For peace of mind when you most need it...

Recently published UK Government figures show that a startling 1 in 4 property purchasers in the UK face major unforeseen expenditure – as a direct result of not having commissioned a "pre-purchase" survey. This figure is almost certainly higher for French property, but it doesn't need to be!

With almost everything about French building radically different to how things are done in the UK, expert advice is the only sensible way to go if you want to avoid your dream turning into a property nightmare.

About Philip Armitage

With a BSc degree in Estate Management (Surveying) from the University of Reading, I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor just over 30 years ago and am a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). Although I have been involved at one time or another in most aspects of Chartered Surveying, including commercial property Rent Reviews and Rating Appeals, I am now mainly doing what I like best and have done most of throughout my professional life: surveying homes for their would-be new owners.

Philip Armitage

Very happily married, I live with my wife Patricia and children Peter and Celia, on the banks of the River Deben in part of an important Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in Suffolk, close to the tranquil East Anglian coast. Apart from its lack of "proper" hills the area is in most ways perfect for us as lovers of walking and the rich natural fauna and flora of the region.

I first started carrying out surveys in France about 15 years ago, in co-operation with a specialist French property lawyer based in nearby Ipswich. The purchase and renovation of a 400 year old house in a medieval bastide town in the Lot & Garonne in Aquitaine in 2003 however was the first real step towards realising my long-term ambition of moving with my family to a new permanent home in south west France. The move will not actually affect Surveyfrance however, for I shall maintain a base in the UK so as to be able to continue to provide the same surveying services to British home buyers in France as at present. This aim however had already acted as the catalyst to specialise in French property as my professional future with the launch of "Surveyfrance" as a separate entity back in 2001.

While I have many contacts with lawyers and others (both in the UK and in France) specialising in various aspects of the sale of French property to English people, Surveyfrance is totally independent of all estate agents and mortgage companies.

Contact Details

UK Postal Address –

E.P.Armitage B.Sc. FRICS. IRRV.
Surveyfrance
35 Victoria Road,
Woodbridge,
Suffolk,
IP12 1EL. UK.

France Postal Address –

E.P.Armitage B.Sc. FRICS. IRRV.
Surveyfrance
Beauregard,
47290 Boudy De Beauregard,
France.

UK –

Work +44 (0)1394 610227
Mobile +44 (0)7754 460403

France –

Work 0553 36 99 18
Mobile 0674 01 31 18