Did you get a professional survey done prior to buying in France ?

[Anglo-Frenchman]

In the first instance you have to decide what you want from the process of disipline.  Do you want the surveyor publicly reprimanded and to his fellow professionals (more hurtful than financial penalties in my opinion) or simply a sum of cash.  If its the latter then that is what his professional indemnity insurance is for and if its the former then pursue him through the RICS as described.

The RICS is an intenrational and globally recognised profession and it is of little consequence what country the surveyor practices in -  he is still bound by the same codes of conduct.  If he is correctly registered in France (as he should be) then go to RICS France who have an office in Paris where the staff are very helpful.  Their address, telephone and email can be found at the RICS website.   

[Kitty]

Not many people know this ... but I am a chartered surveyor as well!  There you are - I've admitted it...

It's a difficult call whether to get a building survey.  However, you can't put a price on peace of mind.  Even I have always got a second opinion on everything that I have bought, in England and in France. After all, houses are a lot of money.

I suppose if your instinct tells you something could be wrong - the age of the house, the things that might be hidden, the attitude of the vendor etc - you shouldn't have any hesitation about getting a survey.

 

[Nick Trollope]

Small point; RICS, France, Eh?

[Renaud]

We had a survey done by a British RICS surveyor resident in France, he was recommended by our excellent immobilier. As we had already signed the preliminary contract it was not the case that he could have backed-out of our purchase had we not liked what the surveyor had to say. I think that this is the real problem of getting a proper survey done in France as one really needs to know the results before the end of the seven day cooling-off period after signing the preliminary contract. That would be very hard to organise.

The survey cost about £500 but was worth it, as the house we were buying was built about 1870 and otherwise untouched - apart from the introduction of electricty in the 1920s (4 lightbulbs and a four mains sockets) and a single tap.

The house needed total renovation but we needed to know if the basic structure was worth it and have an idea as to what needed to be rectified before renovation could start.

The surveyor's report (and conversations) helped us make decisions about what kind of artisans to use for the renovation.

[Kitty]

What point are you making Nick?  Chartered surveyors like me operate in France as well.