Termites + Clause Suspensive

[kettle738]

We are buying an old farmhouse and Gite in Dordogne 24  We have signed the compromis de vente which contains the following clause suspensive.

Que le rapport des termites apres la visite de controle ne revele pas de situation aggravee au rapport initial.

We have just received the termite inspection report report which is negative except for  'Traccs de termites' in the 'Menuseries lintaux, solivage' in the Salle a Manger.

Further to this is the comment  'Batiments tres encombres ce qui ne permet pas leur examen exhaustif' which even with my limited French clearly means the examination was compromised or limited by the amount of junk at the property.....which is quite impressive by most standards.

I made it clear to the agent from the start that we have a rather morbid dread of these creatures that eat your home from within, and I cannot help but feel that the issue is being glossed over.

I know that just the mention of these things, even in a single beam means that we will never ever be truly happy with this property no matter how much reassurance we are given.  The seller is a really nice chap and we do not want to upset him in any way.....but on the other hand I know we will bitterly regret buying knowing that termites are or have been in the building. The house to my knowledge has not had a specific termite treatment. 

Any inspection is by definition limited to the expertise and knowledge of the examiner on the day; this examiner may be the best in France....or not, who knows, he certainly found these.  What I do know is that I worked with qualified vehicle examiners for many years, most of whom were very competent, but some of whom I would not trust to set the tyre pressures on my bicycle...all equally qualified though to the casual observer.

I do not want to get involved in repeated further inspections or treatments....the psychological damage has been done and we want to walk away.  Does anyone have any knowledge of similar circumstances, or whether the grounds are strong enough to justify this.

kettle738

 

[Bob T]

I thought there might be someone on this board who could help this guy out!

[woolybanana]

His reason for pulling out if essentially fear of termites, not evident proof that there is a serious infestation. The agent is not the person to see about this but the notaire. It may be that there are enough grounds to get out of the contract if the clause suspensif was sufficiently strong. I think it all depends on whether the reports findings constitute an indication of a much more serious situation than was initially thought to be the case. And that could be contentious.

[Ron Avery]

The translation of 

Que le rapport des termites apres la visite de controle ne revele pas de situation aggravee au rapport initial.

could be a problem to just walking away because it says "that the infestation after the inspection does not reveal a worse sitiation to the initial report". 

What I would want to know is, if there are/were termites that a proper course of treatment had been applied, ie pressure injection and spraying.  and that does not appear to have been done.

As far as not be able to access wood to carry out an exhaustive examination, this is exactly like those woodworm reports we used to get in the UK, "we were unable to check for woodworm in the bedrooms as there were fitted carpets andwithout taking up the floor we could not check the joists but we recommend that you have a spray just in case".

Even if the house was not cluttered, they have found traces in a door lintel which would be accessible of course, but I would suspect that unless a treatment has been done they are elsewhere in the house unless that piece of wood had been previously infested and treated prior to installation which is possible of course , but without knowing the history and age of the house difficult to determine. The problem is that termites are not easily found. There are no visible entry holes or tell tale dust, they are right inside the wood and only invasive actions like sticking a screwdriver in can determine whether the termites are active or not or the house falls down.  The best advice is to go back to the Notaire and ask him/her for advice, they act for you and as well as the vendor.  However, if you cannot stand the thought of the possibility of termites in a house, the Dordogne and most of the south-west is not for you.

[Deby]

The best advice is to go back to the Notaire and ask him/her for advice, they act for you and as well as the vendor.  However, if you cannot stand the thought of the possibility of termites in a house, the Dordogne and most of the south-west is not for you.

---

I would inform your Notaire of your concerns and ask his advice, but depending on his allegiancies I would proceed with caution.  Notaires are supposed to act in your best interest but sometimes they simply don't.  They are not like a UK solicitor/ conveyaner, they tend to act a public servants!

You seem to have a 'fear of termites' as Ron says this is not a sufficient enough get-out to use the clause suspensive. Pay an independent to  do a thorough examination of the site. When you signed your compromise it is the intention to buy,  when buying in France the processes are different, life is very different, you are already making the mistake of comparing the two countries (UK + France). Part of living/holiday homing or whatever it is you plan to do in France will be a very different experience and you will need a strong reserve or 'take what it throws at me philosophy' otherwise your time could be miserable.  I do not want to sound mean and cynical but from your Post I am not sure you would be able to face all the hurdles that living in France presents.

Good luck and I hope you find a solution.

Deby 

[kettle738]

Thank you for the posts they are very much appreciated; my understanding of the situation with these termites is that they were not present....or at least not found when the house last changed hands in 2000.  Yes I do have a real fear of these creatures and it is perhaps fair comment that we have come to the wrong place, although perhaps my biggest mistake is looking at an older property.

I think the notaire route is good advice which we intend to take; and as mentioned it is not the critters that have been found so much as the ones that haven't.

I will let you know how I get on......thanks again for the advice.

 

Kettle 738