Mutts
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Everything posted by Mutts
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Sorry to hear about your crash ClairS. Can I clarify my situation please as it sounds like I'm about to do things the wrong way around too: We have an old UK car in France (insured with French co). It passed the CT last month, and when we next visit we're planning on getting the carte grise. We have the UK reg. doc. and thought we didn't send off the tear-off slip to notify its export (and refund on road fund tax) until we have the carte grise and it's properly registered in France. Can anyone confirm???? Linda
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How would you pronounce my name in French? Lynda
Mutts replied to Mr Coeur de Lion's topic in French Language
We're another Leendaa and Reechard, but MOH is commonly referred to as Rick - Reech? Our surname is about the most common you can get - probably pronounced Oones in France, but what will get confusing is explaining my surname was Oones before getting married to an Oones. -
Hi Coco I'm not a B&B or gite owner, but if I were one of your potential tourists I would expect: no more and no less than a specified amount of "free" wine served with a meal, plus a price list if I wanted more. Perhaps a note at the bottom of the menu saying that due to French legislation wine can only be bought/served with meals. Corkscrews readily available in the gite. Terms and conditions for deposits mentioning withholding of same if wine stains are found anywhere! " The thing is, these people are adults, they are on holiday, they are wanting to sit and enjoy the garden on a summer evening but..... they're gagging for a drink I suppose that I could allow them to therefore drink their own alcohol in the garden" Is there a problem with this? If I were a tourist staying with you, I'd buy my own supplies in! Perhaps a note suggesting where the best buys are - repeating that you can't sell them wine without meals. You must have had some fairly horrible experiences.......... Linda
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"Taxation in France 2005 - A Foreign Perspective" by Charles Parkinson is supposed to be good and I'm hoping to read and understand it during my holiday this summer. There is a full page listing income arising from different sources, followed by three columns specifying rates for Income Tax; CSG/CRDS; and Other! There are a number of tax-efficient investments (French based). A non-incoming producing trust is an option where the administrative costs of any such trust is lower than the likely tax on income. I understand that the most important tax return is the first, and will be looking for a qualified tax accountant.
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We have a house between Ste Foy la Grande and Montpon (Dordogne but close to Gironde) and hope to live there by next summer. Its in quite an elevated position (away from the river valley) and seems to have a breeze most of the time, which is great in summer. Last winter was talked about as being colder than the norm but I don't have the experience to judge. Eating out - lunch menus - excellent value from 11 euros (3-4 courses inc wine). Evening menus - anything you want to pay really, set menus vary, 18e, 28e, 36e, etc. Duck is the regional speciality. We're taking an extending holiday this summer and hope to find lots of places to walk. There are plenty of cycle routes in the area, other activities include canoeing, kayaking, tennis. When we live there we'd hope to be able to drive 3-4 hrs to ski areas. Good luck Linda
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Chappie is a tinned dog food available in most UK supermarkets. Is Eukanuba Senior widely available in SW France as we don't know the area very well yet and will need to get dog food as soon as we arrive. If anyone knows of a bland tinned variety I'd still be interested as my hound is a horribly fussy eater. Linda
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Can anyone recommend a bland dog food, akin to Chappie, for my 12 yr old hound with a digestive problem? Last time I was in France I looked out for a dog food with rice (assuming this would be bland) but could see nothing suitable. Thanks Linda
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No road tax. Controlle Technique needed every two years - costs approx 40-45 euros Insurance needed - bought separately as in UK. 1992 Honda Prelude = 350 euros pa Additional costs to register a UK car in France depending on make. Suggest that to keep your costs down you consider buying Peugeot or Renault. Linda
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Thanks for replying - I'm one of those affected by the increased in pensionable age. Shame we can't adopt the French retirement age of 60! Linda
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That's a huge relief! So if our E106 gives us two years and one of us is 60 within that time - there are no health charges? Are there likely to be any changes to the pension age within the next few years? Many thanks Linda
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We're a married couple in our 50's taking early retirement to France in summer 2006. We'll be living on savings interest and capital until our pensions kick in. I've heard that social contributions will be assessed on earnings for the calender year 2004 and will be approx 8% of gross income. So while we're no longer earning, we'll be expected to pay the 8% on previous earnings. Thus in 2007 we'll pay 8% of gross earnings in 2005 and so on until 2009 when almost zero earnings in 2007 will bring social contributions to a reasonable level. Can anyone confirm???? My husband will be 60 in 2007 - will that make a difference? Linda
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We want to demolish a couple of non-loadbearing interior walls, but have been told the ceilings will collapse. The ceilings are a kind of tongue and groove tile, cemented to the walls. Any thoughts? Linda
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It seems that this year the Inland Revenue are cutting down on the amount of paper returns they send out. In some cases they are sending form P810(T) Tax Review form asking if you have any new kinds of taxable income; if you think you're not paying enough tax ; or if your tax claims are no longer relevant. "If your circumstances have changed significantly we may ask you to complete Tax Returns in future" In other cases - where income is straightforward and constant, short returns are being sent. Unfortunately the onus is on the individual to complete returns but the move is to complete online, or print your own forms from their website. Self assessment was the dawn of a new error.
