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Completing the Purchase
3 months had passed. A letter arrived on our doorstep confirming the date to sign the completion contract at the Notaire’s office in Callac. I thought it prudent to have the papers translated so went down to visit my UK agent who went through the documentation verbally page by page. We understood some sections but there were others we didn’t fully understand but thought with the UK Agents agreement that all was in order, if not fully understood.
The day arrived to travel and sign the completion papers. It had been 3 months since signing the COMPROMIS DE VENTE. We were unable to get anyone to look after the children so I booked some time off work and would go to the Notaire’s office in Callac to complete to sale.
I caught the Ferry from Portsmouth (Sailing with Brittany Ferries you begin to understand why P&O went under. Excellent service) and arrived in France early the next day, drove to Callac in good time to meet the Agent, Notaire, Owner and his wife.
The Notaire, was a middle aged well dressed man who spoke perfect English, he ushered us into a quaint room with a beautifully ornate wooden bureaux in the corner. A massive wooden desk lay in the middle of the room piled high with legal looking documentation distributed in piles along the corner edges. We sat down and the Notaire began to read through the completion contract in both French and then English. Impressive…On completion we both signed a number of papers??? And the keys were passed and placed into my hands. All done then I thought.
I left the office and stopped to talk with the Agent, the previous Owner and his Wife. The Agent acting as interpreter for the owner told me that the house had been previously occupied by his parent’s and that the house next door was at one time also occupied by his grand parents. They had all passed away over time and the property had passed down to him on their death. He had moved to Provence many years before, married and then settled down. On his parents passing he then decided to sell the properties as he had no intention of returning to Brittany.
He had lived in Brittany for many years before deciding to travel south to work and enjoy the Mediterranean lifestyle. He explained that he had loaded up their car and a trailer with furniture and sentimental items leaving the rest for us. I wondered what if any items would be of any use to us but looked forward to seeing what had been left.
I began the 10 minute drive to the house and felt a little trepidation. It had been 3 months since my last visit and a number of worries began to enter my thoughts. Would the property still live up to my original expectation? Had I made the right decision, could I really do the renovation, I needed to now consider the real issues and commitments of owning a property in a foreign land. Could I raise the funds for renovation, connecting the Utilities, the travel to and from the UK? How long would it take to make the property habitable? I would shortly be meeting the neighbours, would they accept me into the community? I’d need to improve my French……I was beginning to feel unsure about what I had done for the 1st time. Had I made a big mistake? What was I doing? What had I done?
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