Hagar

[quote]"I may be misunderstanding the portage concept, but it seems that it may be of limited use, and of no use to me as a consultant."[/quote] I don't fully understand the workings of the portage concept yet but my impression is that it is suited for the consultancy style services that Linacre provides. As I understand it - You tell the portage company who to invoice and the amount. (you don't need to submit time sheets or evidence of disbursements to the portage company) They invoice the client and take care of credit control. When funds are received by the portage company they pay you the funds less the state deductions and their handling fees (circa 10%). They distinguish between "fees" and disbursements - the latter only incurring a handling fee. i.e deductions on "fees" are around 50% in total - on disbursements only 10%. The portage company do NOT pay your tax liability in France, but take care of all the other "cotistations". Would really like to hear from somebody who is actually working through a portage company. Hagar  

"I may be misunderstanding the portage concept, but it seems that it may be of limited use, and of no use to me as a consultant."    

Would agree that CA britline is not that bad. There are charges that we are not used to in the UK but they are not that significant. Notwithstanding the documents they now require you will find it useful to have a french bank account while house hunting and since you haven't already bought , location of the bank is not that important. You can always open a second account locally when you are settled. I find the online service is very good and has just been extended so that you can make payments to third parties directly. Transferring money from UK always credited within 3 days. I think the paying in of cheques thing is only really of concern to those running some form of business locally.  

There is an alternative to the saline treatment that uses neither chlorine nor bromine . see http://www.bio-uv.net/en/presentation.htm

"  I think the portage idea takes care of this for people who are living AND working in France, but I don’t think it would work with someone like me with a foot in both camps." I have been looking into portage recently and have been told by a number of people that it is suitable for people residing in France but working for companies in the UK. The only tricky issue is persuading you UK based clients to accept a contract with the French based portage company. If you only have a handful of clients that give you work then this should not be too much of a problem. Having said all that I have contacted 2 portage companies in the last month re setting this up and have yet to receive any replies !!. Will let you know if I get any further info from them. Hagar   

I have come across two petrol stations that would not accept foreign credit cards at the kiosk - one just outside St Malo the other just east of Toulouse. I have been told (but cannot confirm) that foreign credit cards are cleared through a different system than domestic cards in France and that the foreign card system takes longer and throws up more security checks where the retailer may be requested to phone before payment is cleared.   Since this can also mean the retailer having to ask the customer questions (in what to the customer is a foreign language) - some retailers just can't be bothered with the hassle and refuse to accept foreign cards in the first place. I once had a weird experience with a UK credit and switch card in IKEA which took 20 minutes to sort out - it is a long story but fits with what I've been told re different system/increased security checks. Hagar

That is strange - may be he didn't want to sell any swimming pools that day. ! Hagar

Francs ? That's possible - lots of French people I know still talk in francs when it comes to big numbers - they say that they cannot visualise/understand 100,000 euros whilst they have no problem with 1,000,000 FF. 100,000 FF would be about 16,000 euros - yes ?. - That could be correct for the 'kit only' option. As a very rough guide I would double that for 'pret a plonger' and add a further 50% if you wanted one done traditionally. Hagar  

Costs for a pool can vary tremendously because of the different construction methods, materials, equipment etc. Having said that I would consider 100,000 euros for a 10x5m pool is way, way  over the top. Hagar

I think you might find that the size of transfer that may spark a money laundering investigation is far less than 100,000. The authorities will take a number of facts into account before choosing to launch an investigation - not least the parties involved and whether the tranaction is a "normal" one. Whilst I also have transferred large amounts between my own accounts in different banks without problems I would recommend that you pay the money directly to the notaire. This must be a fairly common transaction for the notaire if not for you. Also your bank presumably knows the source of the funds - therefore nothing to raise the suspicion of the authorities. Hagar

Hegs - agree with KLM ex amsterdam we use that a lot - if you book at the right time fares are pretty cheap - e.g 49  GBP (+tax) return from a UK airport changing at Amsterdam. Was dissapointed this month to see that they are using a smaller aircraft (Fokker 70 vs Fokker 100) - wondered if that heralded some further changes by Air France now that they own KLM Hagar

Peter - useful list tks I think you will find that BMIBaby have withdrawn the Cardiff-Toulouse service. It was saturdays only at pretty unsociable hours but was useful on occasion Hagar

Alistair - have you thought of Ikea - we have a couple of Ekeberg beds (200 x 160) with Sultan Forestad mattresses - less than 500 euros (bed + mattress). These are far from the cheapest in Ikea but everybody who has slept on them has been very complimentary re comfort etc. If you haven't got a store near you you can buy on line www.ikea.fr If you can visit a store then you can probably pick up a couple of accessories (bed side tables etc) very cheap - as well as bed linen which is extremely good value - especially for occassional use. Hagar

TR This is the link you need www.adia.org there is an english language section Who are we ?Association for REAL ESTATE diagnosis by the ARCHITECT (ADIA) ASSOCIATION (subject to law of 1901) gathering about 300 liberal architect installed all over France metropolitan and overseas (Martinique, Guadeloupe, Reunion). Our services ?All missions of advices, assistance and diagnosis to individuals and organizations in the scope of constructed estate (purchase of old home, new construction, remodeling, renovation...) What you need to ask for is a "BILAN de SANTE IMOBILIER" - it is an extremely detailed condition report (9 pages of A4) covering all the structure, the fittings , decor and all the services. Where appropriate they grade any work needed into A- immediate, B- Intervention in 2 to 5 years, C- intervention after 5 years. Cost for a 4 bed villa was 410 euros ( 3 years ago). Hope that helps Hagar  