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Thanks for those replies - seems the kits can be installed in any chimney but certain safety features must be taken into account - ventilation, condition of chimney etc etc. Linda
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I need to find out about the various kinds of replacement windows, doors and sealed units. What kind to use? Wood/Upvc/Aluminium? I understand wood needs repainting every few years, and I'd prefer low maintenance. Also interested in the possibility of fly screens. Any recommendations? Linda
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Anyone any experience of using these kits? I want some form of wood burning stove and a way of diverting heat to other parts of the house. Linda
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[quote]We have lived here in N Lot for 16 months and in that time have seen fewer than 10 Honda cars - 1 Prelude, 1 Accord saloon, 1 Accord Aerodeck and the rest Civics of various sorts. I noticed them becau...[/quote] If the price for new was reasonable, I'd have no problem but the same garage in Perigueux where Grays got his 1983 headlights for 200 euros each have quoted us 374.44 each headlight, before tax, plus extra for fitting. Total bill is over 1000 euros. The cost of buying the whole car wasn't much more than that! We've checked out the US option, but the JDM lights which seem to be the only alternative to Honda, won't meet the requirements of the CT. Linda
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Makes me wonder if resolving the food issue would resolve other issues too. I was amazed by the child who became calmer when eating real food and his almost immediate reaction when re-introduced to processed food. When my children were at school I calmly informed the education authorities that I'd be asking for the school to be shut down on health and safety grounds as water was not freely available for the children. The drinking fountains were broken and the school dinner providers only sold fizzy drinks. It was quite amazing how quickly jugs of water were available and within three days money was sourced for new fountains. Work started on these within the month.
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Thanks for all the replies and suggestions. We're no closer finding our headlights but would be very interested in knowing about possible second hand sources or breakers yards. We're driving the car to France soon, so any further information could be very useful. Many thanks
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Having difficulty finding LHD headlights at a reasonable price so I'd be interested to know if there are websites which might include LHD headlights giving part numbers etc or if anyone knows of breakers yards?? Any mechanics or garage owners out there? Linda
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Hi Colin I was interested in your post about installing a Crystal pool and took a look at your website. Can you tell me how long the pool has been installed now? Any problems with it? How does the liner cope with frost/weather extremes? Many thanks Linda
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If you can't find historical details of your property, you could perhaps find out more about the people who lived there. If neighbours can provide a few names to help get you started, you could then go to the Mairie and browse records for people born in the house. Actes de naissance will provide the name/address of a house where a birth has taken place. The local cemetary will give clues as to which years you should browse. You can't get anything less than 100 yrs old from a mairie because of French privacy laws. Good luck Linda PS - If you want to see an example of an acte de naissance or livret de famille, let me know.
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We had our (full) birth/marriage certificates certified. If you need a full certificate you can order online - let me know if you need a hand to get the reference. When we needed certified copies of birth/marriage certificates I asked a local accountant to oblige. Try to find a qualified accountant - (certified and chartered have merged) who perhaps works from home and provided he has necessary huge stamp to satisfy French officials, will probably sign them for a small charge. Make sure he adds the correct form of words: "Original vu, Name, Qualification, signature, date" Good luck Linda
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Thanks again for the replies and sorry to be so vague. In the end I suspect our decision re water supply will depend upon costs of power. We have the alternatives of installing an electric system or renewing the existing tank gas water heater with a modern system. How can I calculate comparative costs? Our electric supply is based on two meters - and as far as I know we haven't got off-peak, but it's all bit difficult to work out as we haven't had a bill yet so can't work out our tarrif. So being vague (again) can anyone tell me the cheapest way to heat water.....(tank) gas or electric? Best wishes Linda
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Hi Bob Thanks for your reply. Can you suggest a quick fix to our problem? We have mains water heated by "instant" gaz. The current shower runs at a dribble when hot (usually too hot) and if the cold on the the mixer taps is added, runs cold. At some stage the house needs to be modernised/renovated, but we're loathe to jump to "quick fix" solutions. Meantime, we just want a decent shower! Any ideas? Best wishes Linda