The final 5% of a French off-plan home's price is due at delivery, subject to the rules on recording defects and consigning the balance. That is the position set out in Service Public's VEFA guidance, checked on 22 October 2026. For an overseas ski-property buyer, it makes the key collection appointment rather more consequential than a photograph beside the front door.
The challenge is practical as well as contractual. You may have booked flights, ordered furniture and promised the family Christmas in the mountains. The developer has other apartments to hand over. Everyone would like the visit to go smoothly. A well-organised inspection gives that goodwill something useful to work with: a precise record of what has been delivered, what needs attention and who will organise the next visit.
Know which appointment you are attending
French terminology matters here. Livraison is the buyer's handover; réception des travaux is the separate acceptance of work between the developer and its contractors. Service Public explicitly distinguishes them in its handover guidance. Do not assume that collecting your keys starts every construction guarantee clock. Ask for the relevant dates and have your adviser explain their effect on your purchase.
A preliminary visit can be useful, but establish its purpose in writing. Is it a chance to spot finishing issues, measure for curtains or formally take possession? Those are different tasks. Put the appointment description beside the invitation, the contract and any proposed document you will be asked to sign. A cheerful email saying that everything is ready should not be your only preparation.
For a buyer living abroad, a sensible planning sequence has 3 stages: prepare the evidence, inspect and record, then verify the corrections. This is our organising suggestion, not a statutory procedure. It helps prevent the familiar mistake of treating the airport departure as the end of the job. The apartment remains in France after you go home, along with the electrician who needs access on Tuesday.
Build a folder that describes your actual apartment
Start with the signed sale documents, the contractual plans, the specification and every agreed amendment. Add the final schedule of buyer modifications if there is one. Keep earlier versions separately so an obsolete socket position or cupboard layout does not become the basis of an argument. Name the files clearly enough that another person can use them without a telephone briefing from you.
ANIL's advice on buying off-plan emphasises the contractual description rather than advertising material. Apply that distinction to the inspection. A timber finish shown in a sales image may be different from the finish specified for your lot. Your question is what the agreed paperwork requires and whether the delivered apartment matches it. A brochure is helpful context; the signed specification is the working reference.
Make a short room-by-room sheet before travelling. For each space, note the relevant plan, agreed equipment and any modification that needs checking. Add the parking space, cellar and ski storage where they form part of the purchase. Do not let an attractive living room consume the whole appointment while a separately purchased annex escapes inspection altogether.
Carry accessible offline copies. Mobile reception in a basement is a poor filing system. If several buyers own the property together, agree beforehand who will speak, take photographs and review the written record. Two people independently recording the same issue under different names can generate surprisingly energetic correspondence later.
Give the visit enough time and the right help
Ask the developer how long is allocated, whether services will be operating and which areas will be accessible. Prefer daylight for checking finishes where scheduling allows. Leave room around the appointment for delays rather than putting a fixed airport transfer immediately afterwards. This is a purchase inspection with travel attached, even if the surrounding week includes excellent skiing.
Service Public says a buyer may be accompanied at delivery by a building professional or a commissaire de justice. If you want independent technical assistance, arrange it before the invitation becomes urgent. Obtain a written scope and quote. Ask what the professional will inspect, what cannot be assessed during the visit and when you will receive a report. Do not assume every inspection includes specialist testing.
If you cannot attend, ask your notaire and the developer what authority your representative needs. Define the representative's role: attending a visit, identifying defects, signing paperwork and accepting keys are not interchangeable instructions. Send the documents in advance and book time to discuss findings. A friend with a smartphone can be helpful, but friendship alone does not settle technical competence or signing authority.
Agree how translation will work too. You should understand a reservation before signing it. A short, accurate French description of a problem is more useful than a lengthy English message that leaves its location uncertain.
Record defects so someone else can find them
Move systematically through the apartment. Compare the agreed layout and equipment with what is present, then look at visible condition and operation where safe and permitted. Open doors, examine finishes and ask for demonstrations of controls. Do not dismantle equipment or improvise electrical tests. Record anything that cannot be checked, including the reason, instead of marking it satisfactory because the demonstration was unavailable.
