It’s most common for both the property buyer and seller to use the same notaire, but it’s also acceptable for each party to use their own notaire. Some buyers feel more secure getting information from a notaire who’s appointed just to them and not also working on behalf of the seller. You can search for a notaire on the www.notaires.fr website. Alternatively, you can hire a legal adviser instead of a second notaire, but the cost may be higher.
If you opt to bring on a second notaire, know that it could make the buying process longer than if there is just one notaire, and it’s possible that each notaire will have their own way of doing things, which could cause complications.
Also know that notaires are self-employed. Instead of going to, say, a government building to hire a notaire, you’ll find one who has set up their own business and office. This makes it possible for the notaire to run a public service that doesn’t cost the government much (if anything). The state, however, fixes the rate of the service, as explained above.