zarathustra

Are they a registered artisan? Would you not be covered by the 10 year guarentee?

I'm in France and have signed a compromis de vente with a notaire close to the new house. The sellers are using their own notaire 60km's away. It hasn't caused any issues for us as the two notaires communicate between themselves, and split the costs. I'm not quite sure what happens on the final signing next month, but we will be signing with our designated notaire and assume the sellers will be joining us.

Maybe I got lucky, but I've just bought an old stone house in Charente Limousine, and following the reports (they also check electrics now, and the only fault they found was a wire hanging slightly loose on one of the ceiling lights), and the agent and notaire said it was the best conditioned house they'd seen in a long time. Plumbing's good, electrics are relatively recent (8 years old), roof is in great condition, insulation is excellent etc.etc.whilst the house retains lots of period features. The owners promised to leave all the fixtures and fittings, including the fuel for heating. There's absolutely nothing we need to do, unless we want to extend the house further into the adjoining barn, but that can wait a decade. As I'm not skilled in DIY, had I bought a house at half the price (and what I paid was very reasonable), I think it would have cost me a lot more to have all the work done, not to mention all the stress and problems that come along with that. That's just me though. I think it's good people are buying up ruins and renovating them - adds to the old-worldly charm of France. Better than having to demolish something and have a new build spring up in its place.

If I was a skilled artisan who could do a lot of work myself, I'd have no issue with renovations. I love old stone houses, but I'd never contemplate buying something that wasn't habitable - I'm too terrified of costs spiralling out of control, and there being too many unforeseen problems. I sometimes wonder how some people who do renovate, and later sell, make any profit on what they're selling. I've heard 1500 euros per sq/m is pretty much maximum budget, and some people have even got as low as 600 euros per sq/m - I suppose a lot depends on where you can source the materials, what sort of finish you're after, and what the labour costs work out to. Things usually take a lot longer, and cost a lot more than planned for.

Language barrier was one of the hardest things when I first arrived. Despite I spoke very little French, I always refused to speak English (and refused to ask someone if they might speak English), and can remember having to do such things as visit the tax office for my first return (my accountant had made a mess of things, so I decided to do it myself). Although my health has always been very good, I ended up in a Paris hospital, and it was very difficult to explain what had happened to me (got there in the end). Despite what people think, the French often do not speak English beyond a few words they learned at school. Fortunately my wife is French and could help with quite a lot. I still found the administration side of self-employment a nightmare, though the longer you're here the more you begin to understand. If you're moving to a small village or hamlet, go and say hello to your neighbours - they'll appreciate it, and it will help you settle more quickly. If you're in Paris, you probably don't want to do this, as neighbours are rarely interested in knowing one another, and would find it wierd you knocked on their door to bother them. Bonne chance!

I live full time in France, and work for myself - mainly IT related (clients all over the globe, actually not too many from France itself), but compliment it with a bit of art, graphic design and photography.

Last week my wife had a meeting at the town hall. Ultimately (as we suspected), the only way to get the money back would be to send in a bailiff. Unfortunately the cost is too prohibitive, so there's nothing more we can do.

Howdy. Saw your post in another forum, and can only reiterate what I said before - it's doable! I know single employees on minimum wage who live in the heart of Paris. Granted, they don't have holidays, have to count every penny and live in tiny studios, but you're talking net salaries of 1000 euros a month. Even here in the bourgeois 16th, some months my total expenditure, travel, including gas, electricity, food, restaurants etc etc, can be as low as 5-600 euros a month (we have a baby too!). Fortunately we don't have rent or mortgage, but my wife and I's combined net salary is really no more than 3k. Do your homework, spend wisely, don't feel obliged to keep up with the Jones' with their 1000 euro+ handbags, fur coats and designer clothes.. Granted you may never end up rich, but you can certainly live a decent life in the capital.

I daresay it's more pleasant than Paris which is rather drab today. All the best with the pool and here's to a warm and prosperous spring/summer.

