Jump to content

Steve Last

Members
  • Posts

    212
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by Steve Last

  1. Thanks for the reply.... I just this morning received another letter saying "Unless we are mistaken, your housing tax assessment was not known as of 12/31/2023. Consequently, the payments made in 2023 for an amount of €400.00 constitute a surplus which is reimbursed to you by transfer to the following bank account: (correct details) If an assessment is issued, you will have to pay the amount indicated in full according to the terms specified on the notice." It's a second home (and thus not residence principale) and I'm back in England, so I can't get hold of the paperwork from last year which is in a file down there. However it's just occurred to me that the house is owned through an SCI, which has the house address. I guess an SCI must be permanently resident at its address.... I also have a letter from the same office advising me that they'll be deducting the same amount every month for 2024. I imagine they will catch up with me eventually.
  2. I have just found the weird situation that the North Vaucluse tax system (DGFIP FINANCES PUBLIQUES DE: D.G.F.I.P. IMPOT) has paid my entire new year's tax habitation amount of €400 INTO my account last Wednesday 17th, 2 days after taking the first €40 monthly instalment for 2024 on Monday 15th. They had advised me by letter a few days previously of what the monthly payments would be. Has anything similar happened to anyone else? Obviously I'm going to leave it as it is in the expectation that they'll reverse it shortly......
  3. Would appreciate some clarification of how French systems are required to work. We have an old vilage house with 4 hot electric water heaters (complicated story but basically due to it being 4 original houses that were combined decades ago). A single supply feeds all of them. The most recent is a large replacement tank installed about 6 years ago with an expansion "vase", which has just had to be replaced together with its safety valve. I was given to believe by the plumber (who I did not fully understand, as will become obvious!) that the near spherical "vase" has a sort of diaphragm so heated water from the tank which is completely full can expand into it (pressurising the air space above) so the tank itself won't split. Water had leaked through through the diaphragm almost filling the air space, and resulting in a slow drip from the safety valve between the tank and the "vase". What I am puzzled by is this: if this is correct why there is no such "expansion vase" with any of the other heaters? And why isn't it an integral part of the heater itself?
  4. The legal side is done as far as the initial case is concerned (and yes, it has involved a lot of stress!). My point in posting the original message was to alert people to the fact a track shown on the cadastral doesn't represent the legal situation of either what or where it is. The ongoing question is how come the notaire didn't tell us this when we specifically asked him in writing about its details and who had rights to use it, and he had done the previous transactions involving it!
  5. Draytonboy, Hectorsdad; if you are UK rssidents with just a second home in France and have never had any French governement tax registration before (i.e. paying the taxe d'habitation direct to your local authority) how have you got on with this?
  6. In this case the seller told everyone that the track only extended to the properties being sold: the notaire was asked to confirm this and wrote it into the deed. The buyer of the further plot gave up his rights to use it (he had other access) as part of the deal so as far as we were aware there was now nobody else who could cross. Other locals came out of the woodwork 2 years later and started the lawsuit demanding a 4 metre access. We are looking at what can be done about the fact that the notaire wrote a false statement in the deed. We now believe he knew it was untrue at the time.
  7. A word of warning to anyone considering buying a property with neighbouring farmers! I and (I expect many others) will have thought the cadatral plan associated with their deeds was a definitive document. My sister-in-law has a "chemin d'exploitation" (farm track) marked on the cadastral plan attached to her "Acte" and and we had assumed that it would be OK to build on the land (with appropriate permission from the Mairie etc) provided the marked chemin remained unobstructed. However, the Nimes Court of Appeal has just confirmed that markings on the plan cadastral do NOT have any meaning in terms of the width (and hence position) of the track! Their decision is that we "cannot rely on graphic measurements from the cadastral plans, which are only documents intended for tax purposes". Instead it relied on much older land transaction documents which were never brought to her attention by the notaire (who also misled her about other aspects of the chemin). As a result, although the cadastral shows a 2m wide track, part of a building and some gates have to be removed in order to provide a 3m wide passage, although these were constructed wiht full approval from the Mairie and without objection from anyone else. The whole case is more complicated than this but I this particular point might be of general interest.
  8. I just bought some fertiliser which says it is "3kg jusqu'a 120 pieds". I presume this is the rate to use it, but what is a "pied" in this context?
  9. 2m is marked and the building is outside it. The Mairie granted permission and they didn't object at the time. It's a very small village where the opposition have a lot of influence and the Mairie doesn't want to get involved. The whole thing has a lot of complications ( a chemin d'exploitation has very particular legal status) and the legal submissions on each side are 30 plus pages. Her lawyer is counterclaiming costs and damages for abuse of legal process. We suspect it will end up with some sort of technical arbitrator being appointed.
