Palwing

We have been house sitters for 5 different couples in France over the past 4 years and have yet to pay any deposit. We also don't charge for doing it as we consider it a favour going both ways. We help the owner, they help us see another part of France for free. Good luck and we hope you find someone suitable. If you want any advice, just drop us a message.

Speed kills! What speed exactly?...what tosh! Does anyone actually still fall for that sort of rubbish? It's inappropriate bad driving plus numerous other factors that kills. Speed is just one factor of many. As for travelling at 160kmh...not a problem in the right place. ie, not outside a school in a built up area.

Thanx for all the replies so far. Must say that some of the replies scare the hell out of me!

Hi Ron...it's a very long story. However, the Immobilier and a well known French property solicitors in the UK agree that the cooling off period starts the day AFTER the day we receive the signed compromis in the UK. ie..8 days in total. As this house is being sold due to the death of the owners, all the children (heirs) have to sign the compromis. They live all over France, so it is being sent to each one to sign before we get it back. We asked about the clause suspensives when we signed the Compromis, unfortunately, we were running short on time in France and didn't know all the questions at that time, so no clauses were included. Hence the "homework" now. Fingers crossed! Thanx

Sorry for the confusion. We have signed the Compromis...it is now going around the "heirs" to the property. (owners have died)  We are waiting for it to get back to us before the 7 day cooling off period begins.

Thanx Will My guess is that it's not proof of sending that's required, more like proof that they have received it within the required time limit. Still not sure which is the best way to do that. May have to check out a few couriers as it would be worth a few quid to possibly save thousands. Thanx again.  

Hi We are still struggling to get sensible answers to our "challenges" from anyone in authority in France regarding a property we are looking at buying. We still haven't received the Compromis de Vente so still have the 7 day cooling off period to come. IF..and it still is an "if" we decide pull out. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what is the best way of ensuring the immobilier recieves the notification we want to pull out in the time scale of 7 days? I think it has to be recorded or registered? (not sure of the difference). Also, what wording do you have to put in the letter? Is "we don't wish to proceed" good enough? Thanx in advance.

No probs Deby... your comment helped to clear the constipation caused by all the French bread I have eaten! Almost as good as Picolax! We hope that our concerns are only that...concerns and not show stoppers. We both love the peace, location and of course the house.  Time and fate will tell, we will post how we get on as it may help others in a similar situation. We have seen lots of properties with lofts being converted or advertised as possible to convert etc. However, we wonder if people realise what planning regulations are required etc. Although this is not a a problem, it does need a bit of thought. Still like your place though! Can we have a brick or two for 150k euros?  

Thanx Deby.. You do realise that we won't sleep for weeks now!  Thanx again...now going to the toilet! <grin> However, whilst in the toilet, I looked at the paperwork that the registered Immobilier gave us and it says the following: "You will receive an original copy of your compromis in the post. Your 7 day cooling off period starts the following morning." Now I know I have lived in Norfolk for a long time which has made me a trusting old bu**er, but are you suggesting that registered French Immobiliers are out to "con us" and not to be trusted? Any one else with thoughts to make the rest of my hair fall out? Looks like it's going to be one of those Sundays! By the way Deby...love your web site. Looks a wonderful place to stay. You are very lucky.

Hi Tony Thanx for your reply. You mention we may have signed a transaction without knowing what it entails? As I understand it, you sign a compromis knowing that you have 7 days to cancel once you receive the signed document (no obligations). We signed it knowing that information fully. We took as much advice and did as much work as we could whilst in France and having looked for properties in France over the past 2 years, we have obviously done quite a lot of homework before. Unfortunately, we saw this house near the end of our stay and ran out of time to investigate it fully, there and then. Someone else was very interested in buying the house and we didnt want to miss the opportunity. Due to our previous "homework", we signed the compromis safely in the knowledge that we would still some time to check the rest out once we got back to the UK, which is what we are doing now. As we have yet to receive the compromis, we still have our 7 day "pulling out" period left. We will do exactly that (pull out) if we don't get satisfactory answers. So, it's not quite the "fools rush in" scenario you hint at or it may seem. During our last week, we visited the Marie twice and asked several questions about the property, we also had a site visit with a local registered French builder to give us his opinion. We asked the registered Immobilier to find out as much as possible ref the planning permissions etc and they are continuing to do that now.  We have also spoken to SJS French Legal Consultants for advice since being back in the UK, after trying unsuccessfully to speak to them from France at the time. We even introduced ourselves to the nearest neighbour with near disastrous results, as it highlighted to them that the property was for sale. They then promptly booked an appointment to view it as they wanted to buy it also! We felt we had to make a fairly quick decision in France knowing that we would have time to pull out if all isn't as it should be. That's where we are now.  Anyway, hopefully, our concerns prove to be unfounded as we love the property and the area. We met some lovely English and French people during our stay who made us feel most welcome. (Thanx to Kate & Trevor, Les & Sue, Margaret and Rod etc + Lucette and Daniel & Heather for her help, + Kip) The local restaurant also looks brilliant and we cant wait to treat our friends and family to a meal there. Some times you have to take a "calculated" gamble in life and that's what we feel we have done. As someone a LOT wiser than I will ever be, said: "It's better to try and fail than not to try at all". Lets hope they were right! Thanx again.

