All good things…
After 22 years of owning their second home in Ste-Maxime in the sunny south of France, it was finally time to move on for Anthony and Janine Marfleet
T
he experience of watching our little home rise from the ground had been
exciting if not a little daunting, from having to overcome our lack of French and trying to understand the process, to eventually receiving the keys some 18 months later. Our story of ‘Living the
dream at Ste-Maxime’ was published in FPN and I later mentioned to Karen, the editor, that I found the process of selling far more daunting than buying due to French laws, procedures and especially the tax implications. Here’s why…
MAKING THE MOVE One major consideration was to identify when the ‘start date’ of our off-plan purchase was documented as this had a major financial bearing on the 22-year ownership as far as capital gains was concerned. The French plus valeur is nil after this period for the property, but the same doesn’t go for non-EU citizens’ social charges against plus valeur. As UK citizens and residents, we would be charged for this despite never being able to claim a cent from their social services as we are covered under our UK system. More on this later… The above was, initially,
secondary to putting chez-nous on the market. Of the many agencies in Ste-Maxime, we chose one in the main street leading down through the centre to the ‘town beach’ and casino. This thoroughfare is always busy with pedestrians walking into town towards the seafront with some rather nice ‘retail therapy’ outlets. A branch of a major bank is opposite the agency too. Belgian friends had chosen
this family business to sell their two-bedroom property previously and spoke highly of the couple who run it, who
were successful in selling their home at a fair price. And so we chose Agence Excellence. They put our house on the market in October 2021 in the firm belief that it would probably take two years to sell – as per previous experience of similar sales. Within a month we had an
offer! It took us by surprise as we'd hoped to spend at least another summer there and have time to sort out heirlooms that we had collected over the previous 20 years. Come January 2022, our
buyers were very keen to purchase and our agent offered a €2,000 reduction in his commission to ensure we received the price we wanted. Ultimately, he would still receive €17,000, but not the full 5% normally charged! So, we agreed to sell at
€385,000 to a charming couple we eventually met in February 2022 when they arrived at chez- nous for a conversation about ‘how everything works’: the hot water cylinder and various appliances and we handed over their mode d’emploi
booklets. I also explained les réglements for the co-propriété (co-ownership) as many local French owners interpret some aspects to suit themselves! This was a little tricky as the buyers didn’t speak any English – not that we would have expected them to. However, we got by – a flick through the Franglais dictionary beforehand made it sound like I was ‘fluent’, but not actually so! Jean-Claude and Arlette
Alainé were delighted to be taking our house on. It was a purchase for themselves and not for their extended families, as they were quick to point out. A bolthole with only two bedrooms, shower-room/wc, downstairs wc and kitchen with an open-plan dining area. Interestingly, I recognised
their name as on our many trips south, we’d passed trucks and trailers and a depot off the autoroute at Mâcon carrying a similar name. In the documentation, the promesse de vente, full details of names, dates of birth and marriages plus home addresses appear,
“We sold our dream aſter 22 years of wonderful experiences we would not have wished to miss for all the rosé in the Var!”
so it was easy for me to conclude my hunch was right. Jean-Claude and his brothers owned the haulage company but had recently sold it to a conglomerate that wished to keep the family name on the vehicles. The ‘Eddie Stobarts’ of France? A more charming couple you
could not meet. Two days later, on 22 February 2022, we were all seated in the notaire’s office in Ste-Maxime for the signing of the sale contracts. Their solicitor oversaw proceedings via a Zoom link. After the wording was read out and we’d agreed that everything was correct, we signed and all shook hands. We left the building for
two large crèmes at our usual Brasserie Bianca. What had we done? Sold our dream after 22 years of wonderful experiences we would not have wished to miss for all the rosé in the Var!
Anthony and Janine enjoy a meal with their Belgian friends who also sold up 74 FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2024
SALE COSTS Calculating the costs of sale reveals just how much the French authorities take – especially as we are British citizens post-Brexit. Not that Brexit had any influence on our decision – quite the contrary. We didn’t pay any plus valeur on the property as the authorities
© ANTHONY AND JANINE MARFLEET
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