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Elensw

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  1. My brother has been in France for a while and is interested in installing satallites for a living (free to air channels only i guess). He worked as an engineer in the UK. Ive advised him that to do any sort of service trade like this in France, he will need to take a course in order to acquire his SIRET number. I know its true for builders. have I mis-advised him and does anyone know if there is such a course for satallite installation / or whether he can simply register using proof of UK experience instead of retraining as writers and photographers etc can? Many Thanks El
  2. i have recently been unwell and need to go on a special diet. I would be really grateful if anyone could tell me if there is a chain of healthfood shops in France similar to Holland and Barrett in the UK. Obviously i am okay for vegetables but i cant find things like carob in the supermarket. Also, the only kind of cheese i am allowed is cottage cheese...i would be really grateful if anyone could tell me if this is sold here and what its called. many Thanks El
  3. I know the mushrooms are starting to appear now so wondered whether someone might have slipped some of the stranger ones into my lunch when we drove by a place in the Dordogne yesterday. It was an outlet for roofing and in the yard were sat, side by side, a number of what appeared to be readymade roofs. They were full size and totally completed so if it was a sales display they must have gone to hge effort just to show some examples. Dont laugh...but is there such a thing as an off the shelf roof? The shop was shut so unfortunately i was ot able to enquire within! El
  4. I have about 50 metres that i need to place a hedge along. In my French houses in the past i have used conifers but they are expensive and for me, dont seem to grow at the wild rate they are known for. Can any one recommend a cheap, fast growing type of hedge? thanks!
  5. Apologies as i suspect this question has been asked before - i have hunted but no luck! Regarding the rule that an architect is usually required for projects over 170 msq can anyone confirm whether buildings ajoining the building concerned contriute to the total 170m. For example, we have a barn ajoining the house we want to renovate/rebuild. We dont intend converting the barn just leaving it as a barn for storage. Im sure someone told me that the area of ALL the buildings on the parcel concerned had to be counted whether they were to be renovated or not...i am hoping this is incorrect.
  6. I wonder if anyone could give me any advice on hiring labourers. The roof of our old house fell in some time ago and much of the roof structure, tiles and part of the first floor has fallen into the house itself. Removing this debries is something that needs man-power and a lorry rather than a skilled artisan. I would be really grateful if anyone could let me know the best course of action re hiring someone to do this...are labourers listed in pages jaunes and what are they called in France? Alternatively if anyone knows anyone in The Lot (we are close to the border with 19) I would be grateful for a recommendation. Thanks!
  7. I am new to proper` gardening. I would like to make a large vegetable garden next year. What is the best way to prepare the soil this Autumn? The only available land is on the edge of a little orchard i have...it has grass and weeds now so i think i will need a rotivator on it. I dont really want to put any chemicals on the soil but is there anything else i can add. Also, for notive...is there anything that can be planted in the winter or late Autumn? Many thanks for any advice!
  8. Apologies if an exchange counts as an advert...pls remove if so. I have a barn roof of 20 metres long which needs to be replaced as part has collapsed. i think at least 40% of the tiles are good if not more . If anyone would like them they are free and will perhaps save someone some money...the exchange is that whoever would like them removes them and takes them away. We are in Northern Lot close to Souillac, pls do leave a message in my in-box if interested.
  9. The old house we have bought and plan to renovate is a fairly dangerous site at the moment due to the roof falling in etc. The house is fairly isolated but i am still concerned about what would happen if children decided to turn up and play there. We have red and white tape around the building and i am going to speak to my insurers..does anyone have public liability insurance for this reason? thanks
  10. The builder who is quoting for our renovation work says he has contacts who will buy the tiles from our old roof - they are the little slate ones, oblong shaped with a point at the top. i understand are very expensive new / difficult to get these days as they have to be handmade. Has anyone bought any roof tiles secondhand...what is the normal price per tile as i want to get the best price possible!!! Essential due to cost of new roof! Thanks.
  11. I would be really grateful if anyone could advise: am i correct in thinking that if a property is damaged between the compromie and the acte de vente that the seller has to make good the damage. I did post below as a separate question as our seller wants to back out due to roof damage which has occured 12 days before the acte de vente is due. She was not insured so not happy to pay for repair. the agent who i think has others interested in the house told me the seller would refuse to repair the damage and if we were not happy to walk away (nice agent !) i checked and found that the law prevented this..its written in our compromie also that we can force a sale if she refuses and claim damages for costs. My first question is does anyone have any suggestions...the roof was damaged to start with but repairable at a cost of about 4000 euros...it had holes in...now it needs total replacement at a cost of about 20,000 euros min. Obviously i dont think we are entitled to a brand new roof as it was damaged to start with..and how can the owner repair it to the standard it was when the compromie was signed(Ie damaged!). The price of the house was only 55,000!.if anyone has any clever ideas for a compromise i would be really grateful! Second question, can anyone recommend a good solicitor in France..i am pretty sure the law is on our side and dont want to waste time in sending letters too and fro and would rather reach a simpler solution...but just in case. Thanks!
  12. Its just a week or so before the acte de vente and a storm has torn down the roof of half a very large barn on the house we are buying. By law the proprietor has to ensure the house is in similar condition to when we signed the compromie but i dont think she has insurance and repairing the damage will be very costly for her. It would be cheaper for the seller to back out of the sale..i think she would have to pay us compensation..however it wouldnt really make a dent in what we have spent renting for a time and the hassle of looking for yet another house. Does anyone know if in backing out, the seller has to give a good reason (ie illness or similar concern)...can she be forced to sell us the house ( the whole point of the compromie) and honour her obligation to provide it as we first saw it? Grateful for any advice E
  13. well, perhaps collapsed is a bit too strong a word but just 12 days before the acte de vente a huge rain storm has bought down half of a 20 metre barn roof. The roof was not perfect before and needed quite a lot of patching but we were ok with this...the additional damage means a totally new roof is required plus the falling timbers etc have caused additional damage inside. The barn is attached to the house so unfortunately the repair cannot be left undone until we can afford it as we plan to rent the house out at some stage in the next couple of years. There is no provison in the compromie for anything like this but after speaking to a notaire (who was unfortunately no involved in the sale, just a contact) i am pretty sure the owner has to make good any damage . The point in law being that the house has to be in more or less the same condition when the sale takes place as when we signed for it. If the owner had full insurance i think the event could actually have been to our advantage and we might have got a new roof BUT i have a sneaky feeling she might possibly have left the house uninsured. Does anyone have any idea what would happen if this were the case? Also, the house was a total renovation job...the roof was damaged before but repairable...not now...i cannot see how the owner could replace like with like as it would mean building a roof in need of repair if that makes sense. The cost of a new roof would be about a third of what we paid for the property. We live in France full time but we sold our first house and this is our second one...we are in rented accommodation at the moment. i really dont want to back out of the purchase. Does any one have any ideas about a sellers obligations to provide the house in the same condition as when the compromie was signed? Thanks!
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