Chrissie Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 HiWe have just signed the compromis d'achat on a new house. Are we obliged to start insuring the buildings from the date 7 days after the receipt of the signed documentation (i.e. once cooling-off period is over), or do we wait until the date of signing of the Acte?ThanksChrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Surely it is when you own it? Our buyers moved in a few days before everything went through ie signing the acte and paying, (a whole different story and something I could still spit about), but they had to prove that they were insured from the day they moved in. And I would say that you have no need to insure until it is 'yours' or you are moving in early. If I am wrong, well, I bow to the greater knowledge of others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted August 23, 2011 Author Share Posted August 23, 2011 Thanks Idun. I checked with our insurer today and he confirmed he needs to give us an attestation to take with us to the signing of the Acte. (I told him that in the UK you needed to insure once contracts had been exchanged, even though the sale was not finalised, and he was surprised.)Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 [quote user="Chrissie"] Thanks Idun. I checked with our insurer today and he confirmed he needs to give us an attestation to take with us to the signing of the Acte. (I told him that in the UK you needed to insure once contracts had been exchanged, even though the sale was not finalised, and he was surprised.)Chrissie (81)[/quote]So am I ! Surely you don't own the property until completion, which is not necessarily the same as exchange, so why would you insure it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Our buyers had to insure as they moved in before they had signed the final documents. We had an attestion that they would sign a couple of days later and they were fully insured, othewise I would not have let them have the keys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Well I can see an issue about moving in before completion, and to be honest I wouldn't allow that to happen, but I was querying the UK situation (see Chrissie's post above) about exchange/completion and requirement for insurance. We've moved several times in UK and exchange did not always happen on the same day as completion; we have never been instructed to insure earlier than completion, when the house actually became ours, so has something changed back in the good ol' UK? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idun Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Allow it, well we were hoodwinked into doing it, by one of France's wonderful agent immobiliers. Probably getting me back for negociating his commission and getting it down by a lot.It became rather heated as the cheeky xxxxx had got the keys from my friends house, she wasn't there and wouldn't of handed them over, but her husband was home alone, often a dangerous situation 'I am from Mars and I know nothing' type thing. So the estate agent told him that it had all been arranged and picked up the keys. His venusian wife got back from Italy and went spare with him, although in fairness it wasn't his fault. We made the estate agent bring the keys back and then found out that the people had been promised the keys early, as the estate agent had had to foresight to speak to my martian husband who hadn't understood what was going on either, him being a bit deaf, and thought that it had all been arranged with me, which it hadn't. The purchasers ended up getting the house early after signing something and getting it insured, otherwise they would have had to wait. And the wonderful estate agent had not been going to arrange either of these things, and simply hand them the keys, just like that! I was livid, it ended up costing us quite a lot of money, but that is another story. My life is often like a soap opera, and even when I think I have covered everything then something just comes and knocks everything to pot and we always end up the poorer for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted August 24, 2011 Author Share Posted August 24, 2011 Yes, in the UK under standard sales/purchase agreements the seller is not legally obliged to insure the house after the contracts have been exchanged. The only way round this is to write a separate clause into the contract. Of course, we are talking only buildings insurance.Chrissie (81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sid Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Blimey, Idun, which planet are you on? [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allanb Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'm not an expert but it seems to me that only one question matters here: if the house burns down during the period between exchange and completion, whose loss is it?Whoever it is, that's the person who needs to insure for that period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrissie Posted August 25, 2011 Author Share Posted August 25, 2011 If you search the web you will find numerous articles explaining that although the (UK) seller is obliged to hand over the property in the same state as that in which it was viewed when the sale was agreed, he is specifically under no obligation to insure the property. The buyer thus risks taking completion on a parcel of land with a charred ruin, and having to sue the seller for what he can get. I suspect that in practice most of us keep the insurance going until the day we move out, if only because often the buildings and contents are covered by the same firm. But should always be checked and agreed with lawyers.Chrissie(81) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeanS Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Just recently moved house the UK - we contacted our insurers who told us that the change would take place on completion. They did however insure both houses for the completion day at no extra cost. With regard to our French house - the renewal date is the anniversary of the date we signed the Acte and collected the keys. Oddly, I'm meeting with an agent this pm. with regard to changing insurers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woolybanana Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Yes, do hunt around for decent deals for insurance and do not get stuck with the company of the previous owners which may not necessarily be any good. I also think the smaller Mutuelles are better, such as Mutuelle de Poitiers, as opposed to, say, Axa about which I have not, always heard good things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Does one have to insure a property before a Notaire will handle the sale? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob Roy Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 When we bought our first house here we were able to insure after the completion, having promised (almost sworn on a bible!) the notaire we would do so. Second time around, which was three years ago, the notaire (a different one) would not proceed until we had put the insurance in place as we had forgotten to do it - therefore a mad dash up the road to the agent's office, luckily he's the father of our immobilier, for immediate insurance and back to the notaires for the completion [:'(].In the UK we were never asked about insurance, even though we moved 4 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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