Chamber of Notary Publics of Paris -12, av. Victoria, Paris 1
Auctions• tel: 01 44822482
Email: encheres@paris.notaires.fr
Web site : www.encheres-paris.com

BUY AT AN AUCTION

Property can be seen on the dates and hours specified in each announcement, all you need to do is go to the indicated location.

Property sales are carried out in total openness. The specifications are at your disposal before the day of the sale. Prepared and written by the notary public in charge of the sale and available for consultation at his office, it contains all the information you need to know concerning the sale. It is the conditions of sale that you complete by defining, yourself, the buying price.

Before placing any bids, make sure you take care of the financing for your acquisition and contact the notary public in charge of the sale for an estimate of all associated fees. In addition to the price of the sale, please allow for the following additional costs :
- costs prior to the sale : they consist, on one hand, of the costs associated to the preparation of the sale and on the other hand of publicity costs and those associated to organizing the auction. In general the buyer pays approximately 1 %, VAT not included, of the sale price with a minimum sum of 387,50 € (VAT not included). However, in certain cases, all the publicity and organization costs (2 % VAT not included) with a minimum of 775 € (VAT not included) can be charged to the buyer. This exception is mentioned in the specifications and announced before the auction begins.
- notary public fees : fees are proportional to the cost of the acquisition. Regulated by decree, they represent between 1,5 to 2% of the buying price depending on whether or not a loan was taken to finance the operation.
- acquisition fees : these are the laws and standard taxes required for all property transactions.

If you would like to finance your acquisition by taking out a bank loan, it is important to contact your bank before the sale in order to prepare your financing. In effect, for all acquisitions at an auction, there is no conditions precedent for obtaining a loan or a required 7-day waiting period after the sale.

THE DAY OF THE SALE

Auctions generally take place at the Chamber of Notary Publics of Paris: 12, avenue Victoria - Place du Châtelet - 75001 Paris (Metro stop "Châtelet" exit Place du Châtelet).

To make a bid, you need to give the notary public in charge of your auction a check, written out to his name, for the amount of the deposit specified in the publicity and specifications.
For a sale where bidding starts at 125 000 € and for a maximum deposit of 25 000 €, a simple check will suffice, for all other cases, a bank check is required.
For non-resident bidders, special deposit rules apply: please consult the notary public in advance for more information.

You will need to show proof of your identity by producing some form of identification or, for a company, a K BIS and a copy of the company charter and by-laws.

During the sale, you make your bids by a simple hand movement, clearly stating the number of your badge. A sale by inch of candle ensures that all bidders have an equal chance. Property is sold to the highest and final bidder.

If you are declared the buyer, you are invited to the consignment room to sign the auction minutes. Your deposit check is cashed the same day. You have 45 days to pay the price of your acquisition.
In the event you are not declared the buyer, your deposit check is returned to you without any additional costs, immediately after the sale, in exchange for your badge and your bidder authorization, at the same office where you deposited your check.

AFTER THE SALE

For a period of ten days, anyone, except the seller, can make a higher bid. In this case, a second and final auction is organized with an opening bid equal to the winning amount of the first auction increased by 10 %.

The conditions of the specifications stipulate, except on rare occasions, that the buyer must pay the acquisition price and the sales fees before he/she can actually take full possession of the property. On the other hand, the transfer of property is declared as being on the day the sale was made once it is declared final.