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Just wondering what others do with their pension payments. Do you transfer them to your French bank account monthly, do you let them accumulate in an interest bearing UK account and transfer them in bulk for a more favourable exchange rate or do you do something else. And what about the tax situation in France   Paul

Eslier   Most modern TVs sold in the UK are now multi-standard - i.e. they will work anywhere in Europe. A make that it is certainly true for is Philips. There excellent website has enabled me to check which of our sets will work in France. Out of 3 Philips sets, our 32" one will and 15" LCD. The only one that will not is a 14" portable with built in video recorder.   Paul  

Two weeks ago I was quoted: £600 for a Luton for a week and £900 for a 7.5 tonne. This was a hire company in Croydon. I was also told a tale by one of the people there that he had to go down to the SW to collect a 7.5 tonner that a customer had left there! He drove it back and just short of Calais was stopped by the Gendarmes who inspected the vehicle, discovered that the tachograph was malfunctioning and fined him over 1,000 euros. Apparently, whilst in the UK if it is a private hire then tacho rules do not apply, they do in France. He also stated that for the south you need two days in a 7.5 tonner. Paul

We are looking to buy somewhere along the pyrenees line and have decided to look in the east of the south west (or possibly the west of the south east) - Ariege / Aude. The reason is that we favour being close, but not on top of the med. However, we have no exprience of the Atlantic coast, apart from a brif visit earli this year and from aircraft whilst flying over the Bay of Biscay. Our perception is that we will experience better weather and calmer seas with the med. However, we also like the area to the south of Tarbes, which is some distance from both coasts but is closer to the Atlantic. We would welcome informed views on both coasts, including weather, suitability for swimming, sea temperatures etc. Thanks in advance Paul

We hope to buy later this year and leave a car in France. However, before actually buying we will be making trips over. Just a hought, rather than start the whole process having bought, would it be possible to put a UK reg vehicle with MOt etc through a CT without owning a place in France - I assume that there ar differences between the two systems and a vehicle passing one will not necessrily pass the other. If it is possible what would the implications of a fail , in this situation, be? Thanks Paul

I suppose anothe case of what you are used to. In the UK we do need solicitors, but how do they come up with such differing costs. There is also this, where they are not on a fixed fee, of sending letters to confirm that they have sent you a letter and upping the costs. We will be buying in France for the fist time later this year and at a recent exhibition approached a couple of solicitors - the quotes around about £1,500. Seems to me that they just want a slice of the action. Perhaps, properly translated copies of the documents first and THEN if there is anything you are unsure of consult a solicitor. But there must be English speaking solicitors in France so would it not be better using one of these? Paul

If you look up the dictionary definition of should you will discover that it is really the same as must. Paul

Interesting thread.... Would any of you like to be more specific and include costs of living to show whether it can be achieved or not. Paul

Seen some of the posts regarding costs of in ground pools. How do the costs of out of ground compare and what are the pros and cons of each type. Many thanks Paul

There are some items posted on the forum that are of no interest to me and others that are. I could print off the ones that are but, when someone else makes a contribution it would be out of date. What would be nice woul be the ability to be able to mark a thread. Overtime the number marked would grow. There would then be a need to recall the marked threads so that they are shown under a personal topic list. Any chance of something like this? Regards Paul  

What are peoples experiences of these. Is it best to use a UK based one when permanently resident in France or best to use a French, French based one. Also interested in any experiences, i.e. has their fee been less than the additional income that they have generated from investments - please either PM or email me if you feel that you cannot post on the forum. Paul

Saw some properties on an immobiliers website that had 'collective gas' or 'collective oil'. This seems to indicate to me that the supply i shared by more than one property. Is this the case and I presume that it is metered. Would be grateful if someone would enlighten me. Thanks Paul

We visited the French Property Show in London last year. The French agencies were no pushy. However, when it came to VEF it was push, push, push, including suggesting that we should leap straight in and include the property in a pension portfolio, which the government has not scotched. Their sales practices are most certainly not to my taste. Paul

Nothing to do with the legality in France or UK but this topic brought back some memories..... .....of being towed from Oxford to Surrey. The person towing me set off so fast that the tow rope snapped so for the second attempt, which was successful, it was on the longest part of the broken tow rope. We came down the M40 at speeds betwen 70 and 80mph [:O](bear in mind on the shortened tow rope) so I was very close to his car. What an experience. The occupation of the person towing me - police officer[^o)]

