jvc

Don't be ignorant with health out here as we found out last year. It can be very hard if one of you falls ill, and I am not just talking run of the mill illnesses. That is when you need to make sure you are happy with finances and health cover, and also that you understand what health facilities are available to you. Everything else at that point is irrelevant, and if you aren't on top of everything the system out here is very hard to comprehend (and I am not just talking about the language) if one of you is unwell.
Also, not putting a damper on things, but I know someone who is needing a gardener on a weekly basis, but months later is still trying to get them (or in fact any gardener) to visit. Artisans can be slow out here, so don't think it will be like the UK and everything will fall into place.
It takes time to build up a rapport with artisans, and word of mouth is paramount.

Turban Explorer

Wow, 30% below sounds better than anticipated. I am hoping to buy something structurally sound, large (4+ beds) with a garden so family and friends can come down from England. Happy to do cosmetic work but anything larger and I think I'd be scared off.

Car wise I guess thinking I'd need to buy in the UK is silly. I'm probably just used to baulking at the prices of them here in Australia.

EuroTrash

Re negotiating, ever vendor is different. Some people won't be prepared to drop by another cent. Others will. It depends how anxious they are to sell, some are desperate to get out and some are thinking they might perhaps like a change of scenery and have just put their house on the market to see if they get a good offer. The main thing to be aware of is that in France, once you've made an offer on a property and signed the compromis, you cannot change your mind after the cooling off period, you're legally obliged to go ahead.

Structural surveys aren't the norm. All properties will have had a fairly wide range of surveys carried out - energy, electrical, lead, etc etc and all major building work is supposed to carry a guarantee for 10 years from completion. Most people don't bother with a structural survey.

Cars are generally more expensive to buy in France but of course when you sell them, you get an equivalently high price. A standard UK car is easy to import once you have utility bills to prove you live in France.

dmu

Yes, but what happens if you go first and you've willed your property to your partner? This is what happened to my unmarried and unpacséd neighbour - her companion willed all his property and assets to her and when he died last year, she had to sell the house very quickly in order to pay the 60% Inheritance Tax within the deadline. Not recommended to add such unnecessary stress to sorrow.... Before signing on the dotted line, you should ask the Notaire how best to protect your companion, should you be the first to go.... French Property and Succession Laws are a concept not easy for foreigners to grasp...

EuroTrash

A good notaire will raise the inheritance question as a matter of course when they're preparing the contract. But for a holiday home it isn't so much of an issue as if it was going to be your 'home'. If you don't want to marry, your partner will simply have to bite the bullet and pay 60 per cent inheritance tax if she wants to keep or sell the house, or he/she is at liberty to refuse the inheritance.

Turban Explorer

My financial arrangements are a bit unusual and I would probably want to leave the property (should I have it that long) within a charity legacy fund I have. I haven't checked yet whether that attracts a cost to the French government. More disturbingly does any one know if I hold a French asset and die in France does the French succession tax authorities chase other assets around the world? Or can I avoid that by maintaining 'non residency status' by never spending more that the 183 days per year in the country? I think I'm answering my own questions - need a bit of expert advice to avoid the vagaries of the French taxation system....

dmu

This Tax has to be paid within a few months after the decease - if the house hasn't been sold within this deadline for any reason, the heir must pay the Tax out of his/her own pocket (60% of the example given of 200,000€) or not accept the inheritance.

EuroTrash

If youre not resident in France, only your fixed assets in France are subject to French succession law. And as previously mentioned, if you have a home in another country and you spend less than 180 days here, don't work here, don't have family here and aren't included on the tax return of any household in France, you're not resident and your house is classed as a holiday home belonging to a non-resident.

You have 6 months if the person died in France, 12 months if the owner died abroad. You can also arrange payment terms, though interest would be payable. It's all here http://vosdroits.service-public.fr/particuliers/F80.xhtm

I'm pretty certain there is a way of gifting to charity but your notaire will explain all that to you if and when you get to the point of purchase.

Turban Explorer

Can I ask a question about the best websites for French property?

I like french-property.com - it has a good range and plenty of fixer uppers which have some fabulous features that could be retained.

The English based ones like Right Move and a few others with a higher percentage of renovated properties seem more expensive despite a similar number of rooms and land and perhaps seem to try and appeal to British francophilia. Is that typical? Are there more French based ones that I am missing? In Australia there is a catch all one database that all agents' properties seem to fall into - is there a similar one in France?

Thanks again

Chatter Static

A trip here is always the best thing as the websites rarely convey the whole picture the French love to buy privately as it saves a fee but you will find house adverts in local papers and lots of Notaries list them as well in their offices. As well as Leboncoin as well.

Houses typically take longer to sell here and plenty of folk will have property on the market that should have been reduced.

Shirtback

A few random thoughts:

Do you speak/understand French, and/or are you willing to learn it ? This helps enormously.

Depending on the answer to above, concerning buying property, I'd be looking on local "petite-annonces" sites, & or in regional newspapers.

The health insurance question is definitely non-negotiable & important to sort out.

The (far in the future for you, I hope) inheritance questions regarding property & assets held on French soil are also incredibly important, & can be More Than Complicated.

I am, through no fault/intention of my own (other than not researching "Renonciation", but that's another story) an 1/8th share property owner through inheritance laws/international legal wrangling, in France. The legal process was expensive & painful, & would have been infinitely more so if I had not been fluent in French. There are some reasonably simple (by French standards) ways of avoiding this, *if* one researches & puts in place the required safeguards, when purchasing.

France, with all its faults & bureaucracy, would be my ideal country of residence, eventually. Given that statement, I still have a love/hate relationship with the country & its inhabitants.

The key to it, for me, is being lucky enough to speak the language. I can not count the times I have been asked to help out on knotty bureaucratic/administrative/general living questions which can have potentially horrendous financial consequences for unilingual expats :-), which could often have been avoided by learning the lingo :-(

EuroTrash

Totally agree. There are so many posts on other forums, not so much this one because members on here seem pretty clued up, where some posters seem to have problems with every single French organisation they deal with, from EDF to their insurers to the tax office to local service providers, all apparently hell bent on ripping them off. It's not normal that some people have so many problems when other people don't have a single one, and I'm sure most of it is down to not understanding the contracts they've signed and the communications they receive and just generally, how things work in France.

Turban Explorer

I am quite concerned about the language issue and intend to brush up. I did do a French degree at Uni a long time ago but am incredibly rusty and I'm sure my accent is a joke. However, it means I can understand and write French. I have a great fear of being committed to any sort of contract so will be strictly pay as you go where possible.

Health care wise as I will only be there a few months at a time I understand travel insurance would cover any issues. We also have a reasonable financial buffer for any unexpected costs. The other half is still covered on his Australian health insurance too but heading back to Oz would be costly.

Basically I am incredibly excited by the idea of beautiful, wisteria covered, shuttered houses, good food and wine, proximity to friends and family after a long time away down under and the culture and history of Europe. The houses are such good value its easy to get carried away. Thanks to everyone for calming me down!!!

Turban Explorer

Are there any agents you know off who could hold my hand and help me through the buying process and establishing ourselves? Perhaps a decent freelance opportunity for a more experienced and fluent expat?

Frenchy2004

[QUOTE] I bought a 2008 Citroen C4 last year for just under 5k euro..... I think you were robbed IMHO for that price

[QUOTE] who needs the hassle just to end up with an unsaleable RHD vehicle which you can't overtake things in? Why can't/would you think that you can't overtake in a RHD car LOL. I had zero problems driving a RHD car and btw I'm a female lol