Once a French notary has prepared the original contract and it is signed by all parties to the contract the French notary starts a number of searches on the French property that include:
One
Verifiying the identity of all parties to the contract.
( buyer (s) and seller (s) )
Two
Checking for the presence of existing mortgages and loans essentially any financing tied to the French property.
Three
Confirming the seller has the legal right to sell the French property.
Four
Confirming and calculating any taxes related to the sale of the property that includes transfer taxes and capital gains taxes.
Five
Rights of usage that are related to the land and the property typically called servitudes.
There are other items a French notary checks depending on the age of the French building and the type of the building.
Consult your English speaking notary for more details and / or visit the English section of the Notaries of France website here.