at the end of the ten days, the buyer is required to put 5-10% of the property price in escrow. If the buyer decides to back out of the purchase after ten days, they must pay 10% of the purchase price.
After the signature of the compromis de vente, the notary engages in the process of ensuring that the sale complies with French laws and regulations. Don’t hold your breath, because this can take between two and fourth months. Once the process is complete, the buyer transfers the remaining balance to the notary’s client account, and then all parties sign the final deed (acte de vente). Et voilà! At this point, it’s time to open that bottle of champagne, and toast to your new French home!
