French Mortgage Advice is an independent information resource for people financing property in France from abroad. We publish guides explaining how French mortgage lending works, what lenders require, and how the purchase process unfolds.
The French property market is well regulated and, once understood, straightforward. The difficulty for international buyers is rarely the rules themselves. It is that the rules are documented in French, framed around French administrative practice, and assume familiarity with a system that works differently from the one most buyers know.
Our purpose is to close that gap in plain English: what a compromis de vente commits you to, why the debt-to-income ratio matters more than your total wealth, what the ten-day reflection period means for your timetable, and where the real costs sit.
Our guides describe general practice in the French market. Lending criteria vary between banks and change over time, rates move, and thresholds are periodically revised by the regulator. We indicate typical ranges rather than promising specific terms, because the terms any individual is offered depend on their own circumstances.
Where a figure matters, we say what it depends on. Where a decision has tax consequences, we say so and recommend professional input rather than implying that a website can replace it.
Questions, corrections and suggestions for topics we should cover are welcome through the contact page.