Smoothyman

Hi
I have heard so many conflicting stories! My main queries are:
1. Any purchase of a property in France would be from the sale of my house in UK? Any problems with this, as I keep hearing that you have to change money into euros etc and have it held in an account somewhere for months on end. But surely they will benefit from any interest? Why can't I simply pay when I buy it - as is normal in UK?
2. Linked to above - is it good idea to rent in France first and then buy? What would be benefit?
3. Cant get to bottom of health care? If say I moved in March next year - how soon would I get free French healthcare and what do I do in-between i.e. from entering France and getting free health care?
4. What if I sell in Uk, buy in France and then all goes up the swanny? Houses in UK will be too expensive!
ANY help will be great
Cheers
David Napier

EuroTrash

What are your reasons for wanting to move to France? What's wrong with Llanelli?

cyrian

Hi again David,

There have been members on here who have sold up in the UK and bought in France and then discovered that France was not the dream that they thought it was.
They then found that their French property took a long time to sell and hadn't increased in value.
Meantime, the UK house prices had increased and they couldn't afford the standard of house that they previously owned.
Most Brits buy their idyllic stone cottage in the countryside because they are picture postcard and really cheap.
They are really cheap because French people don't want them and they can take a long time to sell.
Start with taking holidays in areas of France that interest you for perhaps 4 weeks at a time and research the local housing market and see how you get on with life in France.
I agree with ET's comments.

Smoothyman

Many thanks for those who have replied. Its looking more depressing than exciting at the moment. I wonder how many have moved to France and now feel sorry? I wonder why the French houses dont sell so well? If I had 'spare' money to have a house there and in UK perhaps not so bad, but if I give up living here and permanently move I'm a bit stuck if things go wrong!
Cheers

cyrian

Hi David
The housing market in France is very different to the UK market partly because the banks control mortgages in a similar fashion to the way the UK did in the 1970's.
They apply stricter lending ratios then in the UK.
Many French people rent their main home while many have 2nd homes that they may have inherited.
Apart from Paris; Lyon; Toulouse and Marseille and a few other hotspots, house prices don't rise in price as they do in the UK.
In France, many villages are dying because the younger people are moving to larger towns to find work.
I find it a bit depressing to see lovely villages where the shops and bars have all closed over time.
Many French people prefer to buy modern houses with modern insulation and heating or air-conditioning.
France is a large country with a lot of countryside and therefore a lot of rural villages.
It doesn't have the number of conurbations as in the UK.
In France, housing isn't considered to be an "investment".
It is simply a very different property market.
HTH

EuroTrash

At the risk of stating the obvious - generally, the more realistic a person's expectations are, the less likely they are to be disappointed.
Which involves knowing a fair bit about France and how it works, because otherwise how do you know what to expect.
If you have a reasonably good picture of what to expect, it's what you want, and you realise that France isn't perfect and it has its problems like other countries but you're prepared for that, you won't be disappointed.
I think the Brits who have come unstuck in the past tend to be the ones that assumed moving to a different country would be basically like moving to a different part of the UK but better - same rules, same mindset, near enough the same customs but with better weather, cheaper houses, cheaper wine and a bit of local colour thrown in for good measure.
When they find that actually things work rather differently and they're expected to do things in ways that don't always suit them or take them outside their comfort zone, they liked the familiar UK way of doing things better, that's when they start having second thoughts.
So either you need to do your research in advance and decide whether it's for you or not, or you need to accept things will be different and it's no use trying to cling to UK habits and assumptions after you've left the UK, you need to make the effort to understand how things work in France and adapt accordingly.
The housing market is just one example of the different minset. House prices are mortgage rates are a hot topic in the UK, it's a bit of a national obsession. In France, generally speaking, your house is something you chose to either rent or buy and make into a home, it's not a commodity or an investment. You rarely hear house prices or mortgage rates mentioned, why would anybody be interested unless they happen to be considering buying a house and looking for a mortgage. Healthcare works differently from in the UK (not always "free"). Inheritance works differently. Taxation works differently. You name it, it probably works differently. If you're an adaptable, objective, non-judgmental sort of person and you're happy to take things as you find them, you'll find it easier to adapt to new ways than if you're the sort of person who is wedded to the UK mindset and whose knee-jerk reaction is always going to be, I wonder why France is like that, what a stupid/complicated/unfair system.

