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Ciel Bleu

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Everything posted by Ciel Bleu

  1. I'm also very interested in where wind farms might spring up, as we're planning to buy on the Manche/Calvados boundary not a million miles away from Percy. I've been doing a little googling and found this website: http://www.basse-normandie.ademe.fr/servlet/KBaseShow?m=3&cid=9981&catid=10107 I've already seen a small goup of 'eoliennes' near St Martin des Besaces not far from the A84 in Calvados, and this summer we saw lots in the Aude in SW France. I actually think that they're quite pleasant to look at and as someone said, I'd prefer these on the horizon to pylons. I have also stood directly beneath  the single eolienne (although there could be more there now) which is between Gavray and Villedieu les Poeles - it was turning quite rapidly but was only making a small amount of noise.  The above website has answered lots of my queries about them, but there are only detailed maps of where they might be built in Calvados, and much sketchier details about Manche.    
  2. My OH genuinely enjoys doing our paperwork, so I let him get on with it (......but of course check it afterwards!!) Further to my link to property prices published by the Notaires, I've just read on several different websites that although prices are still increasing, the rate of increase this year has slowed a lot, and some economists (on the BIPE website) predict an average increase of 6% in prices over 2006 but average falls of 4% for 2007. It also looks as if the ECB will raise interest rates this Thursday, and most likely again in December as well. We know of a French family who are trying to sell 2 appartments in the seaside town of Granville in Manche - popular now with the Parisiens I understand. They've had them on the market since last summer but have hardly had any interest at all. I've also read that Les Parisiens have also bought far fewer holiday homes in Calvados this year, so the Brits aren't the only ones 'tightening their purse strings'. Good luck to all buyers and sellers!
  3. Going back to an earlier question regarding published details/websites about trends in property prices, I've found this website which has price changes in 500 French towns between april 2005 and march 2006 - all totally bona fide figures from Notaires de France. http://www.lexpress.fr/services/immobilier/dossier/immobilier/dossier.asp Just click anywhere on the map and the figures scroll down. Looking at the percentage change in the price of old houses over that period, there are hardly any negative changes so far (although there are some eg Nimes has dropped by 7.8%), BUT as the figures are only looking at the towns it doesn't give much indication of what's happening in deeply rural areas. Quite interesting to look at though and some of the price increases are astronomical. What does anyone else think?
  4. I watched it last night here in the UK (sorry but I didn't record it) and according to my TV guide, next week's episode is about the same couple and I would imagine that they will recap on what happened last night. It looks as if there are a total of 7 episodes in the series, so there is a possibility that they're all about this particular couple. We enjoyed watching it, they've certainly got their work cut out and a new baby on the way, and rightly/wrongly they're not afraid to borrow money!!!!! I found their website on another forum; http://www.frenchfusion.com/index.php    
  5. Since posting my original question, I have found a B de V that we signed last year and it clearly states that it's binding for a period of 15 months from signing (I knew I had read this somewhere, but couldn't remember exactly where). So according to that, after the 15 month period with this particular agent,one is at liberty to negotiate directly with the vendor and completely exclude the agent from the sale.  For property that is viewed without signing anything at all, am I right in thinking that if one then negotiates directly with the owner the onus is on the vendeur to tell the agent about the prospective purchaser as they themselves will have signed a mandat simple or mandat exclusive which legally means that they have to ensure that the agent (who first showed the buyer the property) gets his/her commission?
  6. Brilec, I agree with you. The question I put to Headdon Consulting contained only a limited amount of information, and I think they probably answered me as well as they could,  given what I had told them - does that make sense?! I've been reading their forum and lots of people have asked about CGT in different situations - yes, it is complicated and depends very much on individual circumstances, and needs a legally-trained brain to sort it all out !!! The conclusion I have drawn is that due to the difficulty people are now experiencing in selling French property, it would make life a whole lot easier if one is able to complete the sale of Primary residence no.1 before buying Primary residence no.2.  Et voila! = no CGT incurred  
  7. Hi Debra, thanks for replying. I posted my question on an independent legal forum:  http://www.headdonconsulting.com/ and this is what they said: "Under French tax office guidelines, the same one year period is accorded for the sale of the principal residence where another is purchased prior to finding a buyer" Caroline  
  8. Thanks for all replies. I just wish that the French government would close the loophole that allows agents to set their own fees - seems odd that they haven't done it already, having seen commission vary between 4% and 15%. Bon de visite - despite what is often said, it doesn't look as if they're legally binding. We have viewed houses with FNAIM agents and none of them asked us to sign, and as they are one of the largest agents in France they must deem that the B de V is of little use!  
