Our clients, a British couple were buying an alpine holiday home in Araches-la-Frasse, a sunny valley incorporating the picturesque village and ski resort of La Carroz.
The chalet is stunning, or will be by the time it is built, as our clients were buying a VEFA ("vente à l'état future d'achèvement") or off-plan property. Understandably, seeing as they will not be able to use it or rent it out for a couple of years, our clients were keen to keep the monthly payments as low as possible so we looked for interest-only options for them.
Unlike in the UK, it is very rare to find an interest-only product on offer in France, particularly for the large loan size involved. We also needed to get them approved as quickly as possible - which due to the product and the purchase price of the property would typically require a much longer sign-off process at the bank involving various different committees.
However, due to the comprehensive nature of our mortgage application and several calls with the lender, we were able to get the approval (14 year, fixed-rate deal on an IO basis at 2.35%) granted within 3 weeks of the application being submitted!
Bon ski!