Finding Builders in
France
You have bought your
dream Property in the Aude, Languedoc that needs work
done to it. This can be done with you present on site,
and probably doing quite a bit of work yourself, or it
can be done in your absence. There are some English
speaking companies that will offer Property Project
Management- like http://www.bize-knees.com.
It is very important to have someone on the ground to
oversee the work and report back to you on a regular
basis- and also kick ass if required to try and stick
to deadlines.
From frenchpropertylinks.com , there is some excellent
advise:
Builders
in France - a varied bunch
Ask any ex-pat and
they will tell you a story. Everyone has a tale to tell
about builders in France. Everyone has an opinion, and
there are many who love to tell you that whatever it is
you thought you knew on the subject, you were wrong.
There are bad builders out there... cowboys and
highwaymen who will con you out of your last centime
and build you a house that will fall down as soon as
the wind blows. There are other builders in France who
work "on the black" and can cause you to face a
frightening invasion of gendarmes and some enormous
fines. There are those builders who seem to be
everything you want, but fail to actually turn up to
start the job... or perhaps, even worse, those builders
who start the job but disappear from the local radar
long before the work is finished. So be warned and be
careful.
Finding
the right builder in France
All this can be quite
disconcerting for a newly "ex-patriated" member of the
community, whose future happiness depends upon finding
"the right one" from this fickle bunch we know as
builders in France. If you are in the position, as so
many of us are, of needing a builder in France, there
are a few things you can do to smooth your path and
avoid the pitfalls.
French
builders may have an advantage
The French builders may have the advantage, though, of
local knowledge, of local building techniques and
materials, and may have long established useful links
with other craftsmen whose services would be helpful to
you in the future. There are also now many more
nationalities operating as builders and other tradesmen
within France, with the opening of the European
boundaries allowing a flood of different nationalities
into the country. There are, of course, both good and
bad builders of all nationalities, and whichever you
choose, the qualifications and legality are of more
importance than what is written on the passport!
How
to find builders in France - personal
recommendation
There are several ways that you can find builders in
France, and it is also possible that builders may just
find you! One of the best ways is, as ever, by personal
recommendation, as the builders then come with a
reference from someone that you can trust. Moreover, if
the builders have completed work for a person you know
in the area, you will be able to see the work that has
been done and to draw your own conclusions as to the
quality. Indeed both references and quality of work
should be examined carefully even when using a builder
who hasn't come through personal recommendation. This
is of utmost importance.
Find
a builder in France at your Mairie
As with so many things in France, the local Mairie is
another good starting point. If you have only just
moved to the area and don't yet know anyone to get a
word of mouth recommendation, try asking at the Mairie
about reliable local craftsmen. Whilst not directly
accountable they are unlikely to point you in the
direction of a cowboy or an unregistered builder, so
there is some sort of safeguard built in to this method
of finding a builder. The possible downside, however,
is that those who work in the Mairie will be local
people with their own causes to promote, and may be
more keen to get work for dear old Uncle Claude then to
be completely objective.
Find a builder in France by using Qualibat
Qualibat is a database
of registered builders that covers the whole of France,
and if you have no way of obtaining personal
recommendation then you could do worse than take a look
on its website, www.qualibat.com. Once again, you will
find only legitimate and qualified tradesmen on here,
so it is a useful resource.
Find a builder in France from Internet sites for
ex-pats
There are various websites that offer help and advice
to ex-pats and French property owners, and these can be
another very useful resource. Our site, for example,
has a Services section that lists tradesmen (Builders
providing a service in France).
Find
a builder in France from local
publications
You can also use the services sections of local
publications to seek tradesmen. There will usually be
various adverts under the different headings of the
trades, and most areas have a good choice of builders
listed.
Find
a builder in France from trade
organisations
There are several trade organisations to which a
builder can be affiliated, but you need to be aware
that whilst some of these give a certain guarantee of
quality and conformity, they do not necessarily include
all good qualified builders in their membership. For
example, many English (and other non French nationals)
builders (albeit suitably qualified and registered
etc.) may not affiliate to these societies because of
the language barrier. However, they can certainly be
worth investigating, especially if your level of French
is good.
Builders in France affiliated to UNCMI and
FFC
Consider builders with affiliation to UNCMI
(Union Nationale
des Constructeurs de Maisons
Individuelles) if you are looking
to build a new house from scratch, and are using a
standard design. If you are building something a little
more individual it may be worth finding a builder from
the ranks of the FFC (Fédération des
Constructeurs de Maisons
Individuelles), which is known to
be a very good organisation that provides legal and
financial guarantees for work done by their members.
(New build property in France, Building or extending
property in France, Land for Sale in France.)
What
to check when you've found a builder in
France
When you think you have found a builder who may be
suitable, or if one has presented himself (which can
happen if he spots the potential for a good job!), it
vitally important to know how to check his credentials
if you are to avoid some potential problems. The first
thing to do is to ascertain that he is registered for
work in France, so that you safeguard yourself against
a person who is working on the black. Not being
registered does not necessarily mean that he is a bad
builder, but if you employ him and you are caught it
would leave you open to an investigation by the
gendarmes, and to some very large fines. Not an ideal
way to begin your new life in France.
Check that your builder is registered in
France
Checking that the tradesman is registered is easy. A
registered builder will have a Siret number, amongst
others, on his paperwork, and this is the
identification you need. You can check if you wish,
with the local Chambre de
Metiers that the
Siret
number is
correct. All tradesmen (artisans) have to register with
the Chambre de
Metiers in their prefecture,
thus creating a simple and effective database for
checking legality. It is also good to know that in
order to register, the tradesmen have to take a course
on good business practice and to display their formal
qualifications and record of related experience.
Check your builder has a ten year
guarantee
Check too, that there is the normal required ten year
guarantee policy in place, as this is there to protect
both you and the builder and is very important. This
guarantee should protect you from non completion of
work, from bad workmanship and from failure of
materials over time.
Devis
Another way of safeguarding yourself is to request an
official quote, or "devis".
This is binding, so you have the peace of mind that the
builder cannot begin the work then bump up the price
without justification. Of course, make sure that the
work you ask the builder to do is exactly what is
detailed on the devis. I have heard builders complain
that a client has accepted a devis for a job and then
changed the requirements of the job completely and
expected the price to remain the same. Check what's
included on the devis carefully too. There have been
cases where a client has received a bill considerably
greater than the quote on the original devis, only to
be informed that the devis was for materials only, not
inclusive of labour.
References and quality of work
And finally, as mentioned earlier in this article, once
a builder has been found and his credentials checked
and verified, don't forget to check the builder's
references and inspect the quality of his/her previous
jobs, if at all possible. This is very, very important.
If you are unable to do either, it may be that you
should walk away from this particular builder and look
for another.
Paying builders in France
If you are contemplating major building works then it
is common to be asked to pay the builder in stages. You
will probably be asked to produce a deposit payment
before work begins, to cover the initial materials
required to start the job. The payments will then be
staged as necessary as the work progresses, with each
payment having an official invoice detailing exactly
what has been agreed, what has been done, and what has
been paid to accompany it and to act as a safeguard. If
the job is a small one and likely to be completed in a
week or so, it is normal to pay at the end of the work.
Redress possibilities
If you should find yourself in the unfortunate position
of having paid a builder upfront for work that is not
completed, or not completed to your satisfaction, you
have several possibilities for redress (assuming the
builder is registered). You can claim against the ten
year guarantee, you can approach the
Chambre
de Metiers with which the builder
is registered, or speak to his trade association.
Check
Glossary
for Property Terms
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