  9. Just to add my twopence worth. We have eaten at the Holly Tree just the once .........won't be returning. The external first impression wasn't good - a row of Brit-registered 4-wheel drive fuel-guzzlers - ouch!! To be fair the owners were very welcoming, food was OK but as others have said, not true Indian, and too pricey for what it was. There were no French anywhere in site, we could have been in the county of Normandyshire........not what we want!    
  10. Bonjour Arnaud Bienvenue a Complete France forum, Je vous remercie pour votre reponse - ayant lu ca que vous avez ecrit, c'est tres interessant pour notre situation. Je vous envoyerai un email prive. Caroline  
  11. In the UK I understand that if you put your house on the market and then buy another one before it has sold and move into it, you're allowed an overlap period of one year (I think I'm right ) - during which time you own 2 properties - before incurring CGT when selling  house no.1. Do rules similar to this happen in France ie as long as you're trying to sell one house are you exempt from CGT if it sells within the year? We don't own anything yet in France, and only have one house in the UK - but am just trying to understand how things work because we know someone in this very situation in France who has been desperately attempting to sell one of their houses for almost a year. Thanks Caroline
  12. I know that when viewing properties with some agents they ask you to sign a Bon de Visite, which essentially means that you can only buy the property they have introduced you to through their agency, and you can't buy from the owner direct, as the agent still legally has a right to claim his commission at the point of sale. Can anyone tell me how long the Bon de Viste lasts for? I've read somewhere that it's only binding for 15 months - is this true?   Caroline
  13. I've just received my letter in the post this morning from P&O explaining about the new bid from PSA International, the adjournment of the January stockholder meeting for 2 weeks and it also says  "Stockholders may continue to submit the Forms of Proxy and Forms of Election which were distributed in relation to the offer by DP world. Forms of Proxy will be valid for the adjourned meetings. Stockholders will be given at least 14 clear days notice of the new time and place of the adjourned meetings" It says the new approach by PSA 'may' lead to an offer to acquire deferred stock for 470 pence cash per unit and an offer for the concessionary units (no price is mentioned for these), and the cancellation of preferred stock on terms similar to the terms made available by the Dubai offer. It looks as if we're all doing the right thing by getting our forms and certificates in the post.
  14. We have already returned our voting papers and concessionary share certificates to P&O having opted to sell for 100p and retain the option to have 1 concessionary unit per share if available once a takeover has been decided. The date by which this all had to be received was January 26th (or thereabouts), and the implication was that our shares could become null and void if we hadn't returned them by that date, as the only 2 choices were to sell for 125p and forgo any rights to reduced ferry fares or the option that we chose above - I hope someone will correct me if I'm wrong. We're happy with our decision because we've had our moneysworth in reduced ferry prices for the last 12 years. According to this link our concessionary shares are worth 112.50p today, it's the deferred stock that is increasing in value, at 500.00p as I type; http://portal.pohub.com/portal/page?_pageid=71,217793&_dad=pogprtl&_schema=POGPRTL My father bought concessionary shares over 20 years ago, and had the option every year to not receive the annual cash dividend but to change them into the same value of deferred stock - he's now onto a winner but not us unfortunately!   Caroline  
  15. Hi to all I've just read through all of this thread and find it very interesting. We are planning to buy in Lower Normandie sometime during the next year or two, but for the time-being have put our househunting on hold for several reasons. Over the past year we have viewed quite a few properties mostly with an agency but some privately. We did make an offer on a couple of the houses through an agency (one French-owned house the other English-owned) but in each case the owners would only accept a very small reduction in price, which we felt still made the house too expensive. I've recently checked the agent's website and those particular properties are still for sale. My French is reasonable and it's been enjoyable to visit Mairie's and gleen all of the information that we needed about the local area - no problem at all. The information we now need is the exact route of the impending pylons running through the Manche and news of whether or not a landfill site will materialise - it's just a matter of waiting and sitting it out until both of these decisions are made. In answer to Seanie's original question regarding using someone to negiotiate a better price, in our experience we could negiotiate until the cows come home and put all of the negative facts about the property at the feet of the owner BUT still they would not accept our offer .Looking at agency websites in Normandie now and reading what others have written about the slowdown in sales, it seems that a lot of prospective British purchasers have turned away from buying in France as there are very few bargains left, if any! One agency based in the south of Normandie has over 800 properties for sale on their website, and they're increasing weekly! Seanie are you proposing to assist people who have already chosen a property through an agent, I've not fully understood what you're planning? From our point of view we would be much more likely to use services such as yours if we were buying privately or through a notaire, but the greatest help to us would be hunting out private property sales from local newspapers and advertisements and vetting the property itself - these are things impossible to do from our home in the UK. Bonne annee et bonne chance!