[quote]Hello We are looking for someone to check our house over. There are a few things we are concerned about, the main one being rising damp. In England we would call a surveyor. Is there a french equiv...[/quote] Yes there is a french equivalent - unfortunately I don't have the details to hand but when we purchased I contracted a local architect to survey the house before signing the compromis. The survey he conducted was a standard survey covering all aspects - construction, condition, services, etc etc.. The report was in a format pre-defined by a professional body for Architects and structural engineers and was very detailed - way beyond the "home buyers" survey that you get in the UK. Although I did not specifically ask for a report in English the architect made a really good attempt at translating all his comments . Cost (from memory) around 400 euros. I am travelling for the next four days - if you would like more details of what the survey and the professional body is called I can post them when I get back. Hagar    

[quote]We signed the compromis de vente in the last week of October. What is the usual time frame for getting the papers back (after the seller has signed them) and when do the "2-3 months" average time span...[/quote] Don't know if this is typical but - We signed the compromis with the vendors at the notaires office 29th June. At that time we agreed a date of 30th August for signing the Acte. Agent emailed us mid August to say Acte was ready for signing if we wanted to complete early. As we had already booked travel etc for 31st August we declined and completed on the originally agreed date. Why not ask the vendors/agent/notaire to set a date for signing the acte ? Hagar

"the British don't mind their prime minister being criticised in the same way that Americans mind their president being criticised because the British prime minister does not personify the country in the same way that the president of the USA does." Alcohol induced or not, Hoddy, I think that's quite perceptive. There is also a large body of Americans that feel the British Prime Minister personifies Britain and the British people. I have often felt embarrassed in discussion with Americans when they refer to the views/actions of Margaret Thatcher/Tony Blair with the obvious assumption that I support their views/actions just because I am British.  Should I dare contradict our mighty leaders then I am looked upon as some kind of radical "leftie" - mostly these days I just keep quite. What is the French take on this?. I know that for my elderly neighbour in France it is the Royal Family and Princess Diana that personifies all things British. She doesn't think much of Prince Charles though ! Hagar 

We have a 12kW supply - monophase - and when we first moved in had a few problems with supply cutting out. The strange thing is the house seems to be divided up into 3 different 4kw circuits with different combinations on each circuit - e.g Washing machine, second bedroom, mezzanine and garage lighting on one circuit, -  fridge, sal de sejour, main bedroom on another etc. Problem seems to be  if we exceed 4kW on any one circuit then it throws the whole 12kW supply - so have learnt to be a little careful of combinations. can anyone explain why that would be ? We also found that UK electrical goods were more likely to cause a problem - particularly hair dryers !. A friend told me that French electrical goods have greater inbuild protection against surge voltages when switched on - don't know if that is true for all goods but putting a french hair dryer in every room and suggesting to guests that they use them rather than the one they brought with them has certainly made a difference. Hagar      

I guess BF take the view that it is a "one-off fee" per membership rather than a one-off fee per person. I'm assuming from the original post that Danglar let the membership lapse at some point (for more than two years?). In which case BF are saying that you need to apply for a new membership. Hagar

Don't know about the French branch but have been a member of the UK branch for 3 years now. We generally cross overnight Porstmouth - St Malo and the membership fee pays for itself in a single crossing. Hagar

[quote]It's time to make the sausage rolls again. Is there a French equivalent to sausage meat and, if so, what is it called and who sells it please? Graham[/quote] I believe the correct term is "chair a saucisse" (f) - you can find it it any butcher's or on the supermarket shelves. Hagar

Vin Gris normally refers to a particular style of Rose where , prior to fermentation, the juice is left a very short time in contact with the skin. No more than a few hours! That way the must is delicately colored. Commonly this technique is used with Pinot Noir grapes - I think that is where the the term Gris (or Grey) comes into it Hagar

Di, Don't know about posting cheese to UK but can wholeheartedly recommend the Huge Cheese Company in London . Have used them a few times for sending cheese as Xmas presents and they have been excellent. They don't currently show a Bleu D'auvergne on the web site but that doesn't mean they don't have it. Try calling them. http://www.hugecheesedirect.co.uk Alternatively you could try la fromagerie - have never used them but have seen some very good write ups. http://www.lafromagerie.co.uk/ Hagar

I first paid our taxe Fonciere on line in 2003 - First I had to register my intention to pay and then I had to wait for the Tresor Public to send me (by post) confirmation that I had registered with the "adhesion de telereglement" attached. As instructed I forwarded the "adhesion au telereglement" along with a RIB to our bank in France. Then went back on line to actually make the payment - it was 5 days after the due date by this time but I was not not levelled any surcharge. This year the Taxe Fonciere bill arrived with all the bank details completed - However I still had to go online and authorise the payment. Although the process was much simpler as everything was already set up. I don't think that sending the "adhesion au telereglement" sets up a direct debit as we know it in the UK - it merely registers the fact that you wish to make payments online in the future. It is purely "Pour satisfaire aux reglement de la profession bancaire". (It also allows you to pay by Minitel if you wish) Did the TdH for the first time this year and the process was the same except you can download the "attestation" from the web site and don't have to wait for it to come in post. Generally speaking I find the whole "telegrement" system very impressive. Hagar

Seems like the row between the European Commission and the UK Government is still going on - see Britain in the dock over 'booze cruisers' at http://expat.telegraph.co.uk/global/main.jhtml?xml=/global/2004/10/21/neu21.xml&sSheet=/global/2004/10/21/home.html Hagar