Owens88
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Posts posted by Owens88
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Hi
I don't want to be picky but if driving from the North west Nottingham EMA is much more convenient than Birmingham surely. Not only is it less miles overall but arguably more reliable timings as the M6 is often bad.
We returned from Liverpool via Stoke /A50 (AN EXCELLENT STRETCH OF ROAD) in very quick time recently.
Good luck anyway.
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Several years ago friends of ours went on holidays to 'gites' and I fondly imagined cottages in a private estate.
Last year we registered our place with the local tourist office. It is all on one level but it has a ground level entrance one side, yet becomes a first floor property the other side (because the mountain slopes away). We called it an apartment, they called it a gite. Now we tend to use both terms.
John
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I am not an expert but........
I think it is not only 'efficiency' that you want to consider but also quality of heat.
Briadly speaking a convector heats the air while a radiant heater emits directional heat like you get from a fire.
You will run a convector longer and higher than a radiant in order to give sitting comfort heat, though a fan/convector can be the qickest way to take the edge off a chilly room.
Hope that helps
John
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Thanks to all.
I think I have once found confirmation of the 13€ per month tariff, though their site is so complex I cannot find it again.
There is also tariff for occasional users (e.g. maisons secondaires) but to get on that you have to have a primary account in France (fair enough).
John
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I hired a car in Gerona last week and there was a jacket in the glove box (No instructions though, not even how to inflate it -- or is that Ryanair ?).
In Vernet Les Bains open air market (in France) last week they were selling the jackets as well. First time I have seen them there.
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Thanks
When I looked at Les Minutes some time ago their service required you to have a France Telecom landline. Is that now still the case ?
John
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Many thanks
Indeed one of the pressures for doing this is to allow my renters (even the weekly ones) to access the net !
The account tracking on-line, or by ringing 'allo allo', sounds good.
Now if I could only get the monthly rental down so it is not costing me a lot when the place is empty ..
Cheers all
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Do your insurers not cover you for replacement locks ?
Having said that I don't know whether my French insurers do for me !
The other poster does raise a more general point though. How long can one reasonably go on giving 'the keys' out to strangers without having some shared blame if one of them has copied the keys and come back to steal stuff, perhaps form other visitiors ?
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Hello
I have looked at the computer/telephone FAQs but not found my answer.
I have a place in the Pyrenees which I rent out. There has been a phone line in there before now but it is dead. I perhaps use the place 4 times a year.
I wonder about the economics of having a phone line made live. For me it might reduce my mobile costs (inbound calls are most expensive). For renters they might like to use the net etc.
So the questions...
1) Is there a low-user tariff or the equivalent of a 'pay as you go' on land-lines in France ?
2) If renting a line is there an easy way of getting a notification of usage (costs) in a particular period (i.e. at the end of a rental) ?
I have asked France telecom but the salesman in the showroom did not have time to overcome my limited French abilities. I think the rental per month he quoted was 36 euros.
Thanks in advance.
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I used Metro (which we know in Britain as Makro).
In fact Metro in France seems much more Hotel & Catering. On my third visit they did challenge me about whether I had an entreprise in France.
I found them to be cheap but have good quality sheets etc. They were also helpful in that they would get stuff in (to complete a set) and lay it away !
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Good luck
I rent out in the UK and in France.
Lets face it ALL standards move on and what is merely recommended one week becomes a 'necessary standard for our body' another week and an absolute sometime later. We can't always win, just do our best. I think your post implied a commitment to doing ones best.
In France I let out for holidays and have also been entranced by 'long lets'. I have an enquiry for a long let now (as our place is in fact a home, not merely a holiday resting room) and I have my advisors tracking down the legal aspects of the tenancy. (BTW any advice posted here would be welcomed).
You MUST make sure your insurance covers you. Probably check your mortgagors as well. Don't assume the reaction will be negative. An empty property carries hightened risk anyway.
For many reasons you might consider using a lettings agent.
Bonne Courage.
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18-20 months ago I had a similar problem. I had been tasked by 'er indoors' to buy enough bedding to cope with 3 changovers on 6 beds (not all the same size).
Bedspreads (in my northern UK vernacular) and other stuff were available at Auchan or local cheap shops.
But the vast bulk of the bedding, including valances, bedspreads and pillow cases of various sizes, were available at really cheap prices/good hotel quality at Metro. In the UK we know Metro as Makro and yes the UK card works in Metro France. (Be bullish mon amis, Vous avez une enterprise au metier Hotel).
Pardon my crap French.
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I have read that useful site. THank you.
Now I wish to add a question.
I have a place that we rent out ( a bit) and also use to stay in (a bit).
I went to the Mairie and asked what local taxes I should pay. Eventually the answer was Taxe Fonciere but not tax d'Habitacion as it is a maison secondaire.
Today a bill for taxe d'habitacion dropped through the letter box.
Any more helpful pointers anyone ?
Thanks in advance
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My co-prop decided to only partially replace my tiles and then do an 'anti-moussse' treatment on the lot.
I don't know the results but the searches on the web made the idea look half plausible.
