suein56

Hi Phylis I have sent you an email. Sue

Gosh, it sounds as though you will have quite a task ahead of you. We too are in a very desirable area and annual rental properties are in very short supply - most [rental] owners seem to prefer to keep their houses empty nearly all year then let them out for extortionate amounts in July and August. It is said there is less hassle and more income that way! Anyway - Good Luck - I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Sue

Hi Is there any possibility of renting privately where you want to be? We would have been in exactly the same situation as you as regards lack of wage-slips etc etc if we had looked to rent through an agent, so I found our house through the small ads. Our landlady did not require any financial paperwork from us; just the usual 2 months caution and the first month's rental in advance. Perhaps we were just amazingly fortunate. Sue

***This for 168 Euros, is this a fair deal?*** Hi I don't know about a fair deal, but it sounds OK to me. I insured my 9 year old originally-from-the-UK-but-now-registered-here Saxo last year, 50% ncd, fully comprehensive plus bells on with AGF and it was about 220€. This was for an all-singing, all-dancing, covers everything policy as I preferred to be over insured in case of any problems with my understanding of the cover. Sue

Thanks Val - I hadn't thought of that. I'll do some research. Our local town was twinned with somewhere Irish but it was not successful for some reason and they are in the process of swapping to a German town - so no help there. Sue

Our vet's daughter would like to make an exchange with a UK student this summer if at all possible. I have asked everyone I can think of who might like to welcome a French student (18) into their home and then have their offspring benefit from a visit to a delightful corner of Morbihan - but have not yet had any positive replies. As time is rushing by, has anyone any bright ideas? If the exchange idea wont work - does anyone know how I can find out about her paying to stay with a UK family? Sue

[quote user="AnnM"]How embarrassing.  I think I'll retire whence I came![/quote] AnnM I echo Dick's sentiments - your advice was v helpful. I have always wanted to know how to find my cookies, never mind delete them - and now I know! So, thanks from me and thanks from him. Sue [:D]

***Yesterday I plucked up courage and rang the number at the top of our EDF bill and in very slow french managed to give a meter reading to the young lady and she took the details and that was that, it remains to be seen whether or not this results in an amended bill, watch this space.*** When we first received estimated EDF bills in our rented house it was evident that the previous occupiers had used a lot more electricity than we did, so I plucked up courage, rang EDF and gave our exact readings over the phone and although the prélèvement took EDF's estimated amount from our bank account it was followed a few days later by an adjusting credit. Et voilà it works! Sue

 ***He has his own UK consultancy business which has been going for 4 years and has accounts showing good turnover but small profits and salaries. He will commute to London 5-10 days per month.  He also has substantial rental income which will continue. *** Perhaps a letter from your UK bank authenticating your OH's business situation, ditto an equivalent re the rental income - based on the premise that seals, signatures and official looking letters go down a bomb in France. Sue

[:(] Blimey, lucky you, I had to pay €2.50 each for ours! Just shows how areas vary. Sue

I think you might have to wait a few days, afaik the forms are being released around the beginning of May this year - or so I have been told. Sue

Yes, 'etat des lieux' is just that - the state of the place. Problems can arise initially with interpretation of the state of things and the exigency of the landlord/lady eg our salon/sejour floor is tiled in off-white ceramic - the landlady wanted to tick 'parfait etat' til I intervened and said there were a few (very small) chips/dents/fine cracks so she duly noted that. The same with the loo downstairs - it has a very fine hairline crack in the base, no problem ie does not affect functionality in any way but if the crack should grow I don't want to be accused of having caused it. Likewise I have no wish to replace the loo. French rental laws are very protective of the tenant but also it is up to the tenant to maintain the decoration in a 'propre' state. Plus if you hang anything on the walls be prepared to make good or leave behind what you have hung - same with light fittings. This might seem over fussy but it does seem to be the norm - around here anyway. Proprietors will vary, I am sure. The lady behind us is leaving her rented house on 30 April (same landlord as us), so last Sunday she had the extensive terrace pressure cleaned - perhaps it was dirty, I don't know, ours is OK so we will just scrub it when we leave! I found a lot of info on the net re renting (in English too), just downloaded them and printed off bits I thought were relevant. Sue

***Having signed up yesterday, I thought I'd while away some hours at work reading the post bag.*** Wow! I'd love a job like yours - being paid to read this forum - yes please! Sue  [:-))]

***P.S. Despite what I have just said, could anybody recommend a good website with apartments to rent? It would be good to cover every option...*** Hi Alex We found the problem with web-sites advertising available apartments etc to rent is that, depending on the area, the turnover/turnaround was so fast in anything/anywhere decent that only the dross made it to the web-site. Also, regarding agents, at the time we were looking we did not have the necessary paperwork to be able to comply with all the requirements needed for an agency rental contract. Which is when someone mentioned 'petites annonces' and the rest is history. If you do rent then do some research on 'etat des lieux' - it is crucial you are aware of the important implications of this document. Good Luck. Sue

Hi Alex We rented a house "à l'année" to see if we liked being here - Brittany - we found it though the local paper. Although the lease is for 3 years we can give 3 months notice at any time and leave. So don't be frightened of renting - just be careful. Sue

***They have that continuous very fine drizzle in Brittanny they call it "le crachin"*** Not today they don't - it rained here at some point during the night last night, it was a little overcast this morning but it is 20 degrees now and going to be a beautiful afternoon. I've looked on pages jaunes and they think we might have some showers on Wednesday this week - otherwise fine and dry. My French neighbour told me about the drizzle but we really do get very little of it here - don't know why. Sue - greatly appreciative of the Breton weather[:)]

