Dear all,
Finally my french partner and I have sold our Uk house and are ready to look for a new one in France.
I realised that in France not really custom to have a survey for a property like in UK but I was advised to look for an architect or builder to make sure the house has no issues.
Can you pls share any experience and some advice ?
I also learned that from the moment any offer is accepted the buyer has a 10 days cooling off period then after your cant back off from the purchase like we do in UK.
Does it means that in those 10 days I must find someone to check the house ?
Any advice very welcome
thx
I can assure you that people DO back out. Including on the day of the final signing. As friends trying to get back to the UK found, to their frustration. If someone does walk away they lose their deposit though.
Yes you can back off any time but you will lose your deposit and I would never do that.
I worked far too hard in my life lol
you could make any offer conditional on certain things.
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Frankly, you should be given all the information concerning the property before signing anything at all… so you should have a rough idea of its condition etc.
It will be down to you to be aware of the costs involved in correcting minor stuff…
Don’t sign anything until you are happy to continue.
If you wish to use an “indepth” Surveyor… that could perhaps be a clause in the first signing document “compromis”… that you “promise to buy the property provided a full Survey does not show up any hidden/unforeseen major defects …”
that clause is the sort of thing a Notaire would organize… but do be careful that you fully understand and agree with whatever is written… before you sign (I can’t emphasise that enough… seen too many folk make that mistake)
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The seller should provide a Dossier Diagnostic Technique (DDT) for potential buyer’s to review before signing the compris de vent.
More info here:
https://www.frenchestateagents.com/compulsory-diagnostic-tests
Please note that the DDT does not include a structural survey. If you have any concerns that the property your are interested in May have structural issues, you should either run away or pay for a survey yourself.
You have a 10 day cooling off period after you have made an offer as a buyer when you can back out without penalty.
If you back out after that 10th day, you forfeit your deposit.
I agree but "A clause in the first signing document “compromis”… that you “promise to buy the property provided a full Survey " means nothing in France I was told from 2 diff Estate Agents.
You right…up to buyer to check house because all the information provided by the seller by French law does not involve structural issues…
Absolutely right …DDT pointless lol…but im amazed about people not really having survey done>
Not all issues are visible…like the roof could be leaking but how can you tell lol…and repairing a roof its an expensive job
thx for the reply
Well, if 2 different Estate Agents have told you that… make sure you don’t sign anything until you have all the information which gives you the confidence to buy the Property…
You must be happy with the Information provided by the Seller…
No point (in my view) in hoping you can arrange a Full Survey/Results within the 10 days breathing-space…
Our “get out clause” was that “we had to be able to find a mortgage” (and of course the ruin we were buying was impossible to mortgage)… so we could have simply walked away, well after the 10 day breathing space… shaking our heads and saying… oh dear… the bank won’t give us a mortgage…
and we would have got our deposit back.
As it happens, we didn’t need a mortgage… but that didn’t alter the possibility of using that Clause Suspensive as our Get Out of Jail Free card…
lol ok…sadly i bought several times in my life and Im never happy with Information provided by the Seller…I will pay a local builder plus an architect so I will feel confident…thats what most people do i heard.
Likely we do not need a mortgage but better safe then sorry
Thx for your reply
fair enough
thx for your reply
This might give more background to help you
We have just bought on the basis of the very thorough DDT (over 100 pages) .
Also to be clear, the 10 day cooling off period starts the day you sign the Compromis (similar to exchange
contracts), not from when your offer is accepted.
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Great advice!
Thank you
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I’m not sure if it still the case but if you offer the asking price (and subject to the other provisions mentioned above) the seller is duty bound to sell to you so there is no prospect of “gazumping”.
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It is - friends who sold recently held out for the full price and sold to Parisians. 
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Thanks! I knew I’d got something wrong.
Yep… the compromis protects the Buyer, as the Seller cannot offer the property to anyone else once the compromis is signed, but the Buyer can back-out within the 10 days… without losing the deposit.
Of course, if the Buyer does back-out during the cooling period… or after… then the Seller can, indeed, offer the property elsewhere and possibly for more money… who knows…
Around here, even when the compromis is signed… none of us reckon a property is comfortably sold until the final signing event (usually several months later) when the keys are handed over… (and the money, of course)… as we’ve seen too many fall-through.
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Not to forget any interest by SAFER 
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Given the way the French system works it’s better to do all your checks beforehand. You get the diagnostiques before contract …it follows any checks/surveys you want should also be done before the first contract.
The clause suspensive are for “absolutes” (can’t get a mortgage - can’t get planning) anything fuzzy isn’t what they are for.
Hi, I realise this is an old thread, and I hope you got your new home sorted!
However, in case someone else ends up on here looking for an answer, I thought I’d pop on to say that SARL Dobson Structures is a new business that is based in the Pays de la Loire but offers structural engineering services like building surveys, calculations and designs all across France! 
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