Leo. H

Hi All, Im in the middle of renovating a property in St Hilaire Du Maine, Mayenne..(53)... got to say its harder than I thought....

Hi, thanks for the replies, but what do I need to take to the Bank to open up a account, ie passport, photo, etc.. I have been looking at the exchange rate on the web and it seems to be around the 1.41 Euro to the pound, must be the same in France ?...or do you know different ?..cheers again guys you have been very helpful...Leo

HI, can you tell me what I will need to open a French bank account and the best banks to go with, area 53 Mayenne, as I have have,nt a clue, also is it best to exchange money in the U.K or France, a friend told me I would get a better exchange rate in France if I had u.k pounds as the French like British pounds...I think he may have been winding me up...Leo

Hi thanks very much for your replies, I  was told that I could,nt have tiles because of the wooden floor which would have been a shame, but after your replies I now know its possible...thanks again...Leo

Hi can anyone tell me if it is possibleto put floor tiles onto wooden flooring ie kitchen area using ceramic floor tiles, if so what do you fix and grout with. Allso is the price of windows really that much cheaper in France than the U.K I have been told they are but what about roof windows ie Velux type?  thanks...Leo

Hi, yes I have asked him several times as thing started to go really slow trying to get a French roofer, hence I was going to try and find one myself,  but still haven't seen anything, when I next go over I may well go to the Marie,s office and ask if it has been obtained, although I may be shooting myself in the foot if I do as like I said work has been started for some while now...thanks for the reply....Leo

Hi, can anybody let me know why a Architect would hold on to the planning permission after the work had been done..ie..I have owned a property in area 53 (Mayenne) for about a year, we have a English Architect who has lived and worked in France for 12 years, we have paid for the planning permission and he has informed us that it has been cleared, we have started work on said property...through the Architect..using French builder..who it has to be said where cheaper then the british builders we had quotes from..(another story)..but I have not seen any paperwork or written permission from the local Marie...I have already paid the Architect his fee,s for applying for the permission but so far I am acting on his word that we have got it...any ideas please...thanks....

Hi, oh dear, I hope not, I,ve had a caravan in our garden in France for the past ten months and before I took it over a local architect (French) told us we wouldn't have a problem, and I took him at his word, ...Leo

I have brought a house in near Mayenne and have had work done on the property, I had a wall rebuilt and quotes for the wall were from 18,000 Euro down to 9,000 Euro, the highest who was a English builder, and the lowest being a French builder, who did the wall in six days, very fine job too, now I am getting quotes to have half the roof re-slated and again it seems the quotes are coming in with the English builders being able to do the work for around 15,000 Euro and the French builders are a lot cheaper...I,m wondering if the English builder are maybe taking advantage of the U.K home owners knowing that they have a problem with the peach etc and bumping there prices up, I dont know,,, just seems strange... I would urge any new home owners to get as many quotes in as possible both French and English, also has any one else noticed this sort of thing? it really is a minefield...