Guide to getting a French mortgage or How much can I borrow in France?

French mortgages are somewhat different from loans/bonds/mortgages in other countries. For a start, in 95% of cases the amount you will be able to borrow from a French bank will be based on an affordability calculation that will be linked to your provable income, whereas in the UK and US it is possible to have "self cert" mortgages where no proof of income is required. In the Anglo Saxon world, with a certain amount of deposit, the future rental income from a buy to let rental property will be sufficient to obtain mortgage finance without reference to income documentation from employment or accounts. That is not to say that French banks do not consider the future rental income from buy to let or investment property, indeed, some banks will take up to 100% of the future rental income from the property into account when considering the affordability of the French mortgage loan to you.

Lets look at an example, French banks are willing to let you spend a very sustainable 33% of your gross income on servicing all your borrowings. For somebody earning the equivalent of €60,000 per year, this would mean €19,800 per year or €1650 per month. If for example, you have a mortgage of €1,000 per month, this would leave you with €650 per month to spend on a French mortgage. A quick glance at a mortgage calculator will show you that for €650 per month you could have a mortgage of approximately €100k to €200k depending on interest rates, the duration you would like to have the mortgage over and whether the mortgage is on interest only or not. If the property you were looking at had a rental income potential of 4% of its value on an annual lease basis you could realistically obtain a French mortgage of over €400,000, providing the property was valued at that amount.

There is some flexibility in the system and brokers with their personal contacts at banks can sometimes make the correct representations in order to obtain better rates and higher loan amounts. For a free quote to find out how much you could borrow in France, just give us a call on +44 207 471 4515 or visit our website. If you like to see a list of the required documentation for obtaining a french mortgage please click here. An experienced French Mortgage broker such as Athena Mortgages can save you time and money by helping you to select the right French mortgage for your project to suit your circumstances.

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