Give each observation a location and a description. “Bedroom window difficult to close” is a starting point; identifying the bedroom, window and behaviour is better. Link photographs to the written item. Take an overall image to show where the problem sits, then a closer image of the detail. Twenty photographs of white paint without a room reference are an album, not much of an action plan.
A useful record contains 4 fields for each issue: reference number, location, observation and requested follow-up. That is a suggested format, not a legal minimum. Keep the wording factual. “Water visible below basin after tap demonstration” records what you saw without pretending to diagnose the concealed plumbing.
Read the handover record before signing and retain your copy. Check that important observations have actually been included rather than left in a separate verbal conversation. If wording or the proposed process is disputed, seek advice promptly. An inspection report and a contractual notification may serve different purposes; ask your adviser which formal steps your situation requires.
Prepare the final payment before the final visit
The balance deserves preparation, particularly when funds must cross borders. Confirm the payment arrangements and independently verify bank details through an established contact route. Allow for transfer processing, bank limits and any lender requirements. Avoid arranging everything from a mobile phone while standing in the apartment with someone waiting for a signature.
For arithmetic only, take a fictional VAT-inclusive purchase price of €600,000, equivalent to €500,000 excluding VAT if the assumed tax rate is 20%. The final five per cent would be €30,000. This is not a DOMOSNO quotation, a tax-recovery promise or evidence of current resort pricing. It simply shows why the last payment needs an agreed process rather than an improvised decision.
ANIL explains that, where reservations justify consigning the balance, funds are held through the appropriate third-party arrangement and released when reservations are lifted. Consignation is not the same as casually keeping the money in your own account. Discuss the applicable mechanism with your notaire before handover if a problem is anticipated. The facts, documents and formalities matter; an internet checklist cannot resolve a disputed completion.
Also keep an ordinary operating budget available. Insurance, utility arrangements, furniture deliveries and inspection assistance are separate lines in your planning. Ask for actual quotes. There is no reliable universal “handover cost” that can be applied to every Alpine apartment.
Arrange access for the work that follows
Before leaving, establish who handles the outstanding items and how appointments will be proposed. Ask for a written follow-up schedule, while recognising that different trades may need separate visits. Identify the person who can admit contractors, the notice they need and who checks the property afterwards. A correction scheduled for a weekday is of limited use if the only keys are in another country.
Keep a single live record rather than several competing email lists. Add the date an item was reported, the proposed response, access arrangements and evidence of completion. Mark an issue closed only when the relevant correction has been checked. For a visible finish, photographs may be useful; for a functional fault, ask how operation was verified.
Our practical suggestion is to maintain 2 separate records: the formal handover and correspondence file, and the everyday access and appointments log. Link them by the issue reference. This keeps a caretaker's convenient messaging thread from becoming the only surviving evidence of an unresolved matter.
Ask your adviser to identify any notification and action deadlines that apply, and diary them immediately. Do not wait for the next ski holiday to seek help with a disputed or worsening defect. A promise to investigate and a legal deadline can continue running alongside one another.
Keep the first holiday out of the critical path
There is a strong temptation to combine delivery, furniture installation, rental photography and the first family stay into one triumphant week. Each activity depends on the previous one being ready. A missing fitting can then become a disappointed guest, a rearranged installer and an expensive change of travel plans.
Build flexibility into the first bookings. Ask suppliers about storage and rescheduling before placing orders, and check the building's arrangements for deliveries and contractor access. If you intend to rent, let the actual readiness of the apartment determine the launch date. A projected handover window is not proof that a furnished, equipped holiday let will be available on a particular Saturday.
These are new-build handover considerations. A resale purchase follows different documents and circumstances, so do not transfer a VEFA payment rule or snagging process to an existing apartment by analogy. For either type of purchase, the useful habit is the same: write down what is agreed, identify who acts next and retain evidence that the action happened.
If you are comparing new-build ski homes from abroad, talk to DOMOSNO about your plans. We can help you bring delivery timing, practical arrangements and the right questions into the search before the keys become the next item on your travel itinerary.
