Sprogster

Sorry Norman, but I have gone back to the web site where I picked up this news link and now cannot find it again. Apparently, it is not Hollande only protecting Artisans who are moaning about unfair competion from AE's, but concerns that employers are abusing the regime by contracting people under the AE regime, to avoid the costs of direct employment.  

Apparently, there is speculation that one of the main changes that might be implemented by the new French government to the AE regime, is to limit its use to three years for start up businesses, with the possibility of applying for one extension. Also that the annual books will have to be submitted to prove you are genuinely self employed.

In France houses and apartments seem to be valued on a set amount per square metre that applies to the area. Little allowance seems to be made for views and the current state of the property, as long as it is habitable. A neigbour of mine sold his nearly new maison secondaire last year and the French buyer promptly ripped out the expensive virtually unused solid wood provencal kitchen, as they like many French preferred the basic cheaper modern style! I think most French have a more functional attitude towards their homes compared to Brits and the luxury window treatments, bathrooms and kitchens so popular with Brit owners, seem lost on many French people, who do not seem to see the point of spending a lot of money on your house, even general painting and maintenance.

P-D de R, I think your analogy can be extended to Brits, many of whom being second home owners, who have bought in rural areas of France, where the younger population is in decline due to the lack of employment opportunities and therefore there is little local demand for housing from the French. In this type of situation you are over reliant on new foreign buyers continue to support the rural French housing market, because as you have previously said most second home owners sell within 8 to 10 years. Therefore, if the volume of foreign and second home owner buyers declines as has been the case, then values are bound to be adversely affected. I believe one of the concerns for the French housing market is that a lot of the tax incentives that kept the market reasonably buoyant compared to other countries during the downturn have been removed and this together with the uncertainty of the new French socialist government, could cause values to fall.

minnie, the measurements are the same, it is just that they have reduced the level at which statins are now prescribed for older people due to the results of ongoing clinical studies. If I recall correctly they use to wait until you had a reading of around 5, whereas 4 is now seems the need for treatment marker, where other risk factors are taken into account such as age. I think your neighbours were talking about LDL cholesterol which is recommended should be 2 to 3, not total cholesterol which should be under 4. I imagine like me you will only need a minimum dose of 10mg a day. Diet and certain foods can help but only to a limited extent as you get older, because cholesterol increases with age. As for side effects I have none and neither have the other people I know who take them at the lower doses prescribed to most patients.

Paul, if you re-read the article it is only referring to a percentage of anonymous searches on a particular overseas property website, not material enquiries or instructions. I can understand those selling French property wanting to talk up the market, but there is a thin line between being misleading, as the facts are according the French banks, notaries and major immobiler associations like FNAIM, that the current French property market is weak. Bank interest rates maybe low, but you try and get a mortgage in France and you will struggle, as the banks are very reluctant to lend at the moment.

A worrying and well publicised problem in France is the increasing shortage of doctors in rural areas, to the extent it can be difficult to find a GP willing to take you on as a patient. This problem is forecast to get much worse as many French rural GP's are near retirement and the next generation are apparently just not prepared to accept the long hours and poor renumeration with rural primary care medicine. Many Brits are attracted to the less populated rural areas of France, in part by the cheaper property to be found there, but a trade off can be poorer primary health care facilities, which is a consideration if you have a chronic medical condition.

Quillan, Belgium is a tax haven for many of the European wealthy because of the absence of capital gains and a wealth tax. This is important for the super wealthy as they tend to focus their investment returns more on capital gain rather than income, such as private equity. What might drive more moderately wealthy people from France is any significant adverse changes in the wealth tax threshold and rate, as if you take into account assets such as your home and pension pots, even the current threshold is not that difficult to reach. Especially, if you live in an area where property values are expensive, such as Paris.  

We have been doing a fair amount of work on our French house over the winter and the local artisans having been treating me like a long lost son, lamenting the disappearance of their previous British clientele, saying they really miss having British clients as we are so civilised to deal with! The local kitchen company we dealt with said they used to deal with British customers all the time, but I was the first for several years.   I read somewhere that most second home owners sell up within ten years, so if correct a lot of members from when I joined 2004 have no doubt sold up and moved on. I agree with RH that having a home in France is not the trend it was and do worry that second home owners will become an easy target for additional taxes. Apparently, the new French socialist government have already mooted the introduction of a second home tax, so interesting times ahead I think.

The other French Forums I look at are very quiet as well, with most postings from a relatively small core of members. Main reason for reduced activity is undoubtedly the economic sitituation, as other than at the top end of the market in Paris and the Cote D'Azur, purchases of second homes in France are very subdued. For those looking to move permanently, there is probably less of an appetite to take the risk with the current uncertainty in the eurozone, especially if the plan entails the need to find some form of work in France. If I recall correctly, a lot of the historical posting activity was generated by newbies asking for advice on moving and or buying a house in France, often driven by the plethora of TV programmes like a Place in the Sun, whereas now this type of media coverage has mainly fizzled out, other than repeats. I am not sure matters will change anytime soon, as unfortunately many people are more concerned these days about keeping a roof over their head and food on the table than a dream home in the sun.     