  10. "If they have little income their costs are probably being met by the State." On the contrary, one in particular is one of the wealthiest people in the area and known for trying to extort money from people who pay up to avoid a long legal fight. "Your sister in Law made the mistake in defending herself. Let them do all the hard work. They will soon give up." Again, I think not: they started legal proceedings and if you don't defend yourself judgement is given against you by default. In our case the initial documents were delivered by a bailiff to an unoccupied second home, and only just found in time to meet the deadline.
  11. There is a 2m wide “chemin” marked on the cadastral. When she bought the house the notaire wrote in the deeds the seller’s statement that it went to two immediate neighbours only. She could put a gate across it if she provided them with keys, and built a pool pump house alongside but not on it. 3 years later two other landowners sent legal demands saying it is a “chemin d’exploitation” that extends further to their properties, in a narrow gulley obstructed by trees and other vegetation. They say it is 4 metres wide and she must demolish the poolhouse and pay them €10k damages and costs. On their land the gully has a deep ditch where they claim the chemin d’exploitation is, and it is evident that no vehicles could have used the route for decades. This gets into complicated legal stuff about definitions of a chemin d’exploitation as well as ancient deeds and lots of other things which have taken up a year of submissions interchanged between lawyers and goes to court next week.
  12. My sister-in-law is embroiled in a dispute with a neighbouring landowner who initiated a legal action against her. It's a complicated "you blocked my right of way" issue, the details aren't relevant here and she has an English speaking lawyer working for her on it. My questions are 1) whether her legal fees and costs (7500 Euros so far) if she loses are items that are normally covered by the civil liability section of her house insurance. 2) As she specifically questioned the Notaire who drew up her purchase deeds about the nature of this right of way, would she be covered to take action against him in this event?
  13. Thanks for all the responses - obviously of concern to quite a few people! In our case the siblings/children question . isn't an issue, it is my wife's sister whose house is in the same village as us. She is not married and has no children but wants to leave it to her partner, which is absolutely fine with the rest of the family. However the 60% tax rate was a bit of a shocker. I think if she formalised a civil partnership it might get round that. But clearly it is not as simple a situation as hoped!
  14. Can anyone point to advice on whether a UK-resident owner of a French property (second home) who has an up-to-date valid UK will, also needs a French one? Her intentions in respect of her French property are very simple - she has no children and is unmarried and wishes it to pass to a single named individual. If it is required, is there a simple template available? Thanks, Steve
  15. Thanks for the suggestions, we have just had a god Skype conversation with Alexandre Coque of Itier's office in Avignon, and the immediate problem has gone away.
  16. Title says it all.. my sister-in-law has just found a summons at her second home, it's about a property / rights of way issue in Vaucluse. Any suggestions for a good lawyer who is bilingual would be much appreciated. Also need to know who to write to Tribunal de Grande Instance to request a delay for the hearing (2 months moer is allowed if you re overseas resident Thanks
  17. Thanks, and I hope you are right. I've looked at that link and the Government one it sends you to. That says "On arrival in the EU, pet owners travelling with their pets would be required to report to a designated Travellers’ Point of Entry (TPE). At the TPE, the pet owner would be asked to present proof of microchip, vaccination and the blood test result alongside their pet’s health certificate." My question to Eurotunnel was simply that as the entire tunnel complex is designated as a TPE, where will we physically go to present this information? The Eurotunnel manager in charge of Pet Travel told me on Thursday they don't know and will have to look for somewhere off the Tunnel site as they have no space there. So fingers crossed that it's not needed.....
  18. Thanks, and I hope you are right. I've looked at that link and the Government one it sends you to. That says "On arrival in the EU, pet owners travelling with their pets would be required to report to a designated Travellers’ Point of Entry (TPE). At the TPE, the pet owner would be asked to present proof of microchip, vaccination and the blood test result alongside their pet’s health certificate." My question to Eurotunnel was simply that as the entire tunnel complex is designated as a TPE, where will we physically go to present this information?" The Eurotunnel manager in charge of Pet Travel told me on Thursday they don't know and will have to loomfor somewhere off the Tunnel site as they have no space there. So fingers crossed that it's not needed.....
  19. Thanks to NickP for his clarification.... EricD, I agree no-one knows anything for sure, but I raised this issue precisely to clarify what IS hear-say and what can be verified. I had a one-to-one meeting about 2 months ago with my MP Steve Baker who is a Leave ultra ("shop steward" of the ERG) who made a number of statements that I subsequently "had cause to doubt". Baker was the Minister for Brexit preparations until he quit midsummer so is a significant Leave player though his constituency voted Remain. Other ERG members have made public statements that on checking back to the sources and from my own professional knowledge I have found to be simply untrue. So the point of the post was to see if anyone can independently validate his statements to me about preparations at the Tunnel as well as comparing them with what a Tunnel executive told me yesterday. I sincerely hope that others who say it will all blow over are right and I am being unduly pessimistic !
