Perlats

Thank you for all your replies. From them I can see that I will probably have to concede on the landing as its total area is more than 9m2 despite being long and narrow and full of doors. Still not sure about the utility room but the web sites are very interesting for comparisons - thank you.

We have been with our present insurers for well over a decade but decided recently to get a quote from another. We are insured for a three bed-roomed house but the insurer giving the quote looked round our house and disputes this. He claims we must count our landing as a further bedroom. This seems far fetched to me. It is a reasonable space for a landing, enough for a small sofa, desk and bookcase but is open to the stairwell and four other doorways so affords no privacy for a bedroom and has never been used as such. Similarly, downstairs we have one main room which we use as kitchen, dining and sitting room. Behind this is an outhouse kind of room where we keep the washing machine, another fridge etc. It is a little over 3m x 3m. This particular insurer says we must count it as another "piece". He says we cannot count it as a kitchen as the main room is this but we can't discount the main room (as a kitchen) because it is lived in as well. Fair enough but there is no way we would ever "live" in the utility room which is in a very rough state and has only a tiny opaque window. Our current insurers never inspected the property but we gave them what we thought was an honest decription. Do landings and utility rooms really have to count as seperate rooms? We don't want to be underinsured but neither do we want to have to pay more than neccessary and we feel this second insurer is rather over-zealous. Please give me your thoughts on this.

Thanks to Polly and Pachapapa for the links. I am afraid we have been told we do need a whole new system although I do not consider our present one is a pollution danger – we have a fosse for foul water which we have emptied when necessary and the grey water soaks away in the garden but we have always been strict in using only environmentally friendly products so I don’t see it as any different from throwing the washing up water on the veggie plot. Of course we are only there a few weeks a year and the authorities need a system in place that is suitable for permanent habitation. Apologies for having gone off thread somewhat.

Sorry - please delete my duplicated message, permission has expired.

Well, we have had the inspection for our area and know that our system does not comply with current regulations. We were told that we need to comply by 2013. We were also told by the person who carried out the survey that there would “probably” be grants available later for main residences. Our system was perfectly acceptable when we bought the property twelve years ago but times move on and standards are now higher. Unfortunately to replace the system is not an option for us in the near future and I just wanted to explore the possibilities in a worst case scenario. I think the new norms for sanitation are being rolled out area by area (we are in the North West) and some parts of France may have not been notified of this yet.

Well, we have had the inspection for our area and know that our system does not comply with current regulations. We were told that we need to comply by 2013. We were also told by the person who carried out the survey that there would “probably” be grants available later for main residences. Our system was perfectly acceptable when we bought the property twelve years ago but times move on and standards are now higher. Unfortunately to replace the system is not an option for us in the near future and I just wanted to explore the possibilities in a worst case scenario. I think the new norms for sanitation are being rolled out area by area (we are in the North West) and some parts of France have not been notified of this yet.

This is a serious question I have been pondering too but from a different angle. Does the house have to have none of the facilities or is lack of any one enough? Our fosse septique does not conform to new regulations and |I can't see how we will be able to bring it up to spec. in time (residence secondaire so no grants available). Is this enough to make the property uninhabitable? Does this mean we can declare it so, stop paying Tax hab and/or fonc and maybe we could just use a portaloo for holidays until such times as funds allow for a new system?

Hi We have similar problems with our son who has severe learning difficulties. We contacted the passport offices and they were very sympathetic. With proof of his disability they accepted a photo that didn't comply with all the rules (closed mouth, looking straight ahead etc). I hope this helps, at least you know you are not the only ones with this problem! Good luck!

Do you not think that if people abuse the system like this that BF might stop it all together. As a benefit for friends and family it is very welcome but BF will soon clamp down if the discount is overused in this way. Offering your discount to anyone and everyone may get you a big discount this time but it cannot last and spoil it for others.

    Has anyone been to the Aquarium in Cherbourg?        Is it worth a visit? has it got lots of fish?        We are planning taking our 3 children there this month on our way down to our place.        Any information would be a great help.        patrick

No website on the personal details I can see, Patrick

Have you tried sprinkling pepper on the soil? I find it quite effective although it does need reapplying fairly regularly, especially after rain.

Hi James No, it's not working for posts for me whether or not I log in. Isn't that weird? I know I am enabled for logging in, is it required to enable it when not logged in? If so where? Could it be my computer? It's not a major problem but slightly irratating. Thanks for looking into it for me. 

Many thanks James for the reinstatement of the cursor browser. Oops, now I can't get it to work and I am logged in!  

Thanks Will, I realise I can log in automatically but the fact remains that with the old system I didn't have to in order to have the curser-browser facility and I would still prefer it that way as maybe other "guests" might do who haven't yet signed up. I presume it would be easy to reinstate it on this forum?

I don't find there is much difference in the new forum. Sorry, I can't think of anything I actually like better but then I was quite happy with everything before. The one thing I miss is not being able to read a glimpse of posts by moving the curser over them unless I log in which I don't usually bother to do unless I want to reply. Any way of switching this facility on without logging on? It is such a useful tool and saves a lot of time opening threads that are not always clear as to their contents by their title.

Val, I don't think anyone has "slagged you off", just defended their own opinion that paying MORE than full-time residents seems unfair. Everybody seems perfectly happy to pay the same local taxes as residents. Not one person who has replied after your posting has said they expect to pay less, but not using the local shop all year round seems an unjust reason to pay more especially,as has been pointed out, many of these properties were empty ALL the time previously.

Beware of assuming that everyone who has a holiday home has it as a second home, we rent in the UK because we can't afford to buy there yet cannot afford to live in France. I don't expect to pay less than full-timers but not more. We are not all rich.

I had to look 58 up, I must admit I have never heard of Nièvre before. Tell us more about it! Sorry I can't help with population densities for departements.

But surely even nimbys would rather have a wind farm next to them than a nuclear power station or stockage?

Quite apart from the inherent dangers of nuclear energy, just how sustainable is it in the long term? I'm sure I have read somewhere that if full scale production is widespread then plutonium (or maybe it was uranium or possibly both, I'm no scientist) reserves will only last about 60 years. Balance that against, what, tens of thousands of years to clean up? And what happens after the sixty years production runs out anyway?

It does sound likely that it is a coypu (ragondin in French) which are very common in France. Unlike the beaver they have a rat-like tail and their teeth are yellowy. They are vegetarian but unpopular with farmers for grazing and burrowing along the banks.

Hi I use Serif Web Plus 9 to design and upload my web pages. It is very easy to use and is suitable for beginers and experienced designers alike. I use a lot of serif software and find them all extreemly good, very compatible to all the main software packages. Use this link to go to their site. http://www.serif.com/ The price of the software is not too bad either. Web Plus 9 is only £59.99.  

Hi Gill If you want to be environmentally, fosse and skin friendly try the washing balls from Ecover. They work out very economical too, mine have been going strong for over two years now and are used at least three times a day. I use washing tablets for most white loads and a bit of Eau Ecarlate or Rubigine stain removers for tomato/fruit or grease spots, otherwise just the "balls". Washing feels softer too.

A couple of years ago we were walking through a picturesque village in the Tarn-et-Garonne (can't remember the name of it) on a Sunday morning when we were startled to discover hunters actually shooting in the streets amongst the houses. There were no signs warning of this "event" and what were they hoping to kill? Pigeons? We could hardly believe it, certainly no 150 m rule here, but it was for real and we bid a hasty retreat.