survey

building survey being conducted with a man in high vis and hard hat

Do I Need a Building Survey?

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There is no requirement in France to have a pre-purchase ‘building survey’ done. There are laws requiring a vendor to provide diagnostiques including: termites, asbestos, lead paint, energy efficiency, electrical and gas installations, plus environmental risks such as earthquakes and…

man conducting a Diagnostic survey

Diagnostic Surveys

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FrenchEntrée Contributor | Building and Renovation

The role that Diagnostic surveys play in the purchase of a house in France is very different from what you may be used to.

Septic tanks in the home diagram

French Rules on Septic Tanks

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| Contributing Editor

Certain rules apply to properties which are not connected to mains drainage. French Law Solicitors Heslop & Platt, look at what this means for residential property buyer and sellers.

Secret white picnic in Paris

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| Contributing Editor

This week a peculiar thing happened in Paris. An open public space like a park or a square from one moment to the next filled with tables, chairs, white tablecloths and 11,0000 thousands people dressed in white carrying champagne and…

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New Septic Tank Rules for French Property

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A new regime for septic tanks came into effect on January 1st of this year, which has brought a new concern for sellers of Dordogne property. At the time the preliminary contract is signed, the seller is now required to produce a certificate of compliance in relation to any septic tank arrangements.

Holiday home owners who care

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Jane and Ron Bennett have a property in the Gers that they rent out to holidaymakers. They intend to spend more time there once Ron has retired, but their investment has already brought with it a career change for Jane.

Moving house within France

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Mimi and John live near Rennes in Brittany. Twelve months ago they packed up all their things and moved their young family to another town just 2km away. In spite of the short distance involved, there was plenty to do!

Survey – It’s not normal in France!

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Image not found.Why do some people insist on a survey while others just accept the comment that it’s not done in France? Purchasing a property in France is probably one of the largest financial investments in your life, so is it worth getting a survey? Surveyor Philip Atkinson discusses why and when a survey is worth getting…

July Top Tips For Your Limousin Garden

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Summertime and the living is easy………. Or so the song would have us believe. All the Indications so far this year and future predictions, are for a return to the traditional French summer which equates to a very warm July and August, anyone remember August 03?

Jocelyn & Gordon Simms

Living the Dream in Deux-Sevres

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Gordon and Jocelyn Simms are writers and poets and, when they decided to retire to France, it was important that they found the perfect place in which to ‘live their dream’.  Gordon tells the tale of how they found their mill home by the river.

Discussion

The Conditions in Your Compromis de Vente

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There are three types of conditions in a purchase contract. If you want to make changes to them or add other conditions into a contract, it is important to understand their effect and the difference between them.

Insurance – Confusion for Expats…

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Insurance broker Aon conducted an online survey. It was sent to five-hundred English speakers in France (66% of which are British). There was some interesting feedback concerning confusion with French insurance…

Eating Out in Dieppe

Fancy dining out in Dieppe? Rob Silverstone, author of best-selling novel A Mule in Rouen tells us about some of his favourite eateries in Dieppe’s ‘Le Pollet’ district – guaranteed to tickle your taste buds….

New House Build in France – A Dream Come True?

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Image not found.Having a house built to your own specification in rural France is an increasingly popular way of realising the dream of French property ownership. But is it really as simple as the Immobiliers, Builders and Architects make it sound? Stephen Leitch presents a first hand account of the many pitfalls to be avoided.

A year in Normandy (Part 2)

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As we follow the highs and lows of one couple buying their dream house in Normandy, we discover that French property surveys are not what they ought to be and certainly don’t mention sharing electricity with the neighbours…

Energy Efficiency Surveys on French Property

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Image not found.From 1 November 2006 anyone selling a house in France has to get it surveyed and then graded by an expert for its energy efficiency. This new survey, which can cost up to €250, also tells prospective buyers how much carbon dioxide gas is produced when heating the home

French property in a rural location

Top Ten Tips for Buying in France

Buying a home overseas can be a very exciting time. But it can also be worrying and an expensive process. To help you through this process – and help make your money go further, Moneycorp, the UK’s leading foreign exchange company, offers the following advice

Surveyors in France ? Yes, they exist…

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Many nightmare properties are still being bought by unsuspecting buyers, who are lulled into a false sense of security by comments such as ‘here in France we don’t have surveys done’, says chartered building surveyor Martin Rushton

Sanderson-Martin_Jayne

Our House in Brittany

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Jayne and I had been planning an exit strategy for a while! To escape the rat race, we planned to buy a boat and sail the world in very slow time…