Buying a French house from Sydney? You'll never see it before signing — unless we do.

## Why this is harder for Australians Buying property in France from Australia isn't harder because France is harder. It's harder because the distance multiplies every small mistake. **Sixteen thousand kilometres.** A direct flight is 22–24 hours and roughly A$2,500 round trip in low season. Allow three days each side for jet lag if you're going to make any decision worth making. A speculative trip to a wrong house costs A$5,000 and a week of leave before you've spent a euro on the property itself. **Eight to ten hours of time zone.** The selling agent works French business hours. The *notaire* works French business hours. The *diagnostiqueur* works French business hours. So does the *artisan* you'll need to call about the boiler, eventually. From Sydney that's 5pm–3am the next day. The buyer who tries to coordinate from a Sydney office calendar misses every other call back. **AUD–EUR drift.** A 6–12 month buying timeline routinely sees the Australian dollar move 3–5% against the euro. On a €650,000 house, that is A$50,000 of friction in either direction. We don't advise on currency timing — that's a regulated broker's work — but we'll point out when the timeline matters. **Australian-French price comparison is misleading.** A €650,000 *mas* in the Gard, in 2026, is roughly equivalent to a A$1.05m two-bedroom unit in inner-Sydney. The *mas* is 200m² with 3,000m² of land. Australian buyers walking in expecting Sydney prices for Sydney space have one mental model and the French market has another. The right *mas* is genuinely affordable by Sydney standards. The wrong *mas* is twice that. **The cultural gap inside the language gap.** French selling agents talk in coded language about properties — "*charme*", "*authentique*", "*à rafraîchir*", "*travaux à prévoir*". The buyer who speaks French still doesn't catch all of it. The buyer who doesn't is at a different kind of disadvantage. Yes House operates in both languages and reads the codes. ## What still works the same The good news, and we genuinely mean this: the French property transaction is more reliable than the Australian one in several ways. The **notaire** system is a state-appointed intermediary. The notaire verifies title, drafts the *acte authentique*, collects taxes, and registers the transaction. Australian conveyancing is solicitor-driven and adversarial; French conveyancing is notarial and definitively authoritative. Once you've signed the *acte*, you have title in a way that's harder to challenge than in most common-law jurisdictions. EU consumer protection applies to property purchases by foreign nationals. France places **no restrictions on Australians buying residential real estate** — same rights as French citizens, no special permit, no visa requirement to *own*. The basic transaction shape is similar to Australia: offer, signed *compromis* with deposit, cooling-off period for the buyer, *acte authentique* at completion roughly 2–3 months later. The vocabulary is different. The structure is recognisable. ## Where Yes House fits in Most Australian clients first meet Yes House through a **Visit Pack**. You've found 1–3 listings online — *Belles Maisons*, *SeLoger*, an agent's site. We drive out, visit, film, ask the questions, and tell you which ones (if any) are worth flying for. From €950 to €2,500. The point is that you don't book the flight until the verdict says you should. Some Australian clients move to a **Buyer Sprint** when they want us to source the listings rather than just visit them. €7,500 to €15,000, fixed upfront. We build the shortlist; you fly once. After purchase, **After Purchase Support** is the back-end engagement — utilities setup, property checks, *artisan* coordination, optional rental introductions. Optional, scoped per property. ## What we don't do for Australian buyers These boundaries matter — both because they're regulatory, and because they're how we stay independent. - **Australian Tax Office foreign-property reporting.** ATO rules on foreign real-property assets, including any *Capital Gains Tax* implications on eventual sale, are work for an Australian-licensed tax accountant or financial planner. We don't advise on them. We can introduce you to specialists with cross-border experience. - **French tax.** *Taxe foncière*, *taxe d'habitation*, French *Impôt sur la Fortune Immobilière* (IFI) — these are work for a French *fiscalist* or your existing accountant. We coordinate; we don't advise. - **AUD–EUR currency timing.** Talk to a regulated foreign-exchange broker (Wise, OFX, Travelex Business — these are common Australian-EUR routes). We'll mention when the question is hot; we won't tell you when to convert. - **Australian-side mortgages.** Borrowing against Australian assets to fund a French purchase is your Australian banker's question. French-side mortgages for non-resident Australians is a French *courtier*'s question. We introduce; we don't broker. - **French legal documents.** *Compromis*, *acte authentique*, contractual review, succession structuring — *notaire* and *avocat* work. We coordinate the introduction. - **Structural condition.** A licensed *expert bâtiment* or *diagnostiqueur* certifies; we visit and observe. The two are not substitutes. For full scope, see the [Legal Notice](/legal-notice/). ## Practical next step If you've already shortlisted properties online, the smallest, most concrete way to use Yes House is a Visit Pack. Send us the listings you're considering; within a few days we come back with a fixed quote per property and a calendar.