How not to do it

Do you really have to engage the services of someone to help you buy a property? Fortunately, everything works out just fine most times. The following stories, however, justify 30 A Vendre’s existence.

1.The barn

Mr P.I. Sang had sold his business and wanted to settle in France. He was fairly proficient in French and went in search of a new home together with his wife. Their wishes were clear: a farm with lots of land surrounded by countryside.

After looking around for a while, they found a property that fulfilled their requirements. It did need some overdue maintenance work, but that was also the idea.

The ever-so friendly farmer received them several times and showed them around his farm. They soon agreed on a price and the civil-law notary was asked to draw up the contract of sale. Once the deed had been executed, the Sang family were handed the keys and informed that the former owner would be visiting his son up north and would not return for the time being.

The fact that the key did not fit the lock was not a disaster since the door had to be replaced anyway. They set to work and everything was going along splendidly until the highly upset former owner drove onto the property. 'What are you doing in my home?' he asked. Mr Sang asked for a more detailed explanation and duly received one. Instead of the house, he had bought a 'beautiful barn' located 450 metres further up…

They had looked at this barn briefly during their first visit, which was certainly not worth the sum the Sang family had paid for it. This did involve malicious intent, but the paperwork was correct. The cadastral numbers on the deed applied to the barn and the land. The Sang family had no choice but to pack their things and vacate the house.

Had someone assisted the family during their dealings with the civil-law notary, this would have come to light and the whole situation could have been avoided. Thankfully though, everything worked out reasonably well in the end.

2. Thirst

Many isolated homes in the Cévennes are not connected to the water mains. The house purchased by Mr Pineut was one such home. No problem, since the house had its own well and a good one at that. He had seen it with his own eyes when he visited the house after all.

Moving and renovating required quite an effort – the removal van lost its way a few times. No one arrived for appointments and if they eventually did turn up, something else would go wrong. Luckily they did not experience too many problems in this regard as they had made thorough preparations.

However, a major and unexpected problem arose several months later. No matter which way the new owners turned the tap, not a single drop was to be seen. The well was dry because they had used up too much water.

A solution to such a problem does exist, but it came a couple of months too late. The only option at that time was to return home. After all, living without water is no fun, even in the Cévennes. They eventually built a huge water reservoir to see them though the coming period.

This situation would never have occurred if someone had told the family how a well functions and everything that has to be taken into consideration. A cheaper solution could have been found in time.

3. 'Hallo neighbour'

In this day and age, where can you still find peace and quiet as well as space? No longer in their homeland, according to Mr and Mrs Smith, so they set course for France. Space in abundance. The budget was perfectly in order and they found a house in the hills, hidden between the trees. You had to stand on the property to see the house. Space and peace, in other words. They had been living there for some time when they saw an unfamiliar man near their garage. Mr Smith asked him what he wanted.

This individual had the nerve to tell him that the garage was standing on his property. Unfortunately, he was right! The previous owner of the house purchased by the Smith family had built the garage illegally on the neighbour’s property. The land registry office was unaware of this.

Mr Smith was thankfully spared the nightmare of very close neighbours and a lost garage. The neighbour proved to be a really reasonable chap and exchanged a piece of land with the family. The situation was resolved over a fine glass of wine.

If the cadastral plan had been properly checked in relation to the actual situation, it would have been immediately apparent that an illegal building was located so close to the site boundary.

As you can see, hiring someone to represent your interests is not a bad idea at all. It entails a small investment in comparison to the overall fee and can help spare you a great deal of misery.