Add a Comment

Comment by Brian Milne 9 hours ago

Actually that is right Keith, I forgot it was that way round because we were pre-2011. Steve, structural damage is, for instance, if there have been termite or capricorn infestations, not general structural integrity - so damp, for instance, does not even count if there is water up to your knees in the cellar! Peter is right about surveys, but there are a few non-French surveyors around now (they have seen the market gap obviously) if you can find one of them. There is a retired German surveyor somewhere in our area, I have only heard but do not know where, but this is too far from Languedoc.

Comment by Keith Lacey 9 hours ago

Dossier Diagnostique Technique - new rules from January 2011

The diagnostics dossier is called a DDT.

The onus is on the seller to produce

Comment by Peter Lewis 9 hours ago

My understanding is that the vendor should be providing the officially-required diagnostiques, such as asbestos and energy. If a contract is drawn up where the purchaser has to pay for these, the price should be adjusted accordingly. Nevertheless, these are nowhere near as thorough as a decent Northern European house survey, which is what I believe Eva-Lena is looking for. I still think that, for example, discovering a big problem with damp after signing the compromis would be met with a large Gallic shrug. Such a problem would be best discovered before signing, IMHO.

Comment by Steve YATES 9 hours ago

There is a summary on the AngloInfo site http://lyon.angloinfo.com/information/housing/buying-property/diagn...

This doesn't say that a structural damage survey is obligatory though Brian, are you sure that it is ?

Comment by Peter Lewis 9 hours ago

Can't help with cost, I'm afraid but you must have this done BEFORE signing the compromis.  (The compromis is a firm contract for the sale/purchase of the property, with just a few specific conditions, usually finding finance.)

The person you need is apparently an expert foncier, but not many exist and not many of them are properly trained & qualified, so it's a real minefield. I did a Google search for expertise maison avant achat, and that gave a lot of info, but mainly in French. (Internet translation is a godsend if you can't understand a webpage.) The discussion in aufeminin.com was very helpful. I also tried a search on building surveyor France & that came up with lots of possibilities including bilingual companies that specialize in this area. You should certainly ask these people for quotes, rather than the sales agent, whose main concern is to get you to sign (& so get her/his commission.)

Comment by Brian Milne 9 hours ago

Eva, things have changed since Steve's checks. It is now formalised. Because you are doing it at a distance ask the agency to put you in touch with somebody they know for the test. It is now much more thorough, looks at lead, asbestos and also the things like termites, woodworm and structural damage, plus energy performance. All are now obligatory. As for price, I have no idea because we had ours before the present format but it will be several hundred Euros. As Steve says, it needs to be done after the compromis is signed so that if it is all bad news you have either possibility to renegotiate the price to allow for work to remedy things or pull out entirely. If the report is satisfactory, then you can sign the acte de vente.

Comment by Steve YATES 10 hours ago

@Eva

I just checked the paperwork for the last house we bought (8 years ago) and the "compromis de vente" stipulated that we had to have tests done for lead and asbestos before signing the final "acte de vente".   At that time these were the only inspections that were obligatory here in the Rhone.  We also had a termite survey carried out but that was our decision. From memory the 3 reports cost 600-700 Euros in total.

Since then things may have changed and the termite survey may now also be mandatory . I also believe that you have to have an energy consumption survey down now.

As far as I am aware there is no obligation to carry out a survey on the general state of the house or its value as there would be in the UK if you were taking out a loan. Unless you know a lot about buildings you may want to get someone to do an inspection for you.

Comment by Eva-Lena Muhr 19 hours ago

Thank you for your answer. Does anyone have an idea about the cost? When do you perform this " expertise" ? Before you sign the " compromis the vente" or after?

Comment by Peter Lewis 20 hours ago

Hi Eva-Lena, English people would probably ask (& pay) for a "building survey" (sometimes simply called a survey) & this would be carried out by a 'surveyor'. (The better quality real estate agents in the UK are members of the 'Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors' or RICS for short.) This process is significantly less common in France, but you were close by talking about an expert. Your French agents would probably recognize it if you requested an 'expertise' on the villa. There are certain things that they are supposed to give you, such as reports on asbestos, the state of any gas supply and so on. These are often referred to as 'diagnostiques'. You probably want to go further, but frequently the French way is to give you only what you have requested. You should therefore specify everything that you want to know about. Some things that come to mind are structural stability, including foundations; state of wall & roof insulation; any ingress of damp from roof, walls or ground; condition of electrical circuits, including earthing, if any; condition of heating/air conditioning systems; hot & cold water systems; rainwater & 'used' water drainage systems, including roof guttering; presence of any fungus or insects in woodwork or carpentry; age & condition of any swimming pool, including any  cleaning or maintenance systems; non-structural problems with woodwork or exterior cladding, such as rot in doors or window frames. 

I'm not a surveyor, so can't cover all the headings, but I hope you get the sort of things I believe should be investigated, In any case, even if you have a report, the "civil justice" system in France leaves quite a lot to be desired, so don't count on being able to sue any expert even if they miss something. This is not the USA!

Comment by Eva-Lena Muhr yesterday

We are in the process of buying a villa in Herault ( Languedoc)
We have of course visited the villa but are now back in sweden so we are writing e-mmails in french to our french agent...
My question is do you normally conduct " a technical inspection" ( I don' t know the correct english word...) performed by an expert?
And if yes. When in the process?
Greatful for other advice as well...

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• …
• 63
• Next ›
• Page