nijntje

Thanks for your reply...I did think about that...but we did receive ainvoice for about 500 euros to move the meter :( I guess we do not really need to have it moved, but we decided it would be better if we move it to the last post...now it is inside in one of the houses, so not accesable for all the houses. I guess I could still try and get it for free but not sure it will help really as we already paid for it!

Hi, We are getting new electricity posts at the end of this year...we are in the crountryside and on the end of a line and the current line is really old an in bad condition...so EDF decided to replace all of it and remove the old ugly post that is sitting in the middle of our garden :) We will then have to move our meter as a result of moving the last electricity pole at the same time we are thinking of upgrading the KVA, we curently have 9kva 45amps (3 phase so 3 x 15amps) (please correct me if this is wrong!) As we have currently 1 main house + 1 gite it is just about enough if we do not turn on the big guys at the same time....we are also in the process of renovatig another house as a gite and will need more power....eventually there will be a third gite, so 1 main house and 3 small gites in total. we do not heat electricical so that is not a problem, but for boilers, washing machine, oven etc... we would like to get 15kva or mabe even 18KVA rather then having 2 meters of 9kva. Would this be possible or are there any restrictions? I ones heard that you need to have all your electricity checked before you can upgrade to more power...is this true? Anyone done this and what is the process? The engineer that came out to look for the new line  told us to tell EDF to update the meter at the same time (maybe then ist is free since they are here alreaady?) He did not say we could only get 12 or 15kva... Any advice?

Well, we do have king size beds in our gite (160x200) and have also new quality matresses for all our beds! The bed itself is also new and modern btw...as is all the other furniture in our gite :) So you should have found us on one of those sites :) fully booked this year, already have 2 weeks booked for next year! I also agree that a king size is the smallest I would ever sleep in :)

This is also our very first year of renting....we were hoping to get 8 weeks, we got 20 weeks booked by the end of February....not complaining :) still getting inquiries but not many as we keep all our calenders up to date, even this weekend I had a flurry of inquiries...but no availability!! I guess a lot of people are booking late this year as all of a sudden they are starting to call and email.... You can never tell really why one year is good for someone and bad for the other....I can only hope it will be like this next year! (we are in central Brittany btw) good luck.

Hi, We have a "etable" attached to our main house that we want to convert into a gite, we do already have a operational CU in place for this. (I do believe this was once a house of some sort since there is a (half) fireplace left inside. The "etable" is attached to the main house but has its own entrance and windows in place and is not accessible from the main house. The total square meters is around 85m. since there are already windows and doors we will not be changing the outside looks of the building and do no structural changes at all. From what I can find online it seems that it would be possible to just do a declaration for the change of use if you do not alter the outside and do not do any structural changes. I was thinking of doing a permis construire at first, but of course it would be so much easier to do a declaration! Anyone know if this is possible? Thanks so much!

Hi  Leo, Thank you for your concern. I understand that the market and economy is not the best to do this kind of project at this time. However, we wanted to do something and keep ourself bussy.... we have sold our business in the states and needed something new to do because we were getting bored! It is more something to keep us busy and do something then to make money out of this really. It would be great to have a little bit of moeny out of this in the end...but right now we are fine! We have renovated multiple houses before and do all the work ourself, this does save us loads of money and believe it or not, 4 gites will cost less then 100k to renovate if you just have to buy the materials and not have to pay labor :) we enjoy doing the work :) And I also believe that with the right marketing and the right kind of property quality you will still get 12 weeks booked....if not, no worries! We are still young and do not depend on this project :) I do agree that there are a lot of people who think this is the way to go for their pension or get income from rent and will be fine....but that is not how we see it :) Kind regards, Inge

[quote user="bwfc1965"]Some time ago I used the local Brico in Pontivy to purchase staircases, plasterboard etc. which was a full lorry load. They delivered to the door using a flat back with a crane on the rear. Our home is about 25 miles from Pontivy and the delivery was approx. 20 euros. The price of the delivery was for the distance and not the weight. They were very helpful and some of the younger staff spoke good English. Hop this helps, and good luck, sounds like you have a big job on your hands! Steve[/quote] Hi, Thanks for your info....I am also near Pontivy, so that would be great....there is a Brico marche and a Bricolage in Pontivy....do you happen to know which one you used for your  delivery? I am planning on putting in my order this week....hope it will be fine!

Hi and thanks for the answers :) I assume we will need a 10000 liter fosse....have done some searching online and that is about what we would need. This would be for 4 gites: 1 - 1 bedroom cottage 2 - 2 bedroom gites 1 - 3 bedroom gite So a total of 8 double bedrooms, 16 people. Not sure what I need for a fosse, but I am sure it is a big one! What do you mean, "do you need a sand filter"? Are there any other (cheaper/better) options? The land is 20.000m2 and fairly flat and not rocky. We will be doing all the work ourselves, including the fosse system! We will have our own digger and we can do plumbing, no problem. we are just not familiar with all the sand and gravel stuff. I have seen lots of drawings online, but I am sure each site is different and it has to be correctly done. cant wait to get started!

