Angie

Has anyone hired a day boat on the Canal du Midi?  There seems to be only one website that rents boats out on a daily basis (its very very expensive) but perhaps someone out there knows of others.  Also, any recommendations on the prettiest parts of the Canal ideally around Carcassonne to set off from?

So if you have a pre-existing health condition and can't obtain medical insurance you can't live in France?  So what happens if you become ill with this pre-existing condition and don't have insurance, do they leave you to die in the gutter?  If this is the case then I hope it also applies to the French living in Britain and that they are denied treatment on the NHS. 

Thanks so much for your replies. I actually emailed the Declaration of completion of work that we received from the builder to the Mairie about 3 months ago.  I asked him if this was sufficient but received no response.  I emailed again and the response finally came back that I need to go onto the website at the local planning office, download the forms and fill them in, then submit 3 copies to the Mairie and he would apply for the COC; however, there are questions on these forms that I cannot answer without the builders assistance such as does the construction comply with certain "codes" etc.  If what you are both saying is correct, then the Mairie has given me the wrong information (not the first time I might add) so perhaps I should persist with him.  Really appreciate this, thank you

Hi all Just a quick post.  We had a new house constructed by a nationally recognised French building company which was completed in June 2008.  Does anyone know who's responsibility it is to obtain the Certificate de Conformite?  The local planning office have been very unhelpful and just thrust these forms into our hands but there is information on there that we cannot complete without the help of the builder.  However, the building company, now that they have all their money, are just not playing ball and no-one there responds to our letters or emails.  Any advice would be much appreciated.  

We are thinking of bringing and leaving our old Transit in France as although it won't get a lot of use, it is a very useful vehicle to have over there I think, but are just weighing up the costs involved.  Can someone tell me please what I would need to do to re-register it (is it complicated/costly) and what the rules on MOT's etc. are and frequency?  I understand that French car insurance is quite expensive too.  Many thanks all.

Just to make you feel a bit better, we had a new house built and the cost quoted by the builder (as an extra) for painting the whole of the interior in plain white was over 12,000 euros.  We couldn't afford this and although it has taken me more than 7 weeks in total (doing a bit each day) it has cost just under 500 euros and thats using the best quality paint.  People have commented on what a good job I've done and I am pleased with the result.  A friend of ours used the same painter and decorator for 2 rooms only (lounge and kitchen), the job took 7 days and she was charged just over 1,800 euros.  Personally, although it was tedious and time consuming doing it myself, I cannot believe the figures they are quoting and would definitely begrudge paying it.  We had a guy in UK paint the whole of the exterior of our house, windows included, about 2 years ago.  Not including the cost of the paint, he charged us £750 and did a great job over 10 days.

Hi there We are in the process of remortgaging our property in France.  All the work has been done in the UK but through a French bank.  They said we need to come to the notaires office to sign the mortgage deed sometime next month - this is going to be difficult due to work pressures; do we actually need to be there and is it not possible the notaire could send it to us in the UK for signing?  We are well known to our notaire and have had a number of dealings with him over the past 5 years or so.  When we signed our original mortgage it was fairly straightforward and didn't require any special procedures.  The notaire just went through the interest rate etc. and that was it.

Hi all Has anyone had dealings with a general builder by the name of Leon who works within the Languedoc region?  Think he travels from place to place but not sure.  Cheers in advance. 

Thanks Tandem Pilot, yep found some on their website, just what I am looking for and to Bugbear, thats a relief!!!  Thanks both. Steve

Does anyone have any knowledge or dealings with this company which are based in the UK, either good or bad experiences?  Thanks

Is it possible to buy house bricks (used in typical UK houses) in any DIY stores in France or indeed any of the builders merchants - have to say we haven't seen any round our way in Aude?  Also, on the subject of Woodburners yet again (sorry), the one we have our eye on in our local Brico weighs in at a hefty 176kg.  It says they are delivered on a pallet, but does anyone know if they in sections or shall I and my mate have to risk yet another hernia wrestling it up 3 steps to the house?  Thanks as always.

