Buying in Paris by power of attorney: the guide to remote purchasing

Buying an apartment in Paris from New York, London, Dubai or Singapore without taking a flight: this is a scenario our property hunters experience regularly. Among the 1,200-plus buyers supported by Home Select since 2011, several dozen completed while never having set foot in the apartment before key handover. The legal mechanism that makes this possible is the notarial power of attorney (procuration), a precise document governed by French law that allows a third party to sign on your behalf.

How does a notarial power of attorney work for a property purchase?

The power of attorney is a mandate by which you grant a trusted person, the agent (mandataire), the power to sign a legal document on your behalf: it is drafted by the notaire in charge of the transaction and sets out in writing the maximum authorised price and the sale conditions. The agent executes your decision, they do not make it.

The notaire (public notary, a government-appointed legal officer) therefore drafts a document whose content is regulated: the power of attorney specifies the identity of the buyer, that of the agent, the property concerned (address, description, cadastral references), the maximum authorised price, the sale conditions, and the nature of the deeds covered (preliminary agreement, final deed, or both). You remain in control of the decision: the agent executes what you have decided, within the limits you have set.

The agent is often a relative residing in France, a lawyer, or the notaire themselves (when both parties have separate notaires). At Home Select, it sometimes happens that our clients designate our property hunter as agent for the logistical aspects, while keeping control of financial decisions through real-time exchanges.

What are the steps to obtain a power of attorney from abroad?

Four steps, for a total of 2 to 4 weeks: drafting by the Parisian notaire, signing before a French consulate or a local notary, the Hague apostille if you used a local notary, then sending the original by secure international courier. Going through the consulate removes the apostille step but imposes an appointment wait of 2 to 3 weeks at the busiest posts.

Step 1: drafting by the Parisian notaire

The notaire in charge of your purchase drafts the power of attorney in French. This document of 3 to 5 pages details the powers conferred on the agent. The notaire sends it to you by email for review and approval. If you do not read French, request a translation: the notaire can provide a bilingual version, or your lawyer can translate it.

Step 2: signing and authentication in your country

The power of attorney must be signed before an authority qualified to authenticate your identity and consent. Two options exist.

The first is the French consulate in your country of residence. The consul authenticates your signature on the power of attorney. The cost is modest (approximately 50 euros), but appointment wait times can reach 2 to 3 weeks in busy consulates (New York, London, Hong Kong).

The second option is a local notary or notary public in your country. You sign before this professional, who certifies your identity. The document will then need to be apostilled.

Step 3: the Hague Apostille

The apostille (Hague Apostille) is an international certificate that authenticates a public document so that it is recognised in another country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention (1961). If your power of attorney is signed before a local notary rather than a French consul, the apostille is mandatory. It is issued by the competent authority in your country (the Secretary of State in the United States, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the United Kingdom). The timeline varies: 1 to 5 days in the United States, 5 to 10 days in the United Kingdom.

Step 4: sending to the Parisian notaire

The original signed and apostilled power of attorney must reach the Parisian notaire by secure international courier (DHL, FedEx, UPS). The notaire needs the original document: a scanned copy is not sufficient for the final deed. Allow 3 to 5 days for delivery. In practice, the entire process from receiving the power of attorney to its return signed to the notaire takes 2 to 4 weeks.

Discover how Home Select supports international buyers.

Can you sign at the notaire’s office by video conference?

Yes: since a 2020 decree, strengthened in 2023, French notaires can receive parties remotely by secure video conference for certain deeds, including property sale deeds. This route removes the apostille step entirely and cuts the timeline from several weeks to a few days.

The signing is done via a platform certified by the Conseil Supérieur du Notariat, with real-time identity verification.

In practice, you appear on screen from your office in London or your living room in Singapore, the notaire verifies your identity via your identity document presented to the camera, and the deed is signed electronically. The time difference sometimes requires signings at unusual hours: we have seen deeds signed at 11pm Singapore time to align with the Parisian firm’s schedule.

Not all notarial firms yet offer remote appearance. When working with international buyers, we systematically direct them to notaires who are equipped and familiar with this procedure, which considerably accelerates the process.

Can the preliminary agreement be signed electronically?

Yes, and remotely it is the normal route: electronic signature is widely accepted for the preliminary agreement, through platforms such as DocuSign or Yousign, from anywhere in the world and in a matter of minutes. The 10-day cooling-off period runs from notification of the signed preliminary agreement, and it is the same whether you are in Paris or on the other side of the world.

The preliminary sales agreement (compromis de vente) remains the first binding document of the transaction, electronic signature or not.

A power of attorney for the preliminary agreement is possible but rarely necessary thanks to electronic signature. Most notaires and estate agents accept an electronically signed preliminary agreement, simplifying the initial phase of a remote purchase.

What does a property power of attorney not cover?

It covers no decision at all: your agent signs what you have decided, they do not negotiate the price on your behalf, do not decide on contingency clauses, and do not choose the apartment. The power of attorney is an execution tool, and all strategic decisions remain in your hands, communicated to the agent in writing before the signing.

In the event of a last-minute modification (price adjustment after contingency conditions are met, addition of a clause), the power of attorney must be updated or supplemented, which can delay the signing. Anticipating possible scenarios with your notaire allows the drafting of a power of attorney broad enough to cover common adjustments while protecting your interests.

What does the property hunter do when the buyer is abroad?

They become your eyes, ears and judgement on the ground, working to a documented protocol that produces a viewing report of 5 to 10 pages: high-resolution photographs, live video commentary, measurements, DPE analysis, co-ownership minutes, neighbourhood assessment. That report is what replaces the physical viewing at the moment of deciding.

At Home Select, remote purchasing is a service we have structured and refined over the years.

In detail, our hunter visits properties for you: high-resolution photographs of every room (including defects), live video commentary via FaceTime or WhatsApp, precise measurements, DPE analysis, reading of the co-ownership minutes, neighbourhood assessment (noise, natural light, shops, transport). The viewing report we send is sufficient to make an informed decision without having set foot in the apartment.

We have supported buyers based in New York who signed for a 4-room in the Marais without visiting in person, families in Dubai who acquired a family apartment in the 16th arrondissement based on our reports, and investors in London who completed a buy-to-let purchase in the 9th in three weeks. Each time, trust rests on the quality of the information provided and the rigour of the analysis.

The search process is the same as for a standard mandate, how a search with a property hunter works, with the difference that all exchanges are fully digital and our on-the-ground responsibility is multiplied. With 96% client satisfaction and more than 1,200 buyers supported since 2011, this model has proven itself.

Discuss your remote purchase plans in Paris with us.

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