hoverfrog

if you are buying through an agent then be wary. It's not your offer per se that may "upset" the sellers- it's how it is presented to the sellers. I'm paying asking price for my new house, because the estate agent was acting for the sellers and the buyers - and was trying to play me against another buyer (who dropped out). She didn't want me to have the house because my offer was through another agent from the same agency - so she only got 1/2 the comission. Politics comes into every walk of life...

round here you can use your déchetterie - if you have proof you live/own a house in the commune. EDF bill will do. Not all déchetteries take asbestos or other dubious substances - best to check. Opening hours can be "aléatoire" too :)

http://www.estceouvert.com/index.php they're not always up to date though!

I'm still using seeds from Dad's seed-box (he died in 2004) and they all grow. Parsnips are funny - if they don't germinate then don't think the seeds are fubar, try again - parsnips are like that even with fresh seed! Am I the only one that hears the voices saying "you SOW seeds, you PLANT plants"??? Maybe I was hard of hearing in my youth :)

[quote user="Steve"]Faults Many things, too numerous to list here but the main ones are; The Roof Timbers & Lathes which were ALL covered up on the inside with Plaster Board. Huge Structural Cracks in walls also recently covered up on the inside with Plaster Board & Rendered over on the outside. Foul Water Waste Piped into a nearby stream. New Wooden Floors Laid over existing Rotten & Wood worm invested ones. So basically the previous owner intentionally cover up all the faults in order to sell. Just wondered if I had any chance of recourse. Cheers Steve [/quote] I think you are on dodgy ground trying to claim, but that's just my opinion. The bigger the outlay to buy, the more you investigate before signing. If you chose to buy a château without asking yourself why recent works were done - or having it surveyed - then that was your decision, which you have to live with. The ex-owners are not obliged to tell you anything (AFAIK) - you have the 7 day period to digest the obligatory surveys while you decide to buy or not after the compromis de vente to change your mind in, and after that you buy or don't. You may be kicking yourself now for not spending out on a UK-style survey, but I don't think that that is their problem - just yours. One of the paragraphs in the compromis de vente - and the acte de vente - is that you buy the property as it is, in totality, and that you accept that. Read the small print.

we have never seen so many seeds coming off the willows as this year - the slightest gust of wind and it's "snowing" outside! Has anyone else noticed this?

ask at the déchetterie or mairie. My déchetterie said to dig a hole and bury it.... not much help!

I second leboncoin.fr - excellent site! 2 houses and 6 puppies shifted thanks to that site :)

watch the météo carefully if you order plant plugs - mine came out in the postie's van, he left me the usual "not in - collect from PO" note even though I was in, and the poor little plants were mostly dead after a day in the La Poste car in hot sun! jardinexpress do them - well packaged but not well enough to be tossed around any old how. delbard-direct.fr do too - but I wouldn't like to give the postie the pleasure of ruining my plants a 2nd time so haven't tried them! Garden centres do them too - then you can choose your own :)

surely all that is needed is to top the trees? Why bother scrubbing up the roots...

if you already have a FT account where you are now, then you can ring them and have your account transferred within 10 days. As already said, if you know the telephone number of the line then it helps :)

centre of the universe, the bar/tabac :)

[quote user="Clair"]To think I could have charged every time I made a phone call to EDF or FT to help someone out... [:(][:(] [/quote] me too! Unfortunately when you add in ASSEDIC and ANPE, if I'd have charged then I'd have to be paying cotisations by now :)

if they've offered a new box, then take it! At the very least they are accepting that there is a problem and it's their fault. My friend was with ClubInternet - you don't want to know what we had to go through to get them to admit that their box was at fault!

[quote user="Krek"] If you sell without a real estate agent, your notary public can take care of all the legal issues, including the obligatory researches (lead, asbestos, energy etc.). For free! [/quote] I think you'll find that the obligatory surveys (the diagnostiques) are up to the seller to pay for. On the other hand, having the compromis de vente done by the notaire doesn't cost any more - it's included in the notaire's fees, and it ensures that all the legal angles are covered.

my daughter took her brevet here in France, started lycée but then moved to the UK in February and went straight into lower 6th form. Ring the school and tell them the situation - we found them very helpful.

according to the people I'm buying from, the metal dealers will only come for 5 tonnes+ of scrap. I told them to leave it all - I want it!

10% is by no means unusual - and as one estate agent said to me recently "everything is negotiable!"

the only advantage I can see is that you can combine your fidelity points :)

I already have to fire up Firefox to do my tax returns, and once a year is enough! Each to their own :)

thank-you! Forum still doesn't "do" Safari - and I'm not giving up my Mac for anyone! lol

ask the mods - or copy & paste the original links into a browser. Won't help though - all gone! I love www.leboncoin.fr :)

they were seriously cute though - one of the new owners rang me this evening to see if there were any left as her neighbour wanted one!

all now rehomed :)

mother English setter, father unknown. Micro-chipped, flead, wormed, 8 weeks old on Tuesday, seriously cute! [img]http://www.veytisou.com/images/IMG_0632.jpg[img] [img]http://www.veytisou.com/images/IMG_0690.jpg[img] [img]http://www.veytisou.com/images/IMG_0711.jpg[img] The mum was rescued in Italy, then left with me while the new owner had to return to the UK. edit - I see the forum still doesn't like Safari! Can a moderator please sort out the images :)