Tom4man

HI All and Happy New Year!!

We bought a house near Andoullie about 4 to 5 years ago with intentions to undertake the refurb ourselves and build our second home ready to retire too at a much later date but come to stay 3 or 4 times a year a round our holidays.

Sadly work has got in the way but mustn't grumble, however this has slowed us down and our French lessons!!, we have undertaken all the ripping out works and put some temporary items in to enable us to work easier and stay there, we have since bought a motorhome so now aim to clear the side garden to enable us to park the motorhome and do the works without worry to much about keeping it liveable however we do now have to start putting it back together and getting the inside sorted and properly usable - we have a nice new roof and guttering installed but we now need to push on and this year I want to split the house into two and get on with the work using local labour to undertake this.
I am annoyed with myself cause I have not learnt the language quick enough or well enough which im frustrated about and embarrassed lol
But I'm looking for builders, labourers and translators so I can get this work underway - I own a construction business so have the know how but would like to find a builder locally that I can give a budget too and get the works complete, I am to be coming out to stay for weekend every 1 - 2 months depending on travel restriction - this could work well as I'm in no major rush so we can be used as a fill in Job for when work is slow - we are converting the one house into 2 houses one bigger one for us and one for friends and family to stay.

Any help will be most welcomed

Thanks in advance

Tom

EuroTrash

Hi Tom, welcome to the forum
I love the pays de la Loire . But I live(d) in Normandy and right now I'm in Wales so unfortuately can't be much help "on the ground" as they say.
However if you ever need help with communicating, just pm me. I'm a semi-retired translator/language tutor and would be happy to help a fellow francophile out now and again. What goes around, comes around, is my philosophie

Tom4man

Hi

Thanks so much that really great to know, and much appreciated -<snipped comment>

This is great news!! - getting a septic tank installed only speaking English is not easy!!! lol

Must sort my learning out this year

Thanks

Tom

cyrian

Hi Tom,
You are wise to make use of local tradesmen because France is a very bureaucratic country and you need to have lots of permissions in place for most work.
Tradesmen in France need to be qualified with the relevant certificates and insurance.
They should give you proper quotes with their Siret number.
If they don't have the above then they will probably be working "on the black" which means that you would have no comeback in case of problems.
Working cash in hand is very strongly frowned upon in France and the tax authorities are more efficient at tracking down offenders than in the UK.
In addition, neighbours or other tradesmen will denounce offenders to the taxman.
Registered tradesmen will, where appropriate, sign off their work e.g. electricals and plumbing and septic tanks.
Especially if you are not onsite, tradesmen who promise to turn up next week may appear next month.
Life can proceed at a slower pace.
You should also be aware that property in rural France does not appreciate in value as we are used to in the UK.
Property also can takemuch longer to sell than the UK.
If you think that owning a house or developing a property in France is an investment - it isn't - you may not get your investment back.
I have owned a property for 12 years and I don't expect to make a profit at the end of the day.
If you are developing the house for your own benefit and pleasure that is the best way to look at it.
Good luck with your project.

Tom4man

Hi Cyrian,

Thanks for your detailed response its most welcomed, I have owned the property for some 5 years now and it owes me nothing, I bought it so cheap and will never aim to sell it - me and my wife fiends and family will just use it and we aim to stay out there for a few months at a time later in life each year.

I bought it because I am in construction and it was so cheap we aim to do most of the work ourselves but between work, normal holidays and covid its not been as easy as we thought to get out there. We used a local roofing company to replace the roof and guttering and we have done the rest of the work ourselves.
I have just found a chap who can clear the garden for me and put in a shingle driveway which will make arriving in my motorhome and parking on the side garden much easier which will make going out there to work much easier as we normally spend a day clearing the house up of dust and chasing out rodents etc lol just so we can cook there and we normally stay locally - however with the motorhome now it will be much more enjoyable as we have home comforts and we can go bike riding whilst there to make it more of a holiday too - plus we can leave the house like a building site.

Im very much looking forward to be being able to travel again so we can just get cracking but it will be great to have that side garden and the trench dug at the back of the house - that's a big step forward as then we have a proper base and then we can just start getting bits done.

Thanks again for your reply.

Tom

dmu

Hi, as said, French-qualified electricians and plumbers must sign off those aspects of the work. French norms are different from the UK and, when you amend your House Insurance to take into account its increased value due to the improvements, your Insurance Co. will want to see the official signing-off documents which give a 10-year guarantee.
And hopefully your "garden chap" is also registered, esp. as the work is out of doors and visible to the neighbours and rival artisans who, as said, are likely to denounce him (and you) to the URSSAF and Tax people!
HTH

Listen Very Carefully

Do not do the electrics yourself Get a local chap in who is registered That way if something goes wrong you are covered and believe me I have Brits do all sorts of things to electrics and remember ring mains are not allowed in France