[quote user="Adriana"]The subject sums it up, really. Do I tip the hairdresser (for a cut and a colour rinse)? Anything else I should be aware of? Thanks! [/quote] Hi Adriana I had a cut, colour and a wonderful head massage incorporated into the shampoo which cost me 57€ in total. I gave the hairdresser 60€ and she seemed pleased - whether she was just being polite or I did the right thing I have no idea. As it was my first visit I was a little unsure of procedure but next time I might pluck up courage and ask![:)] Sue

**Isn't it awful dreading a rainy, damp cold day!!** Yes it is - which is why we viewed a move to Brittany with a little apprehension (and why we are renting as yet) as we were told it was similar to Cornwall - warm but very moist and humid. Maybe it is our little corner of Morbihan but we have not found the rain to be a problem. We have very occasionally - I think a couple of times this winter - had rain which lasted most or all of the day, but usually if we have rain it is in the form of showers - some heavy - which blow away very quickly and  normal service resumes. As I said we are still reviewing the situation, but when it got to 40 degrees last July and I was still OK even my OH had to admit it was warm enough for him - and he can cope with baking heat. It helped mitigate the twinges of guilt I sometimes feel in that OH has to 'put up with Brittany' [:)][Www][:D] if he wants to stay with me. Sue Edit: Apologies but my OH has just told me sternly that I made a big mistake in my previous post - twas not the Charentes (16 and 17) which I found too hot, it was when we were in the St Emilion region one June and we experienced cyclic heat/storm/heat/storm which played havoc with my arthritis. It seems my memory is going as well - gawd, what will go next? Sue

Hi Ali@ards If you are sad for logging weather reports for 4 differing areas in anticipation of your move to France, then I was too. Though as you found the reports can be misleading, still of interest nontheless. I suffer from inherited arthritis and have to be somewhat careful especially in cold weather if I don't want to grind to a complete halt. Like you I like the weather warm but cannot I cope with too much heat - sadly. We have settled for the time being in southern Brittany and, crossed fingers here, it is not proving too bad at all. The wind in the winter - albeit we are by the sea - seems colder than I remember in Lincolnshire, but a super lightweight bodywarmer kept the small of my back warm this winter. I've found if my feet and my back are warm I can cope. Yesterday the weather here was amazing so we cycled to a nearby beach for a mooch and a paddle. I am told it was 23 degrees - though it felt warmer than that in the sun - with a warm breeze. We visited the Charentes a number of times and loved it but found it too hot for me in summer - hence we decided on Brittany for a variety of reasons. So far so good. Sue  

[quote user="PossumGirl"][quote user="Tresco"] Dick, ask J why she thinks people in Norway and Sweden mock double glazing? Of course there is a benefit to shutting the shutters, especially in the dark! [/quote] Tresco, I didn't know there was a controversy about double glazing!  We're getting ready to start replacing windows (how many get done will depend on the all important devis!), and were definitely planning on getting double glazing.  Is there a reason NOT to?  Other than the cost, of course. PG [/quote] I thought the reason the Norwegians and Swedes mocked double-glazing was because they all have/prefer triple-glazing - as it is warmer! Sue

**We therefore contacted a couple of local underfloor heating "experts" and another local builder but none of them have come back to us - in fact (as mentioned in my post) one of them did say that they suspected that "electric" underfloor heating (using mats) was illegal.** Most (if not all) of the underfloor heating installations I know of around us are 'wet' systems. The electric underfloor system seems to be relatively less well-known - perhaps it is newer? Sue (who likes the idea of underfloor heating - when we have a house of our own) 

[quote user="Dick Smith"]It seems to be the electric radiators that do it, although it hasn't happened for a while - but the real issue is when I convert an old shed to a workshop and start putting some machinery in. We have 3 radiators only, and need to put in a fourth. Although I actually prefer gas heaters. [/quote] Tell me about it! We have to be careful in our rented house with the 11 year old 'convecteurs electriques' as there are 9 of them and their total power input comes to 9.25KW and we (only) have a 9 KW supply. So some of them are never put on as we do need electric light, (v small) kettle, microwave etc for being able to see and to cook etc; never mind use the pc. We bought a tumble dryer (for dire emergencies only ie we have run out of clean, dry bedding) but I have to be very circumspect as to when it goes on as it uses 4KW all by itself. There is little more concentrating of the mind than seeing the compteur whizz round frenetically and me wondering if the supply will cut itself off or not - it is quite fun at times, it is also useful that I am reasonable at arithmetic or else we would be in (even more) dire straits. But move to 12 KW - not if I can help it. Sue    

Jools My car is 1996 and I think (not positive - someone on here will know for sure) that was the first year of the e* number; so if one of your cars is 1995 it might not have that number at all. Also these id plates can be found just about anywhere: under driver's seat, on door pillar, inside front windowscreen and sometimes there is more than one - so keep looking. Sue

[quote user="searcher30"] forgot to pay the france telecom phone bill and they say they are adding a fee on the next bill of 10 euros . are they allowed to do this?   thanks in advance! [/quote] Hi In the UK BT charge £10 in the same circumstances and they don't add it to the next bill - they are not that generous! Sue

Hi Not necessarily found under the bonnet - the identification plate for my Citroen is in the boot - took me a while to find it ...[:)] Sue