  20. YCCMB: I have had similar experiences in past years (and try to avoid the peaks for that reason!). According to the Eurotunnel lady yesterday that would have been their heavy routine not practising for Brexit.
  21. NickP, the reason I queried it was you said " I go through the tunnel by car at least 12 times a year and get CUSTOMS checked occasionally." My emphasis added. Having only ever been pulled over southbound for security and never northbound I just wanted to clarify whether some travellers such as yourself had experienced CUSTOMS checks as well. My understanding has been that CUSTOMS checks should not have occurred before, because as you say we are still (today) in the EU. But the EU "no deal" advice from November 13 is quite explicit. "As of the withdrawal date, controls of UK nationals upon entry to and exit from the Schengen area .... will follow the rules for third country nationals...... UK nationals .... be subject to thorough checks of all entry conditions for third country nationals upon entry. As of the withdrawal date.... Luggage and other goods carried by or on travellers entering the EU from the United Kingdom will be subject to customs controls. Regards Steve
  22. After posting a message to Eurotunnel an executive in charge of Pet and Frequent Traveller actually rang me back rather than emailing. Basically they have no more information than in early November but some of their people were meeting DEFRA officials to discuss pets issues yesterday (10th). They don't have any preparations in place because they don't know what they need to prepare for, but are thinking about where checks could be done off site as there is no space at Cheriton and are worried about blocking the M20 with tailbacks. Went a bit quiet when I reminded her that EU have stated they will have no option but to impose passenger and car customs checks as well as getting the "landing card" extras (where staying, how long, support funds) as well, which could be done by adding to the APIS form, but that needs collaboration with France. In passing said she had already got her International Driving Permit. No plans to raise charges this year..... NickP, like you I am a Frequent Traveller, as is my sister-in-law with dogs. You mention being occasionally pulled over for CUSTOMS checks. Can you clarify for me so I get my facts straight - we get stopped Folkestone side abut 1 in 5 times for a SECURITY check between the UYK passport booth and the French one. Similarly we have seen vehicles stopped (but never been been stopped ourselves) between the French and British passport checks and again I thought this was SECURITY not customs. I have never made a CUSTOMS declaration in either direction - have you? In effect what our no-deal politicians seem to think is that we can walk out of the EU castle but then expect the EU to leave the drawbridge down and the gate open for us. My MP is one of these deluded individuals. With no deal in fact the EU is obliged to shut the gate behind us just like it was before when we were on the inside. The "deal" however bad they may think it is gives us a temporary key.
  23. There are many conflicting reports about whether there will be chaos at the Channel ports the event of "no deal", especially around Calais / Eurotunnel, including statements that there will be no disruption of entry on the French side. But as the EU have said that in that event of no deal, southbound traffic would be entering the EU and subject to the normal immigration and customs checks for third countries. For there to be "no disruption" implies the necessity for at least some physical infrastructure to be up and running on March 30. While Calais does have some Customs and Immigration (being a normal port), and airports have the Blue EU entry line (which Brits will no longer be able to use), the Tunnel has only ever been a National (UK/France) border and never an EU external border. So the only French (and now EU) entry check point is at Folkestone. Has anyone on this forum resident in that area seen ANY physical signs of work to construct any facilities? As an example, because the Pet passport scheme will not be available, both the UK and EU official advice is that "in the event of no-deal, on arrival in the EU, pet owners travelling with their pets would be required to report to a designated Travellers’ Point of Entry (TPE). At the TPE, the pet owner would be asked to present proof of microchip, vaccination and the blood test result alongside their pet’s health certificate.” The only Tunnel Pet centre is on the Coquelles side and can only be reached AFTER entering France (i.e. the EU) so unless the requirement is NOT implemented which seems a bit improbable in the political circumstances, an additional check point or road changes are needed to make it happen. Similarly there have been no customs facilities for checks of either people or cars on the Tunnel. Has anyone seen ANY evidence of actual work?
  24. Perhaps not the right place to ask, as this is mostly about using the web in France, but I am just about to renew my UK contract and have been struck by the fact that I can get a good high speed internet and phone service including most calls to the UK for about €30 a month total here. The UK is far more expensive with line rental + broadband + phone packages often adding up to twice that or more. Has anyone identified a UK equivalent to SFR, Free etc?
  25. Many thanks for such a quick reply...message changed! Also just found the "deactivate" item, but will try leaving it at 60 seconds (which seems to be the maximum) before going over. Phone is not very conveniently placed until I get some extensions to work! While I have an expert to hand, is there anywhere on the phone that shows there are waiting messages ? I got the added beeps in the dial tone and they seem to have lots of fancy options for sending them to a computer but I can't see the equivalent of a flashing red light. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place...
×
×
  • Create New...