Hi We have recently signed a Compromis de Vente on a house but have yet to receive it, so still not in the 7 day cooling off period. (we are now back in the UK) However, we are making further enquiries ref the property we are hoping to buy (via a translator in France), as we ran out of time whilst we were there. The house is being sold because the owners have died over the past 3 years, the last one died in January of this year. The compromis is currently being signed by the 5 children, who are the benefactors, before we receive the compromis through the post. The house was being built whilst being lived in and the Permis de Construire was granted in 1985. However, the house is NOT finished so does not have a Certificate de Conformite. We are trying to find out the situation with the local Marie but apparently the secretary is not the most forthcoming of people with information. We have the plans for the house which show it as a 3 bed house (117m2 downstairs) with a grenier upstairs (100m2). The plans for the grenier show it divided up but not annotated as rooms (ie chambre 4,etc) on the Permis de Construire. It just shows it divided up with walls and doors. The downstairs is almost finished as is the grenier,  but the grenier has also been partly prepared as bedrooms and a toilet room. We have asked the Marie (secretary) if this might be a problem, also if there is a time limit on the completion with regards to the Certificate de Conformite etc. She will not be drawn on this point and so we are in a bit of quandry as to what to do now..risk it or not? Has anyone any thoughts, experiences or ideas how we might deal or resolve this? We have spoken to the Immobilier (who obviously have a vested interest to sell) but they are of the "nothing is a problem" brigade so don't worry, etc. However, we like to be sure (to be sure) before commiting large sums of dosh to a possible lost cause. Any help appreciated....thanx in advance.

Thanx Liz et all...looks like we can sleep soundly again for now. Panic over...wait until I see my mate! <grin>

Hi Miki Yep, you are quite right, sorry for any misunderstanding..I mean cash as in "no mortgage" so will be transferring 140,000 euros in one lump to the Notaire on the big day. My friend seems to think that there is some sort of tax involved, however, the more I investigate and hear from you guys, the more I tend to think he doesn't know what he is talking about. Thank goodness for this Forum huh? So far I have transferred 15000 euros via HIFX at a rate of 1.504 which I was pleased with. However, the big day is a few months away so will be watching the exchange rate like a hawk! Did get a quote of buying forward at 147.8 (ish). We are not going to commit to any currency decisions until the 7 day cooling off period has expired. Then we might buy half the amount in euros and gamble on the rest with the exchange rate. Have to work out if leaving the money in a 5% gross bank account is better than gambling on a rate in maybe 6 months time. (due to property being subject to succession) Thanx again Miki..appreciated also.

Hi Nick.. Thanx for the prompt response. I was still browsing the Forum when you replied. The person who mentioned the tax to us said that most people buy with mortgages so the tax issue doesn't arise but cash transfers over a certain amount may attract some taxation. That got us thinking and kinda worried as we had't budgeted for anything like that. The Immobilier is registered and insured to hold deposits of 10%, hence the 15000 euro payment recently. This will be passed onto the Notaire on completion and not before as he hasn't even recieved any paperwork yet. We are currently waiting for the Compromis de Vente to do the rounds and arrive on our doorstep before the 7 day cooling off period begins. If we pull out the deposit is returned. Thanx again Nick...much appreciated .....anyone else got any thoughts?

Hi We have just travelled back with 2 cats for someone via Speedferries. To be fair, it was a very hot day (32'C) and we had to leave the cats in the car (MPV) on the bottom deck of Speedferry One. The temp down there was unbearable. We asked an attendant if it would stay like this for the crossing and she said that they had fans that kicked in which would cool the area. We left the windows open as much as we could and also left the cats some cool water. After docking at Dover we went back down to the car and it was hotter than ever. The cats obviously survived but I dread to think what it would have been like if we hadn't provided for them so well. So, be warned. If using Speedferries as your route back with pets...it may be HOT for them down there so be prepared! Hope you are still ok Jake & Jess..we miss you already! Pal ~(;-)