Don't just take my word for it ...

I've lost count of the number of times I have heard it said: "Oh, people don't have surveys in France."

Well they certainly do, and anyone telling you otherwise should probably know better. It is true the French themselves hardly ever commission a pre-purchase survey, partly for historic reasons and partly because there are still very few French building surveyors. But many English-speaking buyers wouldn't dream of buying a house in France without first obtaining a proper survey.

For more information I think you'll find this independent WikiHow article of interest:

Find a Surveyor in France - wikiHow

Two new houses with problems.

Its not just old houses that have problems. Next week I have appointments to inspect two newly built houses, one on the deparment of Aude and one in Gard, where problems in the construction are known to exist. In each case I have been asked by the English buyers to assist at the "handover" procedure: At the very least I anticipate I will be asked to produce "snagging lists", in French, and I will probably have to go back again later to make sure the remedial works have been carried out properly. This is a service I am asked to provide on a fairly regular basis in France.

Najac - one of the most beautiful villages in France.

This pretty village in the department of Aveyron is one of the stops on the pilgrim route of Saint-Jacques-de-Compostelle. The house I have been asked to survey here nestles within the shadow of the castle - built as a royal fortress in 1253 - and is itself said to date from the 13th century.

The portcullis was up in Nebian, Herault.

My latest survey, last week, was of a quaint house directly overlooking the portcullis tower of this ancient fortified village - originally a stronghold of the Knights Templar. I learned that the present portculls, a full-size reproduction of the original, constructed of oak from the department of Tarn, was hand-made by Jim Buck, a retired Englishman who has been a Nebian conseiller municipal for the past eight years.

Surveyor in France - just launching my new blog !

For posts about pre-purchase French property surveys, articles & more .... visit http://SurveyorinFrance.blogspot.com !