Perhaps so Sunday Driver, but I hadn't conceived that such things could happen, and I've never heard of it happening with a driving school in the UK. What we could have done, is checked the SIRET number, to ensure they were a properly registered business at that address, and under that name. Asides from that, I don't think there's much else we could have done. It wasn't so much the financial aspect that's peeved me, but the fact that the experience has now totally demotivated my wife to find another school and try again. [quote user="Sunday Driver"]Why the need for particular caution when in France?  This sounds like the sort of situation that could occur anywhere. You were aware of an established driving school that was based round the corner from where you lived.  You went round to see them, met the people, saw school cars outside, and were shown around the premises and the learning facilities.  You liked what you saw and signed up for the course.  You took the additional precaution of obtaining a copy of their business registration and checked the SIRET number to confirm that the registration was valid. Your wife was part way through her theory sessions when the school closed down. What further checks would you have been expected to carry out?    [/quote]

No problem, hope you didn't think I was being pedantic, because I spell badly all the time, and have lots of errors on my websites! Love the photographs. I think I could live in that swimming pool. :)

There's some info here about getting a PACS: Getting a PACS in France This is between an English and French couple. Some of the keypoints: * I applied for a long copy of my birth certificate from my city of birth. You must complete the PACS process within 6 months otherwise you have to reorder the birth certificate again. Once you have it, you must have a registered authority translate it into French for you and stamped with a seal of approval – around 30 euros. * I needed a certificate de non-pacs (to prove I wasn’t already PACsed in France). This is free. I went to the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris to collect mine in person, but I’m sure they can send it through the post. * I needed the “certificat de coutume” which I’m afraid isn’t free and must be paid with using ‘postal order’ or ‘bank mandate’. * My partner and myself had to complete an Attestation Honneur to prove we’re not related in anyway. * We needed an Address Commune, which shows we live at the same address (I believe an EDF bill or a rent bill can prove this). * There’s another document (I forget the name now) to show I have the right to vote in the UK. * I had to write a contract (there’s plenty of free templates on the Internet) to detail what assets I and my partner had from property to processions and money. * When you go to the town hall you will also need a passport/id to show them. Be sure to check out these two websites for more details: http://www.vos-droits.justice.gouv.fr/index.php?rubrique=10062&ssrubrique=10209 http://www.infopacs.fr/demarches-documents-pacs.html

I'm currently PACsed with my French partner, but last night she talked about getting married - partly because she hates her French surname, but also because we have a baby and if something happened to one of us, being married takes care of things better than a PACS (I think it reduces the tax taken from the assets), short of getting a notaire and doing a will... (I know, it doesn't sound terribly romantic, but neither of us really care about the ideology behind marriage!) It got us wondering about the longer term implications, because in two or three years time, we'd like to move and start up a small B&B. I wish to keep doing the work I do now as a small micro-BIC (I'm not on the AE scheme) as it brings in a moderate income, and my partner also would have an income from renting. Is it possible to keep my business, in my name and for the B&B activities (+ income from renting) in my partner's name. I would assume she would then be an AE under the BNC regime for services (I'm sure I read somewhere that B&B's will no longer be allowed to continue operating as a commercial activity with the more generous threshold and 71% abattement?). Does being married have implications in running a business under one roof? I am assuming it's irrelevant whether you're simply living together, PACsed, or married, but I thought it worth posing the question now. I intend to get an accountant at a later date, who can do all the in's and out's, but didn't want to rush into marriage now, if I thought it could have a negative impact in the future.

[quote user="Wilko"]We moved to Provence 7 years ago having bought a ruin. It took 2 year for the refurbishments and then we opened our B&B. For the past 5 years we have lived very comfortably from the income. I think that the two biggest pitfalls for yourselves are location and under capitalisation. IMO the best places in France to start a B&B biz would be:Cote d'Azur, western Provence or Paris. A B&B will thrive if you are in an international tourist area, my guess is that you will not survive in the Limousin. If you have the funds you should look at buying an existing B&B business. Good luck Wilko www.maspomona.com[/quote] Beautiful place - I can see why you can make a good living from it. Sorry for pointing it out, but I couldn't help noticing the spelling of 'testemonials' on your website.

Please, please do your homework... No reason why you can't make it work, but the area in which you wish to move will not draw in lots of tourists, and the winter's will probably be long, cold and give you virtually nothing in terms of income. I say this as someone in a similar boat... I'm looking to move to a similar region of France (not one that's very popular with British tourists), but know full well a B&B /Gite business will probably only pay out 5 or 6 thousand net profit in a year - certainly not enough to live on. I've stayed in a number of B&B's throughout France, and have always spoken to the owners who say they cannot live on their B&B alone. They also speak about the huge competition out there with other French B&B owners (one or two mention how many British and Dutch people have bought in their area and are also creating increased competition) I also know my region of interest will be completely dead in the winter, unless I can afford to buy close enough to a ski station. Although we currently live in a French property (1 baby, and perhaps another to come) without a mortgage which we can rent for a good price, can put down a 40 or 50% deposit on a place we'd like to buy, and knowing that I work for myself and can make a fairly average French salary without reliance on a B&B business, I am still approaching it with apprehension and caution, and believe it will be challenging work.