Most members of this forum as expats in France tend to be retirees and EU nationals, so not really the best place to seek this sort of specialised advice, for which I would have thought a suitably qualified French accountant and lawyer would be absolutely essential. My guess is that there is nothing stopping an American purchasing this type of existing business in France, but if your intention is to move a non EU employee or yourself  to France to help run the business, as a non EU national you have to carefully investigate if you are able to qualify for a working visa, which could be problematic especially if the business is small and what sort of qualifications the French would expect you to have. Also there could be a minimum number of French employees and turnover requirement attached to visa regulations.  Otherwise you are restricted to 90 day visits as a tourist and max of 180 days in a year and prohibited from any form of employment. Also the tax issues need to be carefully considered and structured both from a US and French perspective, to avoid a double taxation exposure.

Like the Channel Islands, the tourism industry in northern Britanny has been in decline for years, as with the advent of the low cost carriers such as Ryanair, it is as cheap to fly further south for guaranteed sunshine.  Also from what I hear there has been a big switch to camping, making life much more difficult for Gites. I would therefore use your two years to travel around France and don't worry about missing the property market, as house price forecasts for French property are for fairly substantial falls over that period.

daft doctor, I am no means an expert, but when I looked at lots in France, I always made sure they had consent in place for a habitation up to a given size. Otherwise, there was no guarantee having purchased the lot, you could build to the size and height you want. It was very unusual if they did not have this consent, as it usually enhanced the lots value for relatively little outlay. You don't want to find that the old chap you buy the land from dies before you build your house and his heirs then raise objections to your proposed development. My advice would be to consult with a local architect, as building in the mountains is a specialised area.

The pound is still well below its previous levels in 2007/08 and its recent recovery is not solely down to the Euro crisis, but the suspension of quantative easing, influx of foreign investors tied to UK M&A activity and recent surprising reduction in UK unemployment. According to most City currency analysts the euro/£ fair value comparison exchange rate is 1.30 to 1.35, so the £ is still undervalued and is likely to strengthen a bit further in due course.

Not always possible as not all in car nav systems are CD based and those that are tend to be updated with new CD's rather infrequently. In a previous car I owned from a well known German manafacturer, I wanted to purchase an updated navigation CD because the one that came with the car was hopelessly out of date and had to wait two years for the next CD update! Also with older cars, you can find that the manufacturers no longer supply updated navigation CD's as their new cars work on an updated system, the discs for which are not backwards compatible in the older units.

Very interesting article about top French butcher in Paris who is attempting to get the French to fall in love with British beef again. Apparently, most French beef unlike the UK comes from dairy cattle, that is primarily corn rather than dedicated grass fed purpose bred bulls as in the UK. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-17925152  

The trouble with this ludicrous requirement is that more often than not it is impossible to update a built in car sat nav installed at the factory, as they are not removable from the car or connectable to the internet. Also what are foreign registered cars visiting France expected to do.

Happy Birthday Clair. You might want to consider an alternative form of lower impact excercise as according to a recently published clinical study, road jogging is not recommended for the fifty plusses, as it can often knacker your knees and hips exacerbated by natural bone loss as you age. Apparently, brisk walking is preferable and just as effective, or if you want to continue running jogging machines are a better option being softer than a road surface.

I think it is fairly easy to obtain a travel insurance policy that covers trips up to 90 days, so would suggest a bit of comparison website surfing.

I agree with Val that it makes more sense to insure in France, although from my experience it is more expensive in France. Probably, because the French insurance market is less competitive with using commission renumerated insurance brokers still the normal route, whereas in the UK price comparison websites dominate. Most insurance gets underwritten back to Lloyds of London anyway!

DD, my understanding is that the cost of topping up a UK State pension so that you are entitled to a full pension is something of a bargain and therefore a sensible investment decision your wife should make. From other members it would appear that you are unlikely to accumulate a meaningful French State pension under the AE regime, if indeed it survives it it's current form as it is not without controversy with some artisans.

If I can find any dexter you will be the first to know!

"It is rare for property professionals and housing economists in France to agree on their prognostics, but for once there does seem to be a general consensus that both sales and prices will fall this year. FNAIM, Century 21, the Notaires, economists and the French banks are all forecasting a decline of between 10-15%. Apparently, recent reports from agents and notaires certainly indicate a slowdown in sales and prices is happening, accompanied by a spectacular (40%) fall in the number of mortgages that have been granted, as banks tighten their lending criteria. Other factors coming into play adversely impacting on house prices, especially investment property, are the toughening of the capital gains tax regime, increases in social charges and reduction in tax breaks."   Source: eNewsletter article - French-property.com

I am not an expert, but I recall reading that if you are as near to UK State retirement age as you are, it might be preferable to take out private health insurance for the few years you need it, so that you eventually qualify for French health care under the UK/France reciprocol arrangement for retirees. That way you avoid the potential hefty French social security health care deductions you would have to continue to make against your income as a retiree in France, if you went down the AE route. The problem with the AE route as I understand it, is there is no going back to qualify for French health care under the reciprocol retiree arrangement with the UK, which dependent on your retirement income could be cheaper long term, as you do not pay French health care deductions under the UK retiree arrangement.

Massage therapy done properly is very beneficial and can assist with pain management and stress for example with cancer patients. Also muscular problems can be treated very effectively with massage therapy, once skeletal issues have been discounted. I read somewhere that the profussion of Thalassotherapy centres in France is very much down to the fact that they are very much part of the French health care culture, with treatments being prescribed by doctors on the French health service.