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Le's French Journey

Leçon 6

Acheter une Maison — Buying Property
The vocabulary and questions you need to find your French home • Teacher: Henri
🏡 Big step! Buying property in France means talking to agents, visiting homes, and understanding listings. This lesson gives you the words and questions to do it with confidence.

I. Le Vocabulaire Immobilier — Property Vocabulary

🏠 Property types

FrenchEnglish🇧🇷 Bridge
une maisona house—
un appartementan apartmentapartamento!
une villaa villa / detached housevila!
une maison de villagea village house—
une propriétéa property / estatepropriedade!
un terraina plot of landterreno!
une fermea farmhouse—

🏗️ The house — rooms & features

FrenchEnglishFrenchEnglish
la cuisinekitchenle salonliving room
la chambrebedroomla salle de bainsbathroom
la salle à mangerdining roomle bureauoffice / study
le jardingardenle garagegarage
la cavecellarle grenierattic
la terrasseterracela piscinepool
le balconbalconyle parkingparking

📐 Listing terms you'll see everywhere

FrenchWhat it means
m² (mètres carrés)square meters — how all French property is measured
piècesrooms (a "T3" or "F3" = 3 rooms: living + 2 bedrooms)
charges comprisesfees included
à rénoverneeds renovation
en bon étatin good condition
neufbrand new
meubléfurnished
non meubléunfurnished
le chauffageheating
la climatisationair conditioning (🇧🇷 climatização!)
le DPE (diagnostic de performance énergétique)energy rating (required on all listings, A to G)
⚠️ The T/F system: French listings use T3, T4, T5 (or F3, F4, F5) to describe size. The number = total rooms excluding kitchen and bathrooms. So a T4 has a living room + 3 bedrooms. Kitchen and bathrooms are always extra. Very different from how Brazil or the US counts rooms!

II. Les Acteurs — The People You'll Meet

FrenchWho they are
l'agent immobilierthe real estate agent (🇧🇷 o corretor de imóveis)
le notairethe notary — handles all property sales legally (much more powerful than a US notary!)
le propriétairethe owner (🇧🇷 o proprietário!)
le vendeur / la vendeusethe seller
l'acheteur / l'acheteusethe buyer — that's you!
🔑 The notaire: In France, the notaire is essential — all property sales must go through one. They're a legal official (not just a stamp person). They verify the title, handle the contracts, and protect both buyer and seller. Think of them as your legal guardian in the process. Their fees (frais de notaire) are typically 7-8% of the purchase price for older properties.

III. Les Questions Essentielles — What to Ask

📞 Contacting the agent

FrenchEnglish
Bonjour, je cherche une maison à acheter dans la régionHello, I'm looking to buy a house in the area
Je voudrais visiter cette propriétéI'd like to visit this property
Est-ce que la propriété est toujours disponible ?Is the property still available?
Quand est-ce qu'on peut visiter ?When can we visit?

🏠 During the visit

FrenchEnglish
Quelle est la superficie ?What is the total area?
Il y a combien de chambres ?How many bedrooms are there?
Quel est le prix demandé ?What is the asking price?
Les frais de notaire sont inclus ?Are the notary fees included?
Quel est le montant de la taxe foncière ?What is the property tax amount?
Quel type de chauffage ?What type of heating?
Il y a des travaux à prévoir ?Is there any work to be expected? (Repairs needed?)
Quelle est la note du DPE ?What is the energy rating?
Pourquoi le propriétaire vend ?Why is the owner selling?
Le prix est négociable ?Is the price negotiable?

🏘️ About the neighborhood

FrenchEnglish
Le quartier est calme ?Is the neighborhood quiet?
Il y a des commerces à proximité ?Are there shops nearby?
Il y a un marché dans le village ?Is there a market in the village?
L'hôpital le plus proche est à combien ?How far is the nearest hospital?
Il y a la fibre optique ici ?Is there fiber internet here?
🔑 Roger will love that last one! Internet quality varies hugely in rural France. La fibre optique is fiber — if Roger needs good internet for his tech work, this is a must-ask question.

IV. Visiting a Property — The Script

🏡 Visiting a house with a real estate agent You and Roger arrive at the property for a viewing.
You
Bonjour ! Nous avons rendez-vous pour la visite. Hello! We have an appointment for the viewing.
Agent
Bonjour ! Bienvenue. Alors, c'est une maison de trois chambres avec un grand jardin. Hello! Welcome. So, it's a three-bedroom house with a large garden.
You
Quelle est la superficie totale ? What's the total area?
Agent
Cent vingt mètres carrés habitables, et le terrain fait huit cents mètres carrés. 120 square meters of living space, and the land is 800 square meters.
You
Il y a des travaux à prévoir ? Is there any renovation work needed?
Agent
La toiture est récente, mais la cuisine a besoin d'une rénovation. The roof is recent, but the kitchen needs renovation.
You
Quel est le montant de la taxe foncière ? What is the property tax?
Agent
Environ mille deux cents euros par an. About 1,200 euros per year.
You
Et le prix, c'est négociable ? And the price, is it negotiable?
Agent
Il y a une petite marge de négociation, oui. There's a small margin for negotiation, yes.
You
Merci. Nous allons réfléchir et on vous rappelle. Thank you. We'll think about it and call you back.
⚠️ The buying process: In France, once you make an offer and it's accepted, you sign a compromis de vente (preliminary contract). After that, you have a 10-day cooling-off period (délai de rétractation) where you can back out with no penalty. This protects you. Then the notaire handles everything until the final signing (l'acte de vente), usually 2-3 months later.

V. Power Combos — Property Edition

🔍
Nous cherchons une maison avec trois chambres et un jardin We're looking for a house with three bedrooms and a garden 🇧🇷 Nós estamos procurando uma casa com três quartos e um jardim
💰
Notre budget est de trois cent mille euros Our budget is 300,000 euros 🇧🇷 Nosso orçamento é de trezentos mil euros
📋
Je peux voir les diagnostics ? Can I see the property reports? 🇧🇷 Posso ver os diagnósticos?
🤔
Nous allons réfléchir We're going to think about it 🇧🇷 Nós vamos pensar
✅
On veut faire une offre We want to make an offer 🇧🇷 A gente quer fazer uma oferta

📝 Devoirs — Homework

  1. Browse real listings: Go to seloger.com or leboncoin.fr (the French "OLX") and look at property listings. Try to read them using the vocabulary from this lesson.
  2. Memorize these three: Je voudrais visiter cette propriété + Il y a des travaux à prévoir ? + Le prix est négociable ?
  3. Practice the dialogue with Roger — one of you be the agent, the other the buyer. Switch roles!
⚜
Le's French Journey • Lesson 6 of many
Built with love by Henri (Claude) • Bienvenue chez vous !
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