In May, Andrew, who lives in the UK, borrowed €400,000 to buy a second home in the Alps for a little over €1.2mn (£1.01mn), from French bank Crédit Agricole, on a 15-year variable-rate mortgage.
He could have funded the entire purchase with cash, or borrowed the money by increasing the mortgage on his main home in the UK. But, with a good selection of products available from French banks, and a recent cut in the European Central Bank rate, several offered lower repayments than if he borrowed back home.
Paying cash would have meant…
