Debbysue63

Tweedpipe

Welcome to the forum.
Have a read through the Moving To France FAQ, especially the 'Buying a Property in France' thread. Also if not married it's so important to understand the 'Partner Status in France'. That topic too is discussed in the FAQ thread.

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
While you're looking for "THE PERFECT PROPERTY", you should research boring things like sufficient income for Résidence purposes, income Tax, healthcare coverage,..., the latter being determined by your employment/retiree status. Will you be working? looking for work? In receipt of UK State Pensions? Living off income from the UK?
You don't mention children. Whatever, as soon as you buy property in France, you must think "Inheritance Tax". Even if you write a UK Will, the heirs would still have to pay Taxe de Succession on all French assets. Take a look at the "Inheritance Laws" thread in the above FAQs. If you don't have children or either of you has children from an earlier marriage, then things get complicated and you must consult the Notaire dealing with the sale. As mentioned by tp, if you aren't legally bound, this is another indispensable reason to get the Notaire's advice. As suggested, take a look at the "Partner Status" thread and, depending on your age, "Growing Old in France" and others.
Last but not least, how is your French?
HTH, at least on subjects which you haven't asked about but must be aware of!
P.S. If it's an important factor in your search/decision, your OH would need to obtain a Permit for himself, and to set up a business structure to run fishing holidays, etc..

EuroTrash

I thought house hunting was meant to be the fun bit
If you don't know France well, looking for a property on the internet is not a good way to go about it. Get yourselves over here and spend time in the regions you're interested in.
And as dmu says, check that you will meet the FOM / residence criteria and Brexit proof your plan. You don't want to buy a property to live in and then discover you're limited to visits of 3 months max.

Chatter Static

DONT Start by looking on the Internet..... The internet is NOT the solution to every problem.


Most of us if not all found our homes by visiting France finding out where we wanted to live then either looking in estate agent is France or their websites. But borrowing where you want to be has to be done on FOOT.

Tweedpipe

If you have now read through the Buying a Property in France thread, you should have a better idea of how to plan accordingly.

Regarding two of your comments:
i) "The pefect property" rarely, if ever exits. Even what may initially appear to be exactly what you've been looking for in terms of location, size etc, may end up a nightmare with neighbours from hell, dogs, smells etc - we've read about these problems here on the French forum more than once.
Even a purpose-built "perfect property" in it's own grounds etc with nobody nearby, could also end up as a major headache if in a medical desert - as many departments in France have become, and more following suit with their residents having to travel many miles for eventual hospital treatment, and no chance of finding a doctor or medical practitioner anywhere in the vicinity. It's no longer a secret that medical desertification has become one of the major aspects of French malaise. I recall that in 2007 a report by the French L'ordre des Medecins called for a structural reform, and added an alert that if nothing was done between that timeframe and 2025 that France will have lost a quarter of it's doctors. As I understand it today the situation in many departments is as bad if not worse than previously.
This is not meant to discourage, but to re-inforce the importance of doing adequate planning before 'biting the bullet'.
1. Article worth reading.
2. France - deserts medicaux.

ii) The comments, "A chore in itself" and "Exhausted already". Proof in itself that you are not going about this the right way. Planning and finding a suitable property in France shouldn't be either a chore or exhausting! It should be a wonderful, enriching adventure. It certainly has been for many, and certainly was for us. Did we find our perfect property? Certainly not from the internet, but we eventually found what ultimately ticked most of the boxes, and are very happy with our find, but like ourselves you'll find that there is often one or more compromises that you'll end up making.
More to the point, over the last few years with all the social unrest - with no evidence of any improvement, is France the perfect place to be, opens up a whole new can of worms for debate.

mnick

There is too much information on the internet and it is easy to get bogged down. You need to visit France in order to find the "perfect" area for you. This will take time. Once you have found the right area then start looking for the right house. Make contact with estate agents and notaires in that area, preferably by visiting in person. Be aware that some (French and British) estate agents in France are appalling. Notaires charge less for negotiation. If you find the "perfect" village it is worth visiting the local Mairie as they may know of possible houses for sale that have not been advertised. No one will be in a rush.