Cheers
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Thanks I will pursue it relentlessly ! Though I am now also worrying about other issues.
My property is in a co-propriete. I have 45 sq metres of terraces (not much cop for a heat pump) and about 15-25 sq m of solid land that is mine. Outside of that is 16 ha, but within the co-prop ! I have read of vertical 'collecters' but wait to see what the experts will say.
Someday I will research the archives and then possibly launch a thread/thesis about the perils of living in a co-prop. Another time.
Cheers
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Thanks. Found the site. Have asked for further advice.
I will post here if I can find a grant ! It seems that you can get grants in the UK.
Cheers
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Reading all of this about geothermal is getting me hooked. In my situation its the boiler that needs to be replaced anyway ?
Two question then ?
1) As this is renewable does it attract grant-aid in France ?
2) Can anybody recommend a plumber in 66 that would work with me on such a project ?
Thanks in advance.
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I do know an english lawyer qualified to act in france. Not as a notaire but an avocat. He's based in leeds.
My mortgage lender sent me this.
French Avocats
Please find below details of some English speaking French Avocats.
· Foxhayes
Contact :
Graham Platt
Adresse
Bank House
150 Rounday Road
Leeds
LS8 5LD
Tel :
+44 (0) 113 209 8922
Fax :
+44 (0) 113 248 0466
Drowning in whisky.
What a way to go !
There is an equivalent, and not necessarily the expert who is sent to value things.
Its a bit late for me now but I will look it up over the weekend.
I found one having asked my mortgage lender. Sadly he inspected and advised but never reported. He got ill and I fear the worst.
Good luck
John
I am with Ca Britline and am happy with their helpfulness.
However who are CCF?
John
And here is something I found....
Guy Fawkes Night comes to the Pyrénées Orientales
In one of the nearby villages, Madame la Présidente of the 'Club d'Amitié' is British, and she had the brilliant idea of organising a Guy Fawkes Night last Friday (November the Fifth).The French were fairly bemused at first by the announcement of this "Fête British", but we passed the story round, and told people the old rhyme:Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder, treason and plot,
We see no reason,
Why gunpowder treason,
Should ever be forgot!It's a little snippet of 'British Culture' that doesn't get taught in schools here!
The evening was a great success! The threatened rain held off. The bonfire was huge, and was kept going all evening with regular stoking. Apart from the 'official' guy, there was a competition for other people to make their own guys, judged of course by Monsieur le Maire. And the competition was won by a French lady! HER Guy was even wearing glasses and carrying a copy of L'Indépendant (the local 'light' newspaper).
Apart from the traditional baked potatoes and mug of soup, there was a real Catalan 'grillade' of local sausages, and of course a generous amount of mulled wine. The firework display what a lot better than we had in Vernet-les-Bains last year for the Quatorze Juillet!As an extra bit of 'Brit culture' - which is appropriately seasonal - the organisers got everyone playing conkers and some of the French ended up beating us at our own game! The conkers came from - guess where? - next to the monument to the Entente Cordiale in Vernet-les-Bains.We discovered to our surprise that there is even a "Fédération Française de conkers" which has organised an annual championship for the last 13 years! (See http://www.ffconkers.org/ )Hi
We need a plumber for some central heating work.
We may also have some more simple bathroom / toilet reconfiguration to do.
I would be happy to have any recommendations for either / both.
English speaking not absolutely essential but having e-mail or fax would help a lot.
My place is in Pyrenees Orientales, Vernet Les Bains near Villefranche/Prades/Perpignan depending on your definition of 'near' !
Thanks for any recommendations.
Hi Barrie
I have an apartment in Vernet. On the Sahorre Road, where is yours ?
But I live in England,
and another but, I might be in Vernet w/c Nov 21st. Beer sometime ?
Feel free to e-mail me about things but here is a short list of replies. I bought in May 2003 and have done a lot of running around since.
There is Brico-Depot (seems to have similar branding and 'business' to B&Q but without any notion of customer service) just north of Perpignan. I eventually gave up on that.
Auchan and Leroy Merlin in the porte d'espagne shopping area of Perpignan are more pleasing to shop in.
Lapeyre is just off the road to Perpignan near the car rental roundabout.
Weldon in Prades is useful (as is Super U ) and often not worth the effort of travelling beyond even if prices are higher.
Libersalle in Vernet Les Bains is an excellent and helpful electrician / electrical shop. Expert in Prades (next door to Super U) is good as well. Wonderful customer service from both of them.
I am currently looking for a plumber.
Re: Social life . I know other brits who 'join in'. Le fete de belle epoque, the Catalan classes etc. I find it a friendly area.
Good luck
John
transfer of utilities on sale
in Finding/Owning French Property
Posted
We bought in May 03. We thought that everythingh was being dealt with by the notaire.
In July 03 the elctricity was cut off because of an unpaid bill (the previous owner). By then we were absentee owners renting the place out.
However the edf were great and dealt with me from a distance. I would advise you to make contact with them.
On balance I would not assume the notaire is doing anything unless explicitly told (end even then don't exepect thoroughness as a right).