French Chartered Surveyor

[Wendyandbob]

Has anyone instructed that surveyor: www.frenchsurveyor.com ? He seems very good but I would like to know whether it would not be better for us to instruct a British surveyor instead of a French once.

[Sbesley]

Have a look also at

www.surveyors-en-france.com

I used them and was happy with the result.

Stephen.

[IAN_S]

I think you have to ask yourself if you would instruct a French surveyor in Britain? Do either really know other country's building methods?

[YF&Single!<P>Singly living in France!<P>]

I'm confused?

 

Are you talking about a property in France or the UK?

 

When in France you tend to use LOCAL people and not import people from your place of origin ie. when in Rome do as the Romans do!

 

Why is it the British are so intent on bringing their own builders/artisans/workers to France, who then work on the black as they don't pay their cotisations etc?

 

The amount of British going through tribunal's at the moment in my area is unbelievable, when will they learn that French registered workforce are the only way to go?

 

Nuff said!

[Will]

(moderator's hat off, by the way)

YFS, 99% of the time I would agree with what you say, but house surveys are a bit of a special case. For one thing this type of surveyor is very rare in France, French people seldom use them. Many British buyers like to have some assurance that what they are buying is in good nick so the surveyors mentioned are filling a demand among foreign buyers.

Secondly, by definition, most people wanting a survey are just entering into their dream of buying a place in France, so their French language skills will obviously not be up to your standards in being able to deal with, and understand, French technical and building terms. So a report in their own language gives exactly what they want.

As far as I am aware, the proper English-speaking surveyors in France are bilingual and fully conversant with French methods. They are also fully registered and insured to practice here in France - ask them, and if they are not, use somebody else.

[Quillan]

But were do you stand if you use a English surveyor in France after you have signed your first contract and he finds the house is about to fall down? Will they give you your deposit back even though the guy is not registered in France?

[Will]

You shouldn't sign any contract before you are certain that you want to proceed with the purchase. Sometimes it is possible to insert a clause in the first contract (compromis de vente) making the purchase conditional on survey, arranging finance, or similar, but not all notaires or agents will accept this. Beware of agents that try to rush you into signing anything.

This has been discussed here in the past, and a lot of people not used to the French system find it hard to accept, but in France you are not expected to pull out of a property deal, even a verbal contract (despite the existence of the so-called 'cooling off period').

Surveyors here will (I know that one of the surveyors-en-france partners does) often offer a preliminary verbal estimate before the written report so that you can decide promptly whether to go ahead.

[Hagar]

[quote]Has anyone instructed that surveyor: www.frenchsurveyor.com ? He seems very good but I would like to know whether it would not be better for us to instruct a British surveyor instead of a French onc...[/quote]

Will - aunusual for me to take issue with you - however this was our experience, and talking to some others who have recently bought in france it was not unique

Prior to signing the compromis de vente we had our house surveyed by a local architect. This was considered perfectly normal by the notaire, the agent, the vendor and our local friends in the village.

The architect was(is) a member of the “Association Diagnostic Immobilier par l’Architecte” www.adia.org This association has over 300 members across France and they have two STANDARD forms of house survey. –

Le Controle Technique d’Immobiler (C.T.I.) which is something more than the basic Home Buyer’s survey in the UK

Bilan de Sante Immobilier (B.S.I.)– a much more detailed report (9 pages of A4) covering all elements of construction, fittings, services etc with detailed assessment of condition. Where the architect thinks something needs attention they classify it as A – Immediate . B- Intervention in 2 to 5 years. C- intervention beyond 5 years. They also give detailed comments and construction/modification history where available – whether electricity, plumbing, drainage, ventilation for example, meet current regulations etc. etc.

In our case the findings were all translated into English ( although we did not actually request this) and the report was presented personally by the archtitect where he gave us all manner of additional comments and recommendations.

The cost for this service on a 4 bedroom villa (admittedly 3 years ago) was 410 euros .
Hardly expensive when one considers the possible pitfalls of buying without a survey.

Hagar

[Will]

Hagar, I do quite agree that it isn't uncommon among French buyers, and the more knowledgeable foreigners, to get an architect or builder to have a look over a house before signing the compromis. Surevyors as known in UK are not that common, as you say architects do much the same job. Your chap sounds like he gives an excellent service.

XLB, I know what you mean. To some extent I agree - in fact I've never had a survey when buying a house, but perhaps I have just been lucky. I do know that a lot of people, particularly English, like to have a survey for their own peace of mind, and I know of some in France who have been glad that they did get somebody to look at the potential purchase, either to find unseen problems or, on the other hand, for reassurance that something that looks bad can be fixed comparatively simply.