Bridging Loans

[manonthemoon2]

Do they exist in France?

If so is it possible to use the house you are trying to sell as collateral?

[widge]

I am pretty sure they are available,, or at least were, when we were looking for a house 20 years ago, one estate agent tried to talk us into getting one, which we flatly refused at the time.

As far as using your old house as collateral, if it is a property in France I would imagine that would be acceptable, know from a friend who tried to get a loan, the bank would not accept anything as collateral that wasn't in France as they would not have any legal claim if there was a problem.

If it is in France, I guess it depends on where your property is and the area, but around here in the country, properties can take a very long time to sell, and I doubt a bridging loan would be very cheap if time dragged on.

[rabbit]

It is called a Pret Immobilier. Interest rates are more reasonable than U.K. but should be carefully considered

[Biloute]

Small clarification, rabbit: a prêt immobilier is money borrowed to buy a house.
In France, a bridging loan is called a "prêt relai". The bank lends you money to buy another house while you wait to sell the old one and thus be able to repay what you borrowed. Generally, the interest rate is high but it doesn't matter if it doesn't last too long. Especially since it allows you to keep a roof over your head without having to rent and move again. The big questions are to guess how long it will take you to sell your old house and at what price. And there, it becomes a game of poker... And above all a great moment of solitude shared with your pocket calculator and your crystal ball.

[Nomoss]

It is called a Pret Immobilier. Interest rates are more reasonable than U.K. but should be carefully considered

Small clarification, rabbit: a prêt immobilier is money borrowed to buy a house.
In France, a bridging loan is called a "prêt relai". The bank lends you money to buy another house while you wait to sell the old one and thus be able to repay what you borrowed. Generally, the interest rate is high but it doesn't matter if it doesn't last too long. Especially since it allows you to keep a roof over your head without having to rent and move again. The big questions are to guess how long it will take you to sell your old house and at what price. And there, it becomes a game of poker... And above all a great moment of solitude shared with your pocket calculator and your crystal ball.

Agreed x2. My advice, from bitter experience, is to check VERY carefully not only the interest rate, but the associated charges, including the basic fixed one for paperwork, valuation, Notaire's charges and taxes, for both registering and removing the mortgage charge against the property, and early repayment.
There are possibly more, but my bank didn't bother to mention them, and it took nearly 2 years to sell the house the charge was against.

[manonthemoon2]

Thank you all, don't think we'll go down that route.