The four stages, at a glance
A clean non-resident sale runs across four stages, each with its own bottleneck. Stage one is the mandate stage, roughly six weeks from listing to a signed buyer offer. Stage two is the compromis stage, about three weeks from offer to a signed compromis de vente including the buyer deposit. Stage three is the longest, about ten weeks from compromis to the acte authentique, driven by the mortgage clause and the administrative searches the notaire is legally required to run. Stage four is the settlement stage, around five weeks from signature to the net wire landing abroad. On average, that is a little under six months; a clean file with a cash buyer closes in four.
View data as table
| Stage | Typical weeks |
|---|---|
| Mandate to offer | 6 |
| Offer to compromis | 3 |
| Compromis to acte | 10 |
| Acte to net wire | 5 |
Week by week, what is happening
Weeks 1 to 6, the agent markets the property, collects offers, and negotiates price. Weeks 7 to 9, the accepted buyer is vetted for financing, and the notaire drafts the compromis. At compromis signing, the buyer wires a 5% to 10% deposit to the notaire escrow. A 10-day statutory cooling-off period starts for the buyer. Weeks 10 to 19, the notaire runs the urbanism search, the cadastral check, the mortgage release on the seller side if any; the buyer arranges the loan. This is also when you engage the accredited representative so that the 2048-IMM dossier is ready at deed minus two weeks. Week 20, the acte authentique is signed, and the notaire takes custody of the full proceeds. Weeks 21 to 25, the form is stamped, the registration tax is paid, and the net proceeds are wired to your account abroad.
The three fixed milestones
Three milestones never move without your permission. The first is the signature of the compromis, because once signed, the deposit is locked in the notaire escrow and both parties are legally committed. The second is the expiry of the mortgage suspensive clause, usually 45 to 60 days after compromis; past that date, the buyer cannot walk away on financing grounds. The third is the signature of the acte authentique, which transfers title and triggers the tax payment. Every other date is flexible: agent marketing can be compressed, buyer vetting can be accelerated, and the post-signature wire can be expedited if all documents clear early. The three milestones above are the backbone of the schedule.
Worked example
A Swiss resident lists a chalet near Megève at €1.2 million in early 2026. Mandate signed on week 1. Offer at €1.15 million accepted on week 5, compromis signed on week 8 with €115,000 deposit. Mortgage clause expires on week 13 (buyer cleared on week 12). Representative engaged on week 9, acquisition deed reviewed on week 10, renovation invoices validated on week 13, 2048-IMM draft finalised on week 16, acte signed on week 19. Tax and fees settled at the acte: CGT €83,200, social charges €47,300 (reduced 7.5% Swiss equivalence), representative fee €6,900. Net wire to Swiss account arrives on week 23, which is five months and one week from listing.
Pitfall to avoid
The pitfall is ignoring the acquisition-deed retrieval window. Non-residents who bought a French property more than 15 years ago frequently discover, at compromis stage, that their original deed is with a former notaire who has retired, with a successor firm, or in a bank safety-deposit box in their home country. Retrieving a certified copy from the French central notarial archive takes two to six weeks; from abroad, longer. Without that deed, the representative cannot size the taxable basis, and the signature slips. Start the retrieval at listing, not at compromis.
Pro tip
Negotiate the deed date to land just after a holding-period anniversary, if you are in year 21 or later of ownership. The taper changes every anniversary: signing three weeks late on a long-held property can save five figures. Your representative can run the two scenarios (before and after the anniversary) in an hour; your notaire can request a two- or three-week shift to the buyer if both sides are flexible. This lever is underused, because sellers think the deed date is fixed by the notaire calendar; in practice it is fixed by whichever party moves last, and a small shift is almost always accepted if asked early.
Key takeaways
- A clean non-resident sale runs around 24 weeks from mandate to net wire.
- The four stages are mandate (6 weeks), compromis (3), compromis to acte (10), acte to wire (5).
- The three fixed milestones are compromis signature, mortgage-clause expiry, acte authentique.
- Engage the representative at compromis stage to avoid a one- to two-week slippage.
- Retrieve the original acquisition deed at listing, not later, to protect the taxable basis.
Frequently asked questions
Can the process run faster than four months?
Yes, when the buyer is a cash buyer and the acquisition deed is in order. A three-month sale from compromis to wire is achievable if the 10-day cooling-off period, the mortgage suspensive clause waiver, and the representative documentation overlap cleanly. Under three months from mandate is rare but possible.
What drives most of the delay?
The mortgage suspensive clause on the buyer side and the acquisition-deed retrieval on the seller side. Non-residents who bought in the 1990s or early 2000s often have deeds in a safety-deposit box or at a former notaire office, and chasing them adds two to four weeks.
Does the representative slow the process down?
Not if they are engaged at the compromis stage. Representatives chosen late, after the compromis, can add one to two weeks because they need time to review documents that should have been pre-vetted.
How long between signature and the wire arriving in my foreign account?
The notaire typically wires within four to six weeks of signature, after the 2048-IMM is stamped by the Service de la Publicité Foncière and the registration tax is cleared. SWIFT transit to a non-European account adds two to five business days on top.