File verification: what we check, and why

Why a property finder checks your file

Real estate professionals are subject, like banks and notaries, to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing obligations (Article L.561-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code). Searching for a property on behalf of a buyer is covered whatever the price; rentals are covered from a monthly rent of 10,000 euros. The DGCCRF, the French consumer protection authority, inspects firms, and a national commission sanctions breaches.

In practice, the law requires us to know who our client is, to understand where the funds come from, and to check that no one involved in the transaction is subject to an asset freeze. It also prohibits us from continuing a relationship when these checks cannot be carried out (Article L.561-8).

What we ask you for, and when

When the mandate is signed, for you and for anyone buying with you:

• a valid official identity document (national identity card, passport, residence permit);
• your surname, first names, date and place of birth, nationality, address and occupation;
• how the purchase is financed: personal contribution, loan, sale of a property, gift or inheritance;
• whether you hold, or have held within the last twelve months, a prominent public function, or whether a close relative does.

If you buy through a company: a trade register extract less than three months old, the up-to-date articles of association and the identity of the people who own or control it. If we cannot meet in person, for instance because you live abroad, the law requires an additional check: a copy of your identity document certified by an independent professional, or confirmation of your identity by your bank or by the notary.

After that, we only come back to you if something changes: a new buyer, a company set up for the purchase, a substitution clause.

Your financing, without bank statements

We ask you how the purchase is financed, not what is in your accounts. When proof is needed, a letter from your bank, a loan offer or approval, or the deed the funds come from (sale, gift, inheritance) is generally enough. You may redact from these documents anything unrelated to the purchase.

The notary will ask you for the source of funds before the deed in any case: we do it at the start, once, rather than discovering it at signing.

We check the seller too

The check is not only about you. As soon as the seller of the property is known, we check their identity and that they do not appear on the French national asset freeze register, kept by the Treasury. A sale with a seller whose assets are frozen cannot be completed: better to know before making an offer than at the notary's office.

A ready file makes the difference

On a sought-after property, the seller does not always choose the highest offer, but the one that will go through. A buyer whose identity is checked and whose financing is clear arrives with a ready file: when several offers come in, that is an argument.

Your documents and your rights

Your documents are uploaded to your client area rather than sent by email. They are stored on servers located in the European Union, accessible only to authorised Home Select staff, and used only for these checks. The law requires us to keep them for five years after the end of our relationship (Article L.561-12 of the French Monetary and Financial Code), even if you ask for your other data to be erased.

They are disclosed only to the competent authorities, in the cases provided for by law. For this specific data, the right of access is exercised through the CNIL, the French data protection authority (Article L.561-45). No decision is taken by automated means: a person reviews each situation. Your rights over your other data are described in our privacy policy, and our security measures on the data security page.

What your mandate provides

Our mandates devote an article to these checks, "File verification and anti-money laundering", announced in their summary. Before signing, you read what we will ask you for, and what happens if a check cannot be completed: the law then prohibits us from continuing, and the mandate ends.

How we are organised

• A written internal procedure, setting out what we check, when and how.
• Property finders trained in these obligations, who commit to them in writing.
• A check of the parties against the French national asset freeze register.
• Dated checks, kept on file so that we can account for them during a DGCCRF inspection.
• Particular situations reviewed by management, never by a machine.

Check for yourself

The texts and registers cited on this page are public:

• Article L.561-2 of the French Monetary and Financial Code (Légifrance)
• French national asset freeze register (Treasury)
• CNIL, the French data protection authority
• Our privacy policy
• Data security and protection

A question about checking your file?

Your property finder answers all your questions before signing. You can also write to us at contact@homeselect.paris or call us on 01 78 76 78 10.