Buying and financing solution to buy a flat real estate in France

The Process

Taxes & Legal Fees

Buying through a company :
SCI

French inheritance rules are rather complex and quite restrictive, particularly when it comes to real estate. The disposal of biens immeubles (real estate) in France is subject to French law regardless of the owner’s legal residence. In many cases, the rules of inheritance favor children or other family members over spouses. There are ways of ensuring one’s wishes for after death are followed, but doing so is not a simple matter. One popular -- though not uncomplicated -- way to deal with these issues is to buy the property through a limited corporation called a société civile immobilière, or SCI. Shares in a company are classified in France as biens meubles (personal property), and so are not governed by French inheritance and tax regulations. Thus the disposal of real estate bought through such a corporation is not subject to the same stringent laws as are properties classified as biens immeubles.

	Setting up an SCI means you can avoid France’s inheritance rule. Instead, the law of the country in which you are resident at the time of death prevails. However, French tax law still applies, and so your heirs could be liable for French inheritance tax. Managing an SCI allows for a certain control to be maintained over the property. If your children are also implicated in the SCI, the survivor spouse would be able to retain control over the property to be inherited by the children.