woods2 Posted June 26, 2005 Share Posted June 26, 2005 We are seriously considering having a new home built on a piece of rural land which we own. We already have a Certificat d'Urbanisme and a quote from MFC (Maisons France Confort) which seems reasonable. Do any other Forum members have experience or stories about new homes in France, or about this particular builder? I have heard some horror stories in the French media, but assume that these are a tiny minority? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex Forum Admin Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 They will need to contact you directly....there is no 'naming and shaming' on the forum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anton Redman Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 For what it is worth I was not very impressed with the finishing on the 'clef a la main' French houses which we looked at. The sales lady AKA Venduse from one of them asked when we were selling our house.However and it has to be a big H, I thought they were much better value than th places to rewnovate that we saw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamers Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 our experience of having a new house built is not very good, to say the least. I can't comment on the company you mention and won't mention ours, but suffice to say that we are extremely disappointed. Work commenced in April last year and is due to be completed next month. The work has been very sporadic . Nothing has been done to the house for almost 7 weeks now although it supposed to be finished very soon. Everytime we talk to the head people there they shrug their shoulders and give little information, customer relations are practically nil, nobody seems to know or care when or whom is going to do what next. We get very little assistance from them when queries are raised or advice rquired. We have had to arrange for our furniture to come from the UK, and we also need to vacate rented accommodation, when the question is aked 'will it be ready for all this?' , we get the usual shrug and a ' maybe' or 'we hope so' !!! It can be very stressful and put a strain on relationships. Obviously there must be some very efficient and helpful construction companies out there, but please take the time to find one that has been recommended by others. We certainly would not recommend ours ! If we had the time again we would most certainly rent and search out a fairly new house, but never would go down the 'new build' route.(Hindsight is a wonderful thing) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audois Posted June 27, 2005 Share Posted June 27, 2005 Anyone considering a new build has two options: To use a national company; essentially this is a 'facade' sales team who sells you the plans and uses builders (unknown to them) in the area that you want to build in. There are many people going down this route at the moment and I've heard of some wonderful tales ... do be careful! The only time to use them is if your house is part of a 'lotissement' and all the homes are going up at once. To use an 'entrepreneur'; a small local company with an established team who will get things done .. who knows the local suppliers and how to get things done in their area. They may charge a little more than the national teams but they are 'generally' more reliant. Do beware of the differences; there's a building near me that has had a roof taken off due to the 'mis-communication' between a large sales firm and local builders ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pjm Posted June 28, 2005 Share Posted June 28, 2005 We are in a similar situation, building our own new house on our land. However, we have our own renovations company, and will therefore be project managing and organising any sub-contractors ourselves. Don't be afraid of either project managing yourself (depending on your level of French and building knowledge), employing your architect to do this (if available) or contracting a Brit project manager whom you have confidence in (be sure to get references first). Of all the new builds going up in our area, none seem to be completed in less than 8mths, which considering the basic construction methods being used, is a long time! We're not talking Chateaux!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie* Posted June 29, 2005 Share Posted June 29, 2005 we had our house built supposedly through a franchise of a reputable company...If only I knew then what I know now!!1. Check for hidden surprises - assurance D.O, can come as a surprise and its not always obvious who pays for it!2. Make sure that all subcontractors are contracted by the builder and not yourself ( the builder pays them and you pay the builder- keeps some distance between you)3. Ask for detailed invoices - know exactly what you are paying for ( our factures were often vague)4.If any invoice - facture comes in higher than the estimate, then make sure that the builder takes responsibility for the shortfall and not yourself.5. If at all possible, check the work before you make any staged payment...do not trust your builder / project manager.6. be a kingsize pain in the ar*se...they will take advantage if you let them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woods2 Posted June 29, 2005 Author Share Posted June 29, 2005 Thanks for the response-it's really helpful and has inspired me to probe deeper. It does seem that all the major French new build companies are crooks! There is some very sobering info on French consumer websites, to name just one avenue! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athene Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I have read this strand with interest as we are likely to go down the new house route. Thanks you all who have contributed! At present, we have the most gorgeous, sprawling, old house set in beautiful grounds in 17 but with ill health striking in the family, we are not going to be able to spend the time in our beloved house as we had planned! We have a piece of land with building permission and think that our only option now is to sell the house and have a holiday home built which could be shut up and left.It is sad how you make plans and then through one thing and another they cannot come to fruition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athene Posted July 3, 2005 Share Posted July 3, 2005 I have read this strand with interest as we are likely to go down the new house route. Thanks you all who have contributed! At present, we have the most gorgeous, sprawling, old house set in beautiful grounds in 17 but with ill health striking in the family, we are not going to be able to spend the time in our beloved house as we had planned! We have a piece of land with building permission and think that our only option now is to sell the house and have a holiday home built which could be shut up and left.It is sad how you make plans and then through one thing and another they cannot come to fruition! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
derf Posted July 4, 2005 Share Posted July 4, 2005 Don't tar all the new build french companies with the same brush! we and several other people we know have a good relationship with "IGC" they go out of their way to make sure things are ok, and i have no hesitation in recommending them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpluxgplux Posted July 5, 2005 Share Posted July 5, 2005 Perhaps builders are all the same the world over.. All the problems mentioned seem to remind me of the time I had a house built in England!gplux Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athene Posted July 5, 2005 Share Posted July 5, 2005 [quote]Perhaps builders are all the same the world over.. All the problems mentioned seem to remind me of the time I had a house built in England! gplux[/quote]If we do do this new build. We will acquire either a caravan or a motor caravan and watch whilst the work is done. I think that you need to be there to answer questions and make decisions when things arise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piprob Posted July 5, 2005 Share Posted July 5, 2005 My advice is just do it. It's nowhere near as difficult as you might imagine. But make sure you know precisely what you want, and take care to learm some some builders' vocabularly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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