Thank you for your response! I have had a look at those websites, and it seems that the big fosses are extremely expensive!  so I am now thinking of doing multiple smaller ones next to each other, hopefully with just 1 big drain field. We do have a lot of land and there is a large flat area close to all the buildings that would be perfect (in my opinion)! So what is the next step for us if we want to go ahead with this? Do I need to contact Spanc or the Mairie? Do they have to come and check the location for the tank etc? How does this work? How long will it take etc? (I have checked Spanc.fr but did not get any wiser from that) We are located in central Brittany, any advice is greatly appreciated! :) Thanks, Inge

Hello, We are going to put in a complete new fosse toutes eaux system. We are thinking about a 10.000 liter fosse for the gites. I have never come across one really, I have seen 3000 and 4000 liter ones at Brico depot etc for about 450 to 850 euros. Where could we buy a bigger one and what would the cost be? (I know Spanc will tell us ow big it should be etc...) we will be installing it ourselves. Next problem, as we will need a lot of gravel for the drain field, where can you buy this stuff and how much does it cost? It would also have to be delivered of course... Are there any stores where you can just buy the whole package together and will deliver it to us? Any experience or advice is appreciated! Thanks, Inge

Hello, We soon hope to start our major renovation project in Brittany (56) We need a whole lot of materials, like hundreds of plaster boards, insulation, stair cases, kitchens,septic tank etc. (this is for 4 gites and 1 main house!) We do have a trailer but of course it would be so much better to get the big things delivered to our door! I do like brico depot and all the others...and I see on their site that they can provide deliveries... Has anyone done this before and what is your experience? What are the cost involved or can you get even free delivery if you really buy thousands of euros worth at the time? We are near Guemene S/Scorff in 56 and can go either to Rostrenen area or Pontivy area...for some things we would have to go to Lorient or St Brieuc. What about Point-P or other building material shops? Also any advice/experience and good or bad on these shops would be great! Thanks in advance!

Hello all, We have bought a farm with outbuildings that we will convert into 4 gites + 1 main house. Location is defined as zone rural or "zonage de revitalisation rurale" I have been looking into this more closely and it seems that we would have a lot of advantages in taxes because of the zone rural. 1) Social securety charges: As far as I understand...With the new regulations for auto-entrepreneur this is what it says  "if you own a chambre d'hôte or rural gîte you pay social security contributions at the rate of 12% and not 21.3% as for other landlords of furnished accommodation with 'auto-entrepreneur' tax status" 2) income tax: Under the micro enterprise this would be : *Owners of rural gites, résidences de tourisme and chambres d'hôtes benefit from a fixed percentage cost allowance of 71%, with a turnover limit of €80,000. So again, this seems to be way better then 50% cost allowance with a limit of 32,000 euros. 3) Tax habitation or tax professional This one is tricky, I do not know when you should pay tax habitation or tax professionel. Obviously we would have to pay tax habitation for the main house. But for the gites I am not sure which one apply's and why. It seems there are also rules and exemptions for gites rural. I could find this for tax habitation: "Owners of chambres d’hôtes, gîtes rurales and meublés de tourisme in rural development areas (Zones de Revitalisation Rurale (ZRR)) are able to claim exemption from the tax, although this is not an automatic right, as a decision as to whether to apply the exemption within any particular ZRR is at the discretion of each local council" and this for tax professionel : " owners of gîtes ruraux affiliated to the Gîtes de France and those with classified meublés de tourisme are able to claim exemption from the local business rates, provided it is part or all of their main residence, and that it is not the main or second home of the tenant. Local authorities have discretion not to grant this exemption, although only on a general basis, not to individual cases. More generally, there is also an exemption for up to five years for a new registered business (including chambres d’hôtes) in rural development areas (Zones de Revitalisation Rurale (ZRR) in those communes with less than 2000 inhabitants" So depending on what tax we should be paying for the gites and if they are canceling the tax professionel thing at a whole, what is the best way to go, what are the differences in costs? Also is the auto-entrepreneur the best way to go? or the micro-Bic? Since we are not in business yet, we have no idea how much turnover we will have, we hope to be in the region of 20,000 per year for the 4 gites together. We will be main residents and no other income. We will also not be having a loan that we could bring in as a cost to write off. Sorry, lots of questions! Any thoughts and advice is greatly appreciated!

Thanks for the answers! Land should not be a problem, almost 2 hectares and where we plan to have the fosse it is level or even a bit down from the houses... should the fosse be installed within a certain range from the house? For example maximum 10 meters? And how big should the drain field be? Can you later grow grass over the drain field? I know I should ask all these questions to Spanc or the Marie.... or they will tell me...just want to be prepared and think about it already before they come and check! We will be installing the whole thing ourselves, any idea where I can by a big fosse and what the price would be for a 8000 liter? Thanks! Inge

Hello, We will be converting a longere into gites. The attic floor is where the bedrooms and the bathrooms will be. I know you can normally not tile on a wooden underground as the wood lives and will move and crack the tiles over time... What is the best solution if I do want tiles in the bathroom? Is there any kind of special plate or layer that I can use to tile on? Thanks!

Hello, We bought an old farm with outbuildings and we will be creating 4 gites. 1 - 1 bedroom cottage 2 - 2 bedroom gites 1 - 3 bedroom gite so 8 bedrooms in total. What is the best option for our septic tank system? 1 tank per gite seems like crazy, what about 2 tanks, 1 for 2 gites (4 bedrooms per tank). Or can we do 1 really big tank? How many liters should this be and where can I found one? I have never come across bigger then 6000 liter. If we do 2 tanks, can we have 1 filter-bed for the 2 tanks? Are the rules for gites different then a main house because it is not rented for the whole year? Anyone any experience in this? thanks, Inge