I received the Acte at the weekend, and we have returned all the documents required to the notaire by fax. They were kind enough to email everything, so there was no delay with the post. As I arrive at work, I receive a phone call from the notaire to say that we will be unable to sign the Acte after all, as the bank have refused to release the money. I spend most of the day either in tears, or on the phone or emailing. I eventually discover that the bank say that the mortgage offer has lapsed, although our adviser does not understand why. It even involves calls to a colleagues sister, whose boss at the UK side of the bank tries to sort it out. It appears that we will have to wait for a new mortgage offer, and the Acte has to be signed later. I have sent our share to the notaire, so we decide to go out anyway, and we can sign power of attorney to the notaire.