Christian.m

Hi all

thinking of purchasing a holiday home in Pyrenees region of France, in the countryside
Purchase price will probably be around 400000 euro.

Any advice on the tax implications, when purchasing and yearly txes, would be much appreciated.

thanks

Christian

EuroTrash

You can calculate the various taxes and disbursements on the purchase here https://paris.notaires.fr/fr/outils-...-frais-d-achat

There are currently two annual property taxes payable on second homes: taxe foncière which is a tax on ownership paid by the person who owns the property on 1st Jan of each year, and taxe d'habitation which is a residential tax and is paid by the person who lives there (or who has the right to live there). These taxes vary widely from one commune to another so you would need to find out what they are once you identify a property that you're interested in. There's also the audiovisual tax if you have a TV at the property, and many communes have a separate tax for rubbish collection.
But this being France, things can change. Taxes come and taxes go. But mostly, they come.
Hope that helps.

Christian.m

Many thanks for the information

cyrian

I would think carefully before paying 400k € on a property in France.
The French property market is nothing like the market in the UK.
French property - especially rural property - can take several years to sell and you may not get your money back.
Even if you improve the property you are not guaranteed to increase the market value.
I have owned a property in France for 13 years and I will be happy if, at the end of the day, I get my initial cost back.
A member recently posted that he had offered the full asking price for a property.
That is not the way to buy a house in France.
Estate agents are delighted when they get a Brit purchaser because Brits usually pay higher prices than the French do.
When you decide on your chosen area, learn about the local housing market and then haggle over the price of your chosen property.
French houses are priced per sq metre. A French person viewing a house would ask how many sq metres each room is and the size of the land.
Use the total sq metres as a guide to the price when compared to other local houses.
Have a look at this site:
Notaires de France in English

There is also a site for the selling prices of homes in each area - like Rightmove in the UK.

Christian.m

Many thanks the information.

Annetje

In Charente Maritime the Brits have the reputation that they pushed the house prices up and now they are gone (B-word).

Christian.m

Many thanks!
Building a clearer picture on what I need to do, with every message

jack_russell

I would concur with the comments about property prices in France, the market operates in a completely different way to the UK. Do not be shy in making an offer well below the asking price, 30-40% below is not uncommon.

Moses2013

In other parts the Parisians don't seem to be popular either.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20210624/par...stal-property/

Annetje

But now you're talking "Foreigners" !

EuroTrash

I don't think bad feeling from locals towards holiday home owners is specific to any particular region or any particular nationailty. Seems to be that wherever a village or a wider area starts feeling its identity or its economy is under seige, the locals suddenly feel solidarity and anyone who isn't local or doesn't have local connections is a foreigner. Nothing new there but what's the solution. Cornwall, Wales, the Cotswolds, Brittany, Pays Basque, it's the same story.

Nand

My experience is having lived in 9 countries on three continents plus the B.Isles is that French people are the most touchy about 'foreign' new coming members in their communities. Also, that includes me living in 6 french communities ( plus one where I visited a friend fluent in french for a month who having lived in Normandy for 5 years felt the same as me ).

Italians and Irish were the quickest to adapt to me I believe. I was fastest to adapt to Italian life. Why am I still france then? Probably won't be here for very many more years I don't think anyways.