dmu

Hi, have to agree with every one - much better to rent at the beginning, mainly to see whether living in France forevermore will suit you.
One factor is Brexit, which involves applying for Visas while you're still in the UK and you'd have to comply with the financial resources/healthcare conditions for those concerning your status.
As suggested, why not come over on extended holidays and rent gîtes in various areas to get a feel of the place?
How is your respective French?
Take a look in the "Getting old in France" and other pertinent threads in the "Read-Me: Moving to France FAQs" above. You should think of yourselves in 20 years' time.....
HTH, good luck with your decision!

Smoothyman

Hi Eurotrash
Good to see some down to earth reality here. We have travelled the world and have experienced good and ba. We had a house in Hungary for 14 years so know about how different things can be. Its just that we dont have the 'luxury' of buying with spare cash. By next year both of us will be retired, and dont intend to work - so we would be living off our UK pensions, plus some savings. The purchase of the house in France would be from the sale of the one here in the UK. As with Hungary we would just 'fit in' with whatever goes on, and because of the housing market we realise that if we moved that would be it - we would never be ale to afford to move back to UK. In Hungary they 'added on' various costs which we never expected and that was annoying, and there was no point arguing. When we were working it wasn't so bad, but if extra costs appear when we are not working, and have no other income than our pensions then that is the unsettling bit of all this. Someone said it may be better in Spain?? Cheers all

Listen Very Carefully

Surely the question should be "Can I move to France" Unless I have missed something eg spouse of EU citizen/Eu passport holder have you checked that you can get a Visa to live in France?
Generally health care is not "free" If you have to get a Visa then you will need private healthcare anyway but explaining all the ins and outs of the French healthcare system now is superfluous until you know that you can move
You might in the meantime want to check with the UK DWP to see if you can get an S1 for yourselves

dmu

Hi again. I can't manage to highlight the sentence, but, if you rented in France, you could keep your UK property and let it, while you're renting in France and getting the feel of actually living here. This would give you extra income and ensure that you'll have your own place to go back to if things should turn pear-shaped here.... It wouldn't be advisable to burn your bridges before you're sure of remaining in France forevermore....

Smoothyman

Great idea - never thought of that Cheers

EuroTrash

If neither of you has EU citizenship, I think LVC has gone straight to the crux of it.
When you initially apply for visas the authorities will scrutinise your financial situation and if they don't feel you would be able to adequately fund yourselves in France and comfortably meet all the expenses you're likely to incur over the long term, quite simply they won't issue ,the visa in the first place. Which actually is a good thing because it saves people from making a move they can't actually afford to make and ending up destitute. Also bear in mind that for the first 5 years of living in France you will need to renew your residence permit annually, and your financial situation will be checked at each renewal. If they feel you're at risk of becoming a burden on French taxpayers, ie if you've starting to take more out of the social security system in terms of benefits than you're contributing in cotisations, there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to stay.
For what it's worth I believe the income threshold for a non lucrative visa for Spain is higher than what France asks for . Discussed here Non lucrative visa

dmu

, together with LVC's.
@ Smoothyman - as said, make sure that you can actually move to France before anything else. Check the UK Gov. thread # 27 in the FAQs above, clicking and scrolling until you get to the French Gov's "France-Visas" page (available in English)

Listen Very Carefully

https://france-visas.gouv.fr/web/france-visas/

dmu

Why didn't I post this link directly, I ask myself.
On the other hand, the UK Gov link does give lots of info on other aspects to take into account before applying for a Visa and moving to France.....