Can anyone tell me please if I need planning permission to install a flue or aspirator type flue for a woodburner - we do not currently have a chimney?  Thanks all

Hi Charles Thanks so much for this most helpful email - the website will definitely come in handy.  Much appreciated. Steve

We want to instal a woodburner (one of the "ready to go" ones) which do not need a fireplace.  The flue will come straight out of the top of the fire and straight up the wall and then through the roof, no bends or angles.  We realise that the actual fire needs to be about 50cm away from the wall and that the chimney needs to be 50cm above the roof line to create sufficient draw.  Do we still need a professional to instal this fire?  All seems pretty straightforward but am I being naive, any advice welcome.  Cheers

Thanks so much Anton and Quillan, this sounds just what we are looking for.  I did search "delesteur" and other people seem to have solved their problem with one of these.  Does anyone know how much one of these would cost to have installed - I assume I can have this fitted to my electricity panel which is conveniently located in the kitchen?   

Thank you so much everyone for your most valuable information and advice we will certainly follow many of your suggestions up. Here's to a lovely warm winter next year! Theiere, not sure what my location in France has to do with anything but thanks for contributing anyway.

Our EDF meter box is sited at the edge of our property, some 100 metres away.  During the winter months when our consumption of electricity is high our supply keeps tripping (we are totally electric at the property) although this can also occur for no reason during the summer!!   It is extremely inconvenient to have to keep traipsing down the driveway to switch the electricity back on especially at night and were wondering if we can ask that the box be located closer to the house, or indeed whether there is a way of having the trip switch fitted indoors?  Thanks in advance.

After suffering an horrendously cold spell last year and again this year we have decided to install a woodburner, however we do not have the sums available to purchase one of the "better" stoves and have looked at some of the models available in Castorama - we need a large size one for it not to look swamped in our big sitting room however, we were wondering if anyone out there has actually bought and installed one of these cheaper fires and what you think of them.  The price of the one we have seen is around 700 euros (not including all the flues etc.) and is a 10kw.  Other than that, our local supplier's range starts at more than 1,800 for a smaller fire and even this would be well out of our price range - the size we actually need comes in at closer to 2,500 euros.  Any advice would be much appreciated in time for next year!!!

I am thinking of renting out my holiday home for a few weeks of the year.  We pay tax in the UK so would declare any rental income there; however I understand there is a "local" tax that needs to be paid (which is a nominal tax) - could someone enlighten me as to what this is called or indeed what sort of sums we are talking about. Thanks in advance.

Hi all Has anyone come across guttering which is fixed with "clips" - we have a "canal" tiled roof overhanging our terrace and it was suggested we used clips to fix the guttering to this rather than drilling brackets into the wall below. I am not familiar with this so if anyone knows what I should be asking for it would be very helpful or indeed whether this is a good way of fixing guttering.  Many thanks

Is this really true?  We have a second home in France and have never been there on 1 January as flights are too expensive, we also have not received a tax d'habitation.  Surely it can't be true that just because you are not at the house on 1 January you don't pay this tax!  If so, then great.  Although the exhorbitant cost of our taxe fonciere more than makes up for it!!

We purchased 4 acres of farming land 5 years ago and obtained a CU for just over one acre of it.  We have built ourselves a house but wish to sell about a third of an acre as a building plot.  I realise that a building permit will need to be applied for any new construction but is it likely that the original CU will still apply or will this need to be renewed?  Assuming (as with most things in France) that if so, this will not just be a formality!  Thanks in advance for any help/info.

Thank you all so much for your replies.  I am going to get all the information together and try initially to market the plot myself.  Regards and thanks

We have a building plot for sale (attached to our property) and approached an estate agent in our nearest town.  He has quoted us 3,000 euros to sell the land which I suppose is about the going rate but when I asked what I get for this fee he said he would "put pictures of the land on his website".  Is this really all I should expect for such a sum, if so, I could probably do the same myself!  Do French estate agents not ring round or do mailshots like they do in the UK?  Or maybe this particular guy is just lazy.  I assume it is the norm for agents to accompany prospective purchasers and not just give them the address and expect them to look around a plot themselves?  I am going to try other agents in other towns but any advice/experience would be much appreciated as we have not sold previously in France.

Thanks to everyone for your helpful replies.  Boundaries are not an issue as we own a lot of land around us, but will complete the appropriate forms and approach the Mairie prior to doing any work just to be on the safe side.  All the best