Locations in France

[Bridget]

LAST EDITED ON 30-Sep-01 AT 01:16 AM (GMT)

LAST EDITED ON 30-Sep-01 AT 01:01AM (GMT)

Hi, I am thinking of moving to France, possibly Brittany, the Charente Maritime or the Vendee. Can anyone help please, firstly with regard to estate agents, are they obliged to point out any obvious problems with access to the land or rights of way?
Also, since I am going to find this incredibly difficult because I have animals here that I cannot leave, I am going to have to conduct the majority of the searching etc over the internet. Whilst I realise that this is not ideal, I cannot do it any other way. I have had a rather terse and unhelpful reply from an English agency, presumably they just want to arrange appointments to view - should I give up on the idea? Much as I would like to, I simply cannot get away for any length of time.

[Mazan]

>I am
>going to have to conduct
>the majority of the searching
>etc over the internet. I
>have had a rather terse
>and unhelpful reply from an
>English agency, presumably they just
>want to arrange appointments to
>view

Estate agents in France seem to live in permanent fear of other agents poaching their properties, and of buyers approaching vendors directly to save the unreasonably high French agent's fees. Perhaps if they charged less they wouldn't have this trouble.
So detailed descriptions of properties for sale are pretty rare here, at least until you have signed a "visiting agreement" with an agent. The same applies to on-line information.

[Mjc]

Firstly, no, estate agents are not obliged to point out rights of way etc - any more than they are in England. However, if/when you get to the buying stage, the obligatory notaire is legally bound to tell you about anything which DIRECTLY affects your property. However, he is not obliged to mention anything which is outside your boundary. So, if for example, a ten lane motorway is planned for a few metres beyond your boundary, provided the actual works will not impinge upon your property, the notaire need sat nothing. You can check locally yourself, through various sources, of anything which may affect your property, and you can have a clause written in to the purchase agreement, saying "Subject to...."

If you have not yet decided in which area you would prefer to settle, why not rent a property for a period of time whilst you look around. That way you are not committed to a house which you might otherwise buy on impulse, you can take out an inexpensive short or medium term rental, and keep your animals with you. After all, if you rent a property unseen, it will not be such a big disaster as buying unseen or in a hurry and finding it is not for you.

Good luck in your search. mjc in Charente Maritime.

[Bridget]

Many thanks for the replies. I was hoping to get together a refined shortlist of properties so that I could do a quick recce over a couple or three days.
The rental idea is good but I would have to have accommodation for hens, dogs etc etc, and I don't fancy having chickens roosting overnight on my headboard until I sort out their housing. Is this the impossible dream?

[Réglisse]

I am interested to see that you have animals. We are trying to find out about the feasiblity of taking poultry to France, but don't seem to be getting very far. We have geese, call ducks, Muscovies and chickens as well as our cats. We contacted the French Embassy in London and they sent a standard letter which was vague and didn't really help. The MAFF website is in a mess because they are changing to DEFRA and most of the information is out-of-date. I asked our vet if it would be cruel to take the birds on such a long journey (from Scotland to the Limousin)and he said "just crate them up and they'll be OK"! If you have any information or contacts please get in touch.

Good luck with your search.

Zan

[Elaine]

Have just read your posting and can throughly recommend a French Agent in Ruffec who has an English speaking representative and sells properties in the Vienne/Deux Serves/Charente/Charente Maritime areas. Nothing was too much trouble and it was great to be accompanied by someone who had knowlege of the area and of course the language. If you would like their/her e-mail address please let me know.

Don't judge a property by the photograph, we nearly didn't go and view ours as the photo's were ok but nothing spectacular and in honesty we only went because the others that we liked we had problems getting hold of the sellers and arranging appointments. Well what a suprise we had when we pulled in through the gates and went down the drive. We thought we had gone to the wrong house. It was fantastic!

Equally we have been really excited about viewing a property that looks stunning on the literature and been gutted when we have exactually seen it.

So don't judge a book by it's cover and if you do want good honest advice like I said above please let me know and I will forward the details onto you.

[bionicbodger]

lizaixi
We move to the Charente on Thursday 25th October (at last), and we've had our hands held really well by Charente Homes in Champagne Mouton (doesn't that address sound so posh?). They've been brilliant - no question is too daft for them to answer, they've even translated our English request to our (French) bank (to release the completion monies to the notaire) into French for us. They've sorted out B&B for us on 3 occasions so far, they've helped with utilities, etc, local customs, local markets, etc, etc - you name it. And they're now good friends!

Like you we started off with internet properties and agents, my husband went over in June to look at properties, and as other messages on this topic have said - you must see them yourself, you really can't tell from photos. Our house does look good in the photos, AND in the flesh, but we were lucky - some places my husband looked at said "habitable" - well maybe for cockroaches, rats and possibly field mice in a very cold winter!!! But not for us, and we are easy to please.

We aim to have chickens and ducks once we are settled in, but we are taking 3 cats and 1 dog with us. This wasn't too difficult -email DEFRA (MAFF) again, they will send you a form to fill in about the animals, return this asap to them and an Export Licence will be issued to your local vet (they will tell you which one) and he will tell you what to do next. BUT... only 3 animals per person are allowed!! What happens about the others,I don't know, so do persevere with DEFRA.

If you need any more info, email me direct, I'll try and help.
Liza