After the Acte de vente

[Lizfjr]

We are about to sign the last stage for the purchase of our house.
I have some questions about one or two points:

1. Is it standard practice for the notaire or immobilier to arrange continuation of the water and electricity supplies or do I need to do this myself?

2. Can I expect the fosse septique to have been emptied?

3. Can I expect to receive the keys on day of signing or is it usual for a further period to elapse?

Many thanks.

Liz Newby

[BJSLIV]

In our experience

1 The notaire will do this,but only if you ask.

2 No you will probably find you have an almost full tank .

3 You get the keys at the signing , and you can move is straight away.

[Causette]

Firstly, congratulations on your house purchase. Exciting, isn't it?

Secondly, I know it wasn't one of your questions (I agree totally with the answers you've had though - I'd try and find out via the immobilier when the fosse was last emptied), but have you arranged for house insurance to start from your AdV signing day?

Good luck and happy times in your new home,

JudyM

[M]

Congratulations on your house purchase.

1. We asked our notaire to arrange this for us. However, he didn't tell the services to bill our UK address. We ended up with a few red bills.

2. I doubt they will arrange for it to be emptied. May not need emptying I agree with sop1 , we were told to empty it every 5 yrs or so.

3. Yes if the money has cleared. We arranged to view our property before signing papers at Notaires offices, just to check it was in the same condition we expected it to be in.

I hope you are really happy with your new house.
Emma

[A_Redman]

>1. Is it standard practice for the notaire or immobilier to arrange continuation of the water and electricity supplies or do
I need to do this myself? Normally need to do it yourself as you need to sign new contracts and supply billing details. Moght get help from one of the more expensive hand holding agencies.

>2. Can I expect the fosse septique to have been emptied? No
>
3. Can I expect to receive the keys on day of signing or is it usual for a further period to elapse? We were given ours at the signing of the Acte. I would be worried if I didi not receive them then and there

[Stuart]

Liz

Firstly, good luck with your signing experience.

Before we signed for our house, we heard a number of different stories about how long the whole process would take. The worst was from one couple who said it took almost 4 hours and the best was about 75 minutes. In the end, we were pleasantly surprised when ours was completed in just 35 minutes!

Anyway, to answer your original questions:

1. Our agent arranged for the water and electric to be reconnected - and made sure the companies had our UK addresses for the bills. She also offered to arrange the house insurance as well but we had already sorted that out ourselves. She also came to the signing to act as our official translator. I understand that the notaire will insist on there being a translator present to make sure that non-French speakers understand the transactions. Personally, I was very grateful to the agent, and thought it showed a very professional attitude - mind you, someone else did say that, for the fee she charged, we shouldn't have expected less.

2. We are on mains sewers so I can't help with this.

3. We got the keys straight after the signing.

I hope you enjoy your signing day as much as we did.

Stuart

[Lizfjr]

Thank you all for your responses. You have been very helpful.

Yes, I look forward to 3rd July when it will be done, and after that, the challenge of makng it mine.

Liz

[Penny29]

Hi,

1. We used a normal French Immobilier not a hand-holding service - she arranged continuation of water and electricity and even helped out when we weren't getting very far with French Telecom regarding phone line installation. She advised us to get the house insurance in place to show the Notaire on the day of signing - but we actually organised this ourselves (we used the previous owners insurance company as they already had all the house details/measurements etc).

2. No the fosse won't be emptied - thank your lucky starts you have one at all (grins).

3. You get the keys as soon as you have signed - a wonderful feeling when you have paid in full and know no mortgage company owns it. Our signing took around 45 minutes. We suited and booted as were told it was a very formal occasion but the owners children turned up in jeans and trainers and we felt ridiculously over dressed. The old lady who sold us the house cried throughout the proceedings whilst her children screamed at the notaire about the taxes that were due - on the whole very entertaining.

4. Don't forget the champagne- essential for your first evening together in your new home!

Good luck

Penny