Bornage

Often a vendor has a property for sale that sits on a large parcel of land and the actual area provisionally discussed as being available for sale is actually a smaller parcel/area of land than any previously defined area. This will have been identified at an early stage and the local office must request a ‘cadastral plan’ at the earliest opportunity. This plan will show the current boundaries but make sure the plan provided by the vendor is current and up to date. If in doubt the local mairies have access to cadastral plans and /or the local cadastral office. By previous definition we mean, legally recorded, and registered by the ‘cadastre’ which is the equivalent of the land registry.

In this situation you need to agree:-

1. That there will be a division of land and approximately where the boundaries will be

2. Who will pay for the costs

3. Who will be paying for the fences to be created

4. Who will actually do the fences in terms of responsibility to make it happen

The person who carries out this function is the ‘Expert’ also known as Geometre’. These persons are known locally by notaires, vendors and in time any new office will get to know who to use with various notaires and vendors. It is very important to establish on the day of discussion regarding the sale, who is instructing the geometre as well as deciding which one. Often a notaire will say he will do it, and if this is the case, it is still often better to ring the geometre direct, as well, to ensure that :

a) the date of ‘bornage’ is convenient to the local office

b) the Notaire has done so, (they are not always as efficient as local office).

It is also important to note that it is much better to agree with the notaire/geometre that the invoice for his/her services will be direct to the notaire, not to the client, or to the agency. Equally it is very important to only allow the bornage to proceed after the compromis has been signed, when client monies have been received by the notaire. There will be exceptions to this guideline but be careful, someone still has to pay the geometre if the deal falls through ! It is rare for a client to attend, but they must be informed of the importance of the event, and offered the chance to attend.

What happens on the day :

1. Take your wellington boots.

2. Be on time, or early. If you get there after the vendor/geometre have started talking or pacing out land you may have missed out on something. Beware of ‘cunning’ farmers.

3. Allow up to 3 hours. Average 1 hour, but allow 3 hours for complications and field negotiation, and the obligatory cafe and ‘tipple’ afterwards for good client and vendor relations for the future.

4. The geometre will place ‘javelins’ in the ground.

5. After lines have been agreed, the geometre will then ask for agreement and then bang into the ground the ‘bornes’ which are of various design but whichever design they are supposedly permanent land markers and generally very difficult to remove.

6. He/she will ask vendor to sign, and client or Dream Properties Dordogne representative to sign on behalf of client depending on circumstances.

7. The geometre will now calculate the surface area.

8. He then draws up the ‘document d’appentage’ showing new and old ‘bornes’ and boundaries and will establish new parcel numbers.

9. These parcel numbers will be confirmed by the day of completion and appear in the final contract document.

NB. On the day, issues around rights of way may arise, be prepared.

Glossary of terms :

Cadastre - is the land registry office, usually based in the main town of the area and often in the ‘centre des impots’.

Borne - is the metal stake with various metal/plastic tops, and plastic flags are often visible as well. The plastic flags are likely to be removed or ‘blow away’ soon after.

Geometre - land surveyor

Document d’appentage - the document showing the new boundaries and surface areas as drawn up by the geometre.