Viv

Thank you all very much for your advice. I will speak to the agent tomorrow and get him to earn his commission ? rest assured there will be more questions such to follow.

We are in the process of buying our first property in France. Is it possible to line up the electricity and water/drainage accounts (subject to forwarding the attestation once issued) in advance so we can be operational on the day we complete?.

We are in the process of buying a property near Civray. The boundaries with the neighbouring property are very clear which is great. I want some advice on what restrictions are in place in regard to "privacy" fencing. I am aware of the restriction on hedging but the next door property (which is for sale and has been in excess of 5 years) has a garden to the left and a very small courtyard at the back to the right which looks directly in to our property.garden. It has a metal railing fence in very good condition so this is not a problem, but I would ideally like to put a solid fence up inside our boundary to give us some privacy. It is quite a small garden so we do not have much to play with. This will not in any way hinder access for the property next door. What if any options do we have?