More computer viruses ?

Oh dear ... or as they say in these parts Ooh la la, la la la la la la ! Once again we seem to have hit the season for virus warnings.
This morning I was one of over 50 people who had been circulated with an e-mail warning of "the most destructive virus ever"; one that would do unmentionable things to my hard disk etc. etc. - and I was being encouraged to send this e-mail on to as many people as possible. From the "cc" section on the e-mail I guess several thousand other people had had the same one today. You get these warnings and requests too ?
The first thing I do, whenever I receive one, is to go straight to the McAfee web site where there is a section called "Virus Information". And there, as I had suspected, I learned the warning is a hoax. There I found the wording of the e-mail I had received, reproduced almost word for word: There is no such virus at all.
The McAfee "Virus Information" pages, which are kept bang up to date, are there for all to see; you don't have to pay anything; they are free. Simply go to
http://home.mcafee.com/VirusInfo/
Every time I receive one of these e-mails I ask myself - "why has somebody written this nonsense ?" and more to the point "why have all these people fallen for it ?"
Circulating warnings of hoaxes does nothing except clog up the Internet and slow down legitimate e-mails. Maybe that's the intention of the people who start them. I just don't know. But next time you receive one, PLEASE check the McAfee site first.

Time now to climb down off my soapbox for today .... !

Surveys across France from East to West

No blog posts for 6 months !

That's because I was kept very busy through the autumn of 2010, travelling to all points of the compass to carry out pre-purchase surveys for property buyers across the southern half of France.

Trips over to the east, sometimes criss-crossing the Swiss border either side of Lake Geneva, were for surveys that included alpine chalets.

Trips to the west were to properties in the foothills of the Pyrenees - where the peaks were already becoming snow covered early in October.
And once again I found myself working in Ceret, a town known for its modern art, located in the prime cherry-growing region of France, and very popular with British buyers.

To the north I carried out surveys in Lot-et-Garonne, Dordogne and Haute Vienne: I've lost count with the number of times I've driven up and down the A20, but the scenery always makes it a pleasant journey.
More about Haute-Vienne in my next post.

Make sure you get the right kind of surveyor in France

Unlike the word Doctor, or solicitor, there is no restriction on the word Surveyor. Anyone can call themself a Surveyor !

However, Chartered Surveyors, i. e. members of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) are qualified by examination and experience and have to conform to a strict Code of professional conduct. At the present time there are about 95,500 qualified Chartered Surveyors worldwide, all with the letters MRICS or FRICS after their names. What isn’t always appreciated, however, is that Chartered Surveyors train and qualify in one of seven disciplines, and the sort of work undertaken by one kind of Chartered Surveyor can be quite different from that undertaken by another. This is rather like doctors with the same letters after their names; they may have quite different specialties - and you need to make sure you are dealing with the right one.

Those who have trained and qualified as Chartered Building Surveyors understand how building materials are best used, how buildings are constructed, how building problems occur - and how they are resolved, how buildings should be repaired and maintained, and so on. These are the surveyors who deal with the "nuts and bolts" of buildings - and building problems.

Anyone can call themself a building surveyor, and some chartered surveyors might belong to a building surveying faculty. But relatively few are qualified as Chartered Building Surveyors.

At the present time there are about 9,250 qualified Chartered Building Surveyors worldwide. Only 24 are registered in France.

Ian Morris is a Chartered Building Surveyor …. a building pathologist.

And he is registered in France.
For more details visit http://www.french-surveys.com/SurveyorsinFrance.htm

Surveyors in France: Frequently asked questions

I’m not too sure whether I need a survey. Is it really necessary ?

A pre-purchase survey is not exactly necessary but is probably advisable. Carried out by a properly qualified and experienced surveyor it will identify any problem areas, or potential problems, which might involve you in expense now or in the foreseeable future. It will also put any such problems into context, telling you which are serious and which are not. If nothing else it will give you confidence and peace of mind about your intended purchase. Building construction (including water supply, electricity services and, above all, drainage) in France differs from that in the UK and you should therefore choose a surveyor with proven experience and a good track record of surveying French property

Surveyors in France: Frequently asked questions

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.