  16. Thanks Will and Liz, exactly what we need - these maps are soooo good. Several years ago 4 of us set off on pushbikes up at the top of the Contentin peninsula - very confidently (or stupidly!) we decided not to take maps - no, we won't be long!! Several hours later we got ourselves lost in a forest - dusk was fast approaching and we ladies in the party were getting slightly...err....anxious! From that day onwards we never leave on foot/bike without a compass and the local Series Bleue map - mistakes teach you such a lot!!  
  17. I would like to buy a map/maps online from the UK, through a website I have 'googled' called Map World. The areas that need covering on the maps are St Sever forest, St Pois and Sourdeval - we are avid walkers! Although I already have some of the series blue it's not easy to find the code numbers which I will need to buy through the website. I know that lots of shops in Normandy stock them, but unfortunately we're not able to come across just yet.     I wondered if anybody could tell me the codes of the maps I will need please?  I think that 1414E covers the town of Vire - but not sure what else.   Thanks.
  18. In the fullness of time we plan to buy a house in the southern Manche area, and to read about the proposed pylons is quite upsetting, not only because of the fact they're not very nice to look at but as everyone is saying because of the health risks. My OH knows someone who works in the UK for the local electricity board who has heard about the Normandie pylons. He has been told that Spain want nothing at all to do with nuclear power, which would surely explain why the plant at Flamanville will be providing the 400k volts. I have just found this website which is full of info' about the associated problems caused by EMR (electromagnetic radiation) http://www.leyman.demon.co.uk/06%20Power_Lines.html It's a veeeery large website, but I have pulled out this small piece. Note that they point out this being a solution ONLY in built-up areas - very worrying! Another change that could bring benefits is the replacement of pylons by underground lines in built-up areas. While this does not eliminate all hazards, it could reduce levels of exposure by a useful amount. Against this must be set the fact that, since it is generally not obvious where such cables run, they are harder to avoid than pylons — and we do have the evidence of links with mental illness, even from underground cables. There is also the question whether such a move might unintentionally bring about unpredictable clashes or interactions with earth energy fields.        
  19. What an interesting discussion, I do hope that the original poster finds that he can now settle in the UK - we are still living there and things have changed so much since 1997. There has been an abundance of  'free money' about, that has enabled folk to have more or less what they wanted BEFORE they have actually earned the money - but it's now all looking very shaky and out of control. http://www.creditaction.org.uk/debtstats.htm Sorry that the article is so long. It's going to be very interesting watching Mr Brown wriggle out of his own straight-jacket and still come out smiling!? As regards France, there seems to be a much healthier attitude and respect towards money there - but as everyone else has said making ends meet in France is not easy to do.      
  20. Oui, " ils ont flambes les prix " - don't want to get my fingers burnt!  
  21. It would seem that the French are thinking along the lines of their meteoric rises in property prices coming to an abrupt end: http://fr.audiofanzine.com/produits/index,idproduit,71511.html Catchy little song eh? Ciel Bleu (Wanting to buy in Normandie, but very apprehensive)  
  22. I thought that the majority of property prices in France had doubled over the last 5 years regardless of whether they are near to new roads or not. It also looks as if more and more French people think that an unsustainable 'Bulle Immobiliere' has developed which COULD very easily burst. Listen to this catchy song: http://fr.audiofanzine.com/produits/index,idproduit,71511.html Ciel Bleu
  23. Several years ago I took an evening class called France Extra - I've just found the book and looked things up. Under the heading 'Comparatives and superlatives' this is what it says: bon - meilleur Jean-Paul? C'est un bon danseur. Juliette est une meilleure danseuse. Ils sont les meilleurs danseurs du groupe. bien-mieux Il danse tres bien. Elle danse mieux que lui. Ils dansent le mieux de nous tous. If I've interpretted things correctly, this is how I understand it: Bon, meilleur, les meilleurs (good, better, the best) are all adjectives. Bien, mieux, le mieux (well, better, the best) are all adverbs. Hope this helps a bit. Anne (99)  
  24. On the news in the UK a couple of hours ago, they have said that the police very much regret the shooting of the Brazilian, his family are sent deepest apologies - he was clearly very unfortunate. Having said this, it was also very clearly announced that the present police/ SAS policy of shooting suspected terrorists dead will continue - nothing has changed since the incident at Stockwell. It is obvious that the terrorists will be watching the news and the government/police want them to know that they are 'on their case'! I personally think that it's got to be the only route for the police to take - if they turn all 'nandy-pandy' and soft now goodness knows what might happen. Fire has to be fought with fire - unfortunately, at the moment.  
  25. This weekend I spent quite some time with my Dad, discussing this problem - as I said last week he's very unsure about it all. He's decided not to come to France for a holiday with us - the truth is he finds it all rather embarrasing, given the nature of his medical problems, and the fact that he only has a few words of French. I can understand how he feels! Many thanks to everybody who replied to my original question - I've learned something, I hadn't even heard of a CPAM office before!!
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