Maison Mitoyenne

[Lori]

Hello all you good people.  You are all always so knowledgeable about all things France, I hope you'll be able to give some insight on the subject title.

We have been monitoring the housing market in this area and it is kind of alarming.  I don't think I have ever seen so many houses sell at such a fast pace in this country.  It does appear to be a strong seller's market.  Least round these parts.

So, in our on going search, we have come across several homes that are mitoyenne (on one side - as we don't think we could handle mitoyenne on more than one side) that are quite nice.  They have terrain, garage, even in ground pools, etc.  My question is how does the entire mitoyenne thing work? 

Is insurance handled differently?  Depending upon how the two properties are connected, what if the other owner needed access to the other side of the wall for something?  What if the other owner wants to install an air conditioning unit on a shared wall?  What if there is one already installed and a technicien needs access to it through OUR property for maintenance purposes?

If the two roof tops are connected what stops the other owner or someone he hires from climbing onto your roof while he is up there?  What if he causes damage to your side?  Is there any rule about drilling holes in the shared wall(s)?  I presume none of the utility pipes are connected, but then perhaps I shouldn't make that presumption. 

Is this like apartment living - when there's a water leak, you could play hell getting access to the source or having it taken care of (did that several times at the apartment in Paris)?

We have already learned that immediate neighbors WILL block your garage so you can't get out if you want to or in after you've been out.  This is an issue 90% of the time in this current village home.  Yes, we have two signs on the garage asking that it not be blocked.  The signs are ignored.

The homes we are looking at are not part of a copropriete, so there is no syndic. 

I know the normal pitfalls of not knowing who or what you might find yourself living next to.  That is a risk even with individual homes, though at least with those, you aren't actually attached to the other house.

What advice/tips might you nice people offer us??

Thank you !

[alittlebitfrench]

Lori...this is not the time to buy.

Hold fire for a year.

[Ken]

You get what you pay for. Neighbours can be a pain in the backside. If you can simply stay away from anyone!! If you can't then you have to put up with anything!

[Lori]

Thank you both.  Agree with both of your replies.  We're secure here for a year and can renew for another, so we can wait - watch the market, etc.

We have always said we would not accept mitoyenne but I was curious to hear what other people had to say about it.  So far, sounds like the negatives are exactly as we would have expected.  People .....   no one wants to be near them...

[NormanH]

Good to see that you have received detailed and informative replies[:P]

I am afraid I can't offer an empty opinion, only a couple of links to start you off:

https://proprio.immo/achat-maison-mitoyenne/

https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/codes/article_lc/LEGIARTI000006429978/

[alittlebitfrench]

Why do you have to be so rude Norman ?

You really do sound like a little school girl.

The housing market is in overdrive at the moment due to Covid.

Prices will come down/crash.

So if the OP can wait, I would wait.