Picking up on PeterGs comment: The norm in the UK with new decent sets is that they are multi-standard and will therefore receive PAL and SECAM - one of our sets is a Philips bought about 3 years ago and this is along with a Philips LC TV bought 2 years ago[:D] whilst a 14" Philips pertable with Video recorder bought 3.5 years ago isn't[:'(] So if you are buying a new set in the UK and thinking of taking it to France at some time make sure it is multi-standard. Paul

Sounds like you should not have gone to France and, based on your initial comments this sounds as though it is also a dig at your OH - perhaps that part of your life is also wrong. There is also the case of specifying what you reqire in a new build. Don't rely on a builder showing you a picture and you saying 'I'll have one of those'. You need to look at what he is building, the materials etc that he is using (you can be sure that he will be trying to build as cheaply as possible, which is understandable) and then increase the specification to what you require, naturally with an increae in price. I am also unsure how many new houses that are built in the UK have rubber floors. Certainly my house, built in 1978 has concrete floors that have been tiled and now have fitted carpets over the tiles. Therefore, if you wanted floor boards in a new house in the UK you would have to specify that - along with an increase in price. Perhaps if you drunk straight out of the bottle it would save your glasses getting smashed.

I thought the problems with trees were that they sucked the water out of the ground causing problems also that their roots can do massive damage, especially if they go under foundations - as they grow the forces that they can exert is tremendous. Obviously, felling a large tree can cause the ground to vibrate and cause damage that way. Paul

Our enquiries on a similar amount of pension and a slightly higher investment return have indicated that there would be very little tax on the pension and, by using an assurance vie the tax on investments would also be low. There seems to be a couple of abatements on the pension and it is then split between the number in the household and the tax worked out on the total taxable figure divided by 2 (if there is just two of you). This obviously places it in a lower tax band and the tax is then multiplied by 2. Overall the tax situation was far more advantageous than it would be in the UK[:D]

Just been chatting to a friend who said 'the reason you do not see the beam diverter stickers on LHD vehicles in the UK is because they do not need then as the dipped beam is not directed to the nearside as with RHD vehicles but directly in front of the vehicle, so they will not dazzle oncoming vehicles'. Is this correct, which if so would mean that a RHD vehicle fitted with LHD headlamps could be used within the UK or within Europe without causing problems for oncoming drivers.

I suppose making it too expensive for holiday home owners could be counterproductive. If they decide that costs are too high then they will not buy property, which means that the French will not be able to sell a property (perhaps at an inflated price), and it will fall in to disrepair. Therefore, people staying in the area will decrease, reducing local shops takings and requiring higher taxes to be paid by the locals as there will be less people paying.

Are there any internet sites like Autotrader in France? I know there is bay.fr Thanks Paul

Thanks for your comments Jc - but we seem to have got hooked on Bailey vans - 3rd new one since 2001! And Bailey only sell in the UK. owever, having spoken to them they may be able to provide a C of C - I shall wait and see, especially if it will get it in to France. Quillan thanks for the advice on buying in Germany - do not mind tavelling and could also include a holiday. Had a quick look through the websites - had looked at German vans when we were first looking to buy a caravan and thought they were somewhat different to British ones. However, OH wants a separate shower and could not see a model with one in my quick look. We had been told that thee can be differences between UK supplied and continental Europe supplied vans hence the reason for anting to look when we are next in France. I had read that twin axles do have problems getting on to sites in France and intend to stick with single axles even though we do have a Disco to tow with. Wont comment on Big J apart from the outfit I have is capable of running at the maximum road speeds. When you are held up behind my outfit it is because here is someone in front of me dawdling along. When this happens you will find me positioning the oufit in various places on the road so that those following can see that it is not the caravan that is slowing matters down. Anyway, if anyone does know the location of dealers I would be most grateful. Paul  

We are planning to relocate to France in 2007 (buying a property in 2006). We are caravanners and think that we might have problems registering our current caravan in France (lack of certificate of conformity - the manufacturers only supply in the UK - it is a Bailey bought new in 2004 so if anyone has succeeded in registering one I would like to know). We are visiting the Ariege and surrounding departments in January and would like to look at some French spec caravans to get an idea of what we would get for our money. Does anyone know of the location of any dealers in this area? Paul

Wonder if someone can tell me the current going rate for earnings from Assurance Vies and is there any risk involved. Thanks Paul

Surely, the easiest way is to either fit an internal thermostat that has a 'frost setting' and set it to the frost setting and leave the heating turned on 24 hours a day. It will only come on if the thermostat is triggered, i.e. it is ccccccold. Or fit a frost stat that will bring the heating into use if this is triggered. Both are simple to install and, if you have to employ someone relatively quick and hence will not cost much - and should be cheaper than the air fare and car hire to go to put the heating on for a few days - and what happens when you go home and it gets cold again? Paul