Denre

Hi we are looking to move permanently to the Limousin area in Jan/Feb next year ( when our property sale completes).
We are initially looking for a 3 bed property to rent for a period of time to enable us to be based there to search for a property to buy.
Any help would be great.
Thanks in advance

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
Can't help, except to suggest that you look on the LeBonCoin or Gîtes de France sites for a short-term rental, but look under "Limousin". A Limousine is a female who lives in the Limousin, or a car!
For long-term leases, landlords usually require justification that potential tenants have a regular monthly income 3-4 times the rent, but must be less demanding for short-term leases.
If you need info concerning healthcare coverage, employment, schooling,... don't hesitate to ask!

Denre

Thanks for the reply, I dare say we will need all sorts of advise regarding healthcare, schooling etc.
Were looking in and around Bourganeuf with a view to running a small gite business.
Been there many times and love it there, were just a bit anxious about finding somewhere to live while we find a place to settle etc

dmu

If you post a new thread on the subject of running a gîte business and the healthcare coverage which goes with it, some one in the know will come along to advise.
How old is/are your child/children? For starters, there's a sticky thread in Chatterstatic's FAQs in the Read-Me threads above, called Schooling, which gives info for all ages.

Novocastrian

Oh dear. Please spend a lot of time searching and reading the hundreds of threads on this forum (which is really helpful and a mine of information).

I assume that you are independently wealthy and speak fluent French?

babyposer

Don't expect to make any money with a gite.

EuroTrash

Running a gite can be very enjoyable, and it will put something into the family coffers. But unless you have an extensive, well-marketed gite complex in a top tourist area, the income left from a small gite business after taxes and social contributions is not likely to amount to enough on its own to feed a family and pay the household bills all year round It's something to be done alongside another business, or alongside one member of the family having a regular job (not easy to find here, and especially not in rural Limousin I would have thought).
Sorry and all, but you need to do some hard figures before you rush into buying because if it turns out not to be viable, selling again can take years, literally. A second income string is what you need, and if it's going to be in the form of a separate business for one of you, look carefully into French business structures and taxes too.

dmu

Could this, and more detailed info on French business structures, RSI, etc..., be made into a separate Sticky in the FAQs?
All this helpful advice will get lost under a "property" title....

EuroTrash

What do people think? I don't mind putting together a list of useful websites and assumptions that shouldn't be made, if other members that work here or know about the 'system' will chip in too? Maybe it could be my project for over Christmas, when I need a change from to doing jigsaws dozing off by the fire
(mama mia am I looking forward to my Christmas break this year )

Novocastrian

Now, I'm not looking to work or to start a business in France, but as a frequent flyer on several BE forums I always welcome wiki or FAQ type threads which minimise repetition from newer posters.

dmu

Why not ask for the pertinent parts of this thread to be moved to the new FAQs, under the title "running a gîte"?
(That's what I did for my FAQ contributions, and people can add info and advice as and when).

Scots in Treignac

I hadn't realised how easy it is now to find information already in the forum. Thanks for the reminder.
However, if I'm just looking to see what the current topics are, it's a pain having to scroll down all the "Read Me"s.
Is there an answer or is it me that's the pain ?

dmu

Subjects are all grouped together in ChatterStatic's "Moving to France FAQs", but some subjects, e.g. business structures, buying property,..., need someone in the know (ET ?) to start them off.

EuroTrash

Hint duly taken, but I'm afraid it will have to wait until the Christmas break. Right now I'm busy putting theory into practice and trying to earn enough to pay all the bills that in due course I'll take masochistic delight in telling y'all about

dmu

I asked a Mod whether it's possible to transfer the pertinent posts into a Sticky in the FAQs (with a different title) which can be added to as and when. Likewise for the subject of buying property (PANIC thread). If it works out technically, you won't have to do more than add info whenever! Don't let it spoil your Christmas!