F

F.I.C.P. (Fichier national des Incidents de remboursement des Crédits aux Particuliers) ≈ The National File of Credit Refunds of Private Persons

This is a file that is managed by the Bank of France (la Banque de France) that centralises on one part the payments made by private persons deeply in debt, and on another part centralises the measures adopted by the board of examiners for private persons with debt burdens as well as for businesses who are deeply in debt. 

FISC ≈ Inland Revenue or Internal Revenue

This is the ensemble of government departments in charge of establishing and collecting taxes.

Fiscal ≈ of taxes or of Inland Revenue

This is a French adjective used to describe anything relative to taxes or to the FISC.

Fiscalité ≈ Tax System

Rules and procedures that deal with taxes.

Flat ≈ Studio

What the French call a ‘Flat’ is an apartment that has a common living room and sleeping area, a kitchen and a bathroom.

Foncier ≈ Land or Property

This is a term that is used for properties that are already built, or not yet built, to talk about or describe their ownership, use, revenue or taxes. The term is often used to designate building land, which is the basis for most property promotion in France.

Fonds de Commerce ≈ Business Lease

This is the act of dispossessing an owner of his or her business property done by following legal standards accompanied by compensation.

Foyer Fiscal ≈ Household 

This is the term used to designate the number of people who appear on the income tax declaration of a single taxpayer.

Frais d’Acquisition ≈ Acquisition Fee

This is ensemble of consecutive fees and taxes involved in selling a property. They are usually paid by the purchaser of the property. In reality, acquisition fees are made up of different taxes, costs, fees and administrative document costs; not to forget that part of it also goes to paying the notary. In France, acquisition fees are reduced when it comes to a residential property (around 9 to 13%) and are paid fully when is comes to property that is classified as ‘professional’ (around 20% or TVA). When buying a brand new property (‘new’ meaning the building is younger than 5 years), the sale is considered to be “without notary fees” which means that the fees are really just at 3%. There are also special systems that are set up for the Alsace Lorraine area as well as for certain of France’s DOM-TOMs. Example: When buying an older, residential property in Paris at 1,000,000€, without any help from a loan, the seller will have to pay acquisition fees that would cost up to about 75,400€ with the notary fees counting for about 12,250€. For the same purchase with a loan of 800,000€, the seller will have to pay around 85,700€ of acquisition fees, of which 19,100€ are notary fees. To find out what acquisition fees apply to which cases, it is best to consult a professional.   

Frais d’Agence ≈ Agency Fees

Agency fees are calculated based on percentages of the amount of the property transaction. The fees are not regulated by law, except that they must be placed somewhere in sight in the agency’s display window. If the fees are included in the property transaction’s sum, the fees then can be financed by a loaning company.

Frais de Dossier ≈ Administrative Fees

This is an ensemble of fees asked by the loaning company from the borrower in order to pay for the costs involved in constituting the client’s file and paperwork.

Frais de Mainlevée ≈ Cancellation of Mortgage Fee

If you have to resale a property before fully repaying a loan or in less than 2 years time after the last payment, it is then necessary, if the property is stilled covered by a loaning company or organism, to obtain a mortgage cancellation and pay a mortgage cancellation fee.

Frais de Mutation ≈ Notary Fees

These are the fees that the buyer of a property has to pay in France. Included in these fees are taxes, notary fees and other diverse costs and formalities. These fees are also called ‘Frais de Notaire’ in French as well.

Franchise ≈ Postponed Reimbursement

This is when a borrower does not pay neither the capital borrowed nor the interests generated for a loan during a certain period of time.