The COS of a plot of land is the co-efficient applied by the local plan to the zone in which the plot is located and indicates the maximum size of construction that may be built on it.
The deposit is between 5 and 10% of the purchase price upon agreement with the vendor and is payable when both parties have signed the compromis de vente.
The deposit is paid either directly to the notary dealing with the sale or to the estate agent who holds the funds in a special account until the sale is ready to complete.
When you have signed a compromis de vente as buyer you benefit from a 7 day cool off period. This takes place after the vendor has signed and you will receive by recorded delivery a fully-signed copy of the compromis documents along with notification that your cool off period will commence the day following receipt. During this 7 day period you may pull out of your purchase for any reason whatsoever as long as you notify the agent in writing by recorded delivery during this period.
If you retract from a purchase after the cool off period for reasons not otherwise covered by any suspensive conditions in the contract you will forfeit your deposit and will be liable for a penalty paid to the vendor in the amount of 10% of the purchase price.
If you have a clause in the compromis de vente allowing you a period of time to apply for a mortgage (usually between 30 and 60 days) and after this time you have been unable to obtain your mortgage you may ask for an extension. If the banks you have approached are unable to offer you a mortgage they must attest to this fact in writing and you may use this to invoke the get out clause of the compromis, as long as you can demonstrate that you have shown reasonable effort in obtaining the mortgaging but without success. This means that in showing this justification you will be allowed to retract from the purchase and will be given back your deposit.
The "notaire" is the notary, the solicitor who processes the sale. This is a quasi-government official who is impartial and may act for both parties, however it is also possible to have two notaries, one acting for the vendor and one for the buyer. In this case the notary fees remain the same and are shared between the notaries.
The notaire fee is between 2.5% and 7-8% depending on the type of sale and this encompasses all stamp duty as well as the actual fee received by the notary for his or her work. The notaire fee is paid by the buyer.
The length of time between signature of the promesse or compromis de vente may vary depending on conditions applied, such as mortgage application or planning permission application, but for a straight forward resale purchase is around 3 months. For purchases off plan it will depend on the construction schedule.
A RIB is a releve d'identite bancaire and this is a slip which bears all the details for a given bank account.