With an experienced South of France surveyor advising you on your property purchase, you can be confident that you won’t be confronted with any unexpected repairs for a while. However, sooner or later you are going to need or want to employ the services of a local tradesperson.
It could be that you’ve intentionally purchased a property which needs a great deal of renovation and are looking forward to getting stuck in and truly making the place your own. Alternatively, you could simply be looking to add an extension or similar feature to help drive up the enjoyment and value you get out of your new home. And then, of course, there are those unexpected repairs such as: boilers break down, replacing old wiring and accidental damage.
Whatever the reason, knowing where to turn to find a decent tradesperson can be tough at the best of times and being in an unfamiliar country this can seem an even more of a daunting task.
Thankfully there are a few great resources you can turn to.
findatradeinfrance.com
Despite its rather on-the-nose name, findatradeinfrance.com is a great way to advertise your job and get quotes from qualified tradespeople.
The site is entirely in English making it very easy to navigate. You post the job you need completing with details about size, type of work etc. and the website does all the hard word by sending your job out to its database of thousands of tradespeople. You then get notified when any interested parties have responded. Once you have the quotes you can compare prices, as well as previous ratings and feedback from other customers, making sure you get the best deal and the best people for your job.
It’s free to post a job on findatradeinfrance.com and, once the job is complete you can leave your own review to help inform other users.
Smart Expat
Nobody who is upping sticks and moving to another country should be unaware of the Smart Expat website. Smart Expat is jam-packed with useful information for newly arrived immigrants, including local information, what’s on guides, how to make contacts, shopping, and how-to information.
In amongst all this useful information you can also find a database of local businesses. Simply select the area of France you are searching in and choose the “HOME” tab to drop-down a list of services including architects and surveyors, garden services, and, of course, tradespeople.
Because the website is designed around expats, many of the tradespeople advertising here are from the UK themselves. While they will almost certainly have French people working with them, you should always be able to find someone who speaks English fluently meaning no critical details will be lost in translation.
Each listing has a map showing you where the company is located, details about the business and the sort of work they do, and contact details. There’s also a rudimentary “like” system, allowing you to check when you’ve had a good experience with a tradesperson.
Charles Mackintosh
Whether you want to move in straight away or buy a fixer-upper, if you’re looking for a passionate and knowledgeable south of France surveyor to help you purchase the property of your dreams, Charles Mackintosh has over 30 years working in the region.
Please get in touch today for more information.