In my case, they had my 2008 net profit listed as over 20,000 euros (it was under 7,000 euros)! I wanted to know who gave them that figure! Anyway, I got them to amend it, and they scanned a copy of my 2008 declaration commune des revenus des professions independantes, which declared my turnover, so they should have that on record now. I also gave them an early forecast of my 2009 net profit - I'm not sure if they'll use that in their estimation, or will wait for my accounts to be officially processed (again, I'm not sure who provides them with their figures, but it shouldn't have to be me). It concerns me greatly that I have to check and double check everything, and sometimes question what the authorities are doing and where their figures come from. I sincerely hope when next year, things will stabalise, especially as they can now work on my N-2 officially declared revenue.

... When it has a fake license! This regrettable story, has woken me up to the need for particular caution when in France. My wife is French, and we live in Paris, but she has never learnt to drive. I've encouraged her over the past couple of years to take up lessons (as we don't intend to stay in Paris indefinitely). There was a nice looking driving school just two minutes walk around the corner from where we live - a nice building, with dedicated study room, reception room, and all the bits and pieces, including printed name and sign outside, all in a nice part of the city. We went to see them, and they were very friendly, and when we decided to sign up we took a copy of their business registration with SIRET number etc.etc. Knowing any company could face bankruptcy, we did opt to pay in three installments, so paid 500 euros, instead of the full 1500 for the full course, in one go, and for a short while , my wife went there to study the theory side of things with the DVD's they showed on TV. Then she turned up one evening, and the building was closed with a note on the door saying 'call this number...' Well we didn't get through to speak to someone, but eventually got through to one of the driving instructors who was employed by them, and who had also been fleeced and conned out of his wages. They'd actually sold their driving school business to somebody in the north of France some time ago, and were operating under fake details. The owner was having personal issues with his wife (whom he ran the company with), and put all the blame onto her, and she reportedly is the one going to jail for fraud. We went to police station (which is literally opposite the road from the driving school) - they'd heard about the problem, but sent us to the town hall. The lady at the town hall had said another student had been in that morning, in tears, as they'd reached the stage where they were going to take their test, and all their documents were locked inside this building. Without it, she could not take the practical test. The driving school still remains locked up, several months later, and it seems impossible to track down the original owner who took us for a ride (pun wasn't intended! :) ) I believe now all the blame has been laid onto his wife, he continues to run his other driving school business somewhere in the north of France under a different registration. You'll probably thinking the person who bought the business would have to now take on the responsiblity for the dodgy business he'd bought into it (which is what we had thought), but actually no; they're also operating on a different SIRET no. Next month we have a rendez-vous at the town hall, where I imagne we'll be told conclusively that there's nothing that can be done. Anyway, I thought I'd retell my tale, as hopefully it will help others to remain cautious and suspicious, and even when somebody gives you official looking documents (whether it be a driving school or somebody else), it may pay to check those details a little further.

Hi Crazyfrog, I was in a similar boat. I paid CIPAV around 1400 euros when I first came to France part way through 2008... My delcared net profit for that year was less than 7000 euros, yet based on that, this year they were asking for more than 4200 euros, which came as quite a shock. I went to their Paris headquarters today, and explained my situation. They took my micro-BIC commercial activity into consideration, reduced it by 71%, and will then tax 8,6% of that, so I should have it reduced from some obscene total to just over 500 euros. I'm not sure what your circumstances are (certainly different rates for BNC - I think they reduce the turnover by 34%), but you really need to go and see them in person. I found them very friendly and helpful in person, although by phone it was very difficult indeed to speak to anyone, and when I did, they were miserable and very unhelpful. Bonne chance. [quote user="crazyfrog"]Hi I've just had two letters from CIPAV in the last week. The first saying that they want 2800 of me this year, the first 1500 due mid-april (pension) The 2nd letter saying that at present, with my 4-points, my pension will be .... 24euro a year. As I'm not going to be able to work into my 90's, is there any way I can get this amount to pay reduced? or, by investing 3k a year into the pension will I eventually get something back when I retire..... if I live that long. It seems a huge imbalance at the moment. It always seems a huge amount when you get a demand for that amount in one go. Is there something I can do about this? I didn't earn near the maximum for the BNC last year.[/quote]