Building survey/surveyor

Hello

we have been looking for a house in the north dordogne area /limousine area for a year, finally found one but it has a suspicious crack problem ! So we made the offer to purchase subject to a survey, now comes the question, does anyone know of an English speaking surveyor who is able to deal with a property in Ladignac le long?

before you cry out "don't buy a problem" we have looked at a large selection of properties and we found cracks in 90% of them, we just want to check these out !

I'm unsure that the French have ever heard of the concept of 'subject to survey'. And I've never come accross what we would call a surveyor. Builder with sense, yes.

Hi Paul,

I would advise not to take a local "expert en bâtiment". He/she won't probably speak any english and his/her local connections could alter the report's objectivity.

There are some national networks that will connect you with one of their English speaking surveyors. Try Lamy for example.

To get the local touch about these common cracks, best to discuss with a local construction guy with a good reputation. Your estate agent can arrange that I guess.

Regards,

Christian

It is possible to include a ‘Subject to Survey’ clause suspensive in the CDV. The Notaire will have to do one for you.

I surveyed a property at the start of December which had this exact clause included. However, it is normally feasible to get the survey done within the cooling off period in which case you can pull for any reason with no financial penalty.

With regards to cracks, yes most houses have some crack or other, it is just the level of seriousness that needs assessing which we can do for you of course! The Survey report is all in English but can be translated for a fee.

This reply is probably a bit late for you, but may be helpful for others!

Matt Noble
www.mkn-surveyors.com