[Buying a piece of land]

I have an opportunity to buy a small piece of land ajoining my property as the elderly gentleman who owns it at present cant manage the upkeep , it is basically a vegatable garden, Our house is in the south of the Indre dept 36 about 10 kms from La Chatre, does anyone on the forum have any idea about what is a reasonable price for land , I guess the plot is about 5 to 600 sq metres ?? I havent got a clue what to offer as I dont want to insult him , but by the same token I dont want to pay over the going rate ! 

Thanks

Billy10

[Solar Heating]

Has anyone on the forum got any information about solar heating, I need to heat my pool in the summer and my radiators only in the winter , my domestic hot water is already taken care of, anyone know anyting about, cost, where to go for it, is it any good , any info would be appreciated , our house is in the south of dept 36 close to La Chatre

Thanks

Billy 10

[best bank interest-uk or france?]

If you are after bank interest paid gross have a look at ICICI bank on the internet they are currently paying 5.15 percent wtith very easy access to your money, only string is that the account has to be linked to a UK bank account.

 

Cheers

Billy

[Soon to be in dept.36]

Hello Jim and Lottie,

My wife and I bought a house in dept 36 2 years ago, we are about 10 kms or so south east of La Chatre about 1 kilometre from Urciers, we are retiring early next August (2007 ) and going to live there permanently as we love the area and people so much, as it stands now we cannot wait to get over tehre about 4 times a year.

 

Regards

 

Bill and Sally

 

[central heating]

Thanks for the info Gluestick

 

Billy10

[central heating]

Hi Charles,

Thanks for the reply, why not a brico or Leroy Merlin because they are very competative ???, by the way I would definately go for oil.

 

Billy 10

[central heating]

Thanks Glue stick, what I think I might do is shop around locally in France just to see if my quotes are heavily Brit adjusted before I mak a move, if I cant get a decent quote I will go for oil fit it myself and take the advice of another reply and get the guy from the oil supplier to set up and commision the boiler so it gets a certificate.

 

Cheers

Billy10

[central heating]

I have just received 2 quotes for putting central heating in my house in department 36 , and compared with UK (i know i should not do that ) the quotations are absolutely astranomical, my question is this , I am an engineer and I could easily put the heating in myself for less than half the cost, if I did this how would i get the system certified so that my insurance is not void, incidentally I do not live in France yet but intend to next year so I am not registered in any way.

 

Thanks  Billy10

[Second hand sky box advice needed please...]

yes of  Panasonic is a good make, my box worked perfectly and if you take an old sky card with you , you should be able to get all the free channels including bbc,itv,bbc2 etcetc,I have experienced no problem whatsoever , of course your dish has to be perfectly aligned , but if your property already has one then there should be no problem

 

billy10

[Bank account savings interest rates in France]

I have looked in vain over the internet to find out what sort of tax paid return you can get on say a deposit of 250,000 euros, something that would provide some access but not immediate in a French bank , but unlike our banks in the UK French banks do not seem to advertise their rates , does anyone have some ball park figures of what one could expect, roughly of course.

[Taxation in France or the UK]

When I move full time to France I will be 60 years old and my wife 58, so neither of us will have reached UK state retirement age , although we intend to be retired once we move to France, our income for the five years of non earning will be 50 percent from capitol, 20 percent from a government pension and 30 percent from interest on capitol.

What are we liable for as far as taxation and health charges are concerned, for instance is it better to have all of our income taxed in the UK or all of it taxed in France, I am dubious about having it all taxed in France because I hear things like I would have to pay all sorts of add ons to regular taxation such as social charges etc.

Can anyone help, by the way our income will be adequate to support us and have some left over but not a kings ransom 

[Solar or heat pump central heating]

I am thinking of putting central heating in the house , I will need approx 13 radiators, and would want to heat the domestic water , Has any one any experience of Heat pump systems or solar systems , i.e who does it , are grants available for eco systems, what are the ball park costs.

 

Billy:

[Retiring early to France]

[quote]Your obligation to contribute to the French health system will cease when either your own or your wife's state pension becomes payable. Until that kicks in you should budget to pay roughly 8% of your ...[/quote]

Thanks for the info, its good to know what we will have to budget for.

[Retiring early to France]

My wife and I are retiring early to France in 2 years time, I will be sixty and she will be 56, I have the maximum of 44 years paid up NI contributions giving me full pension and rights at 65. Can someboby tell me what we are liable for in terms of medical cover when we live there permanently as I am  a non insulin dependant Diabetic) therefore have to have several tablets for blood pressure, cholestrol etc  which I know are expensive in the UK.I have been told by a non expert that retiring age in France is 60 and as such I will be regarded as retired which carries a better benefit under EEC ruling ?? is this correct.

Regards

Billy10

 

 

[Swimming pool alarms]

Does anyone out there know where I can buy a pool alarm (imersion type) for my pool which conforms to new French regs either in the UK or in France ???