BJSLIV

Your use of the word conversion is significant. If you are converting to create habitable space , you will need a full Permis De Construire. If you were only renovating existing cottages with no external alterations then you would not need permission. Strictly speaking even if you convert more than 5 sq metres of loft space, with no external changes, into a bedroom you need full permission. However I think that half the properties in France probably have some internal alterations that haven't been declared ! If the total floor area of the project is more than 170sq metres, then you will need plans to be signed off by a French architect. Any major building work that you do should be covered by a ten year guarantee. In practice it is virtually impossible for an individual to get the necessary insurance cover. This means that if you have to sell within 10 years you may have to give a discount to compensate for the absence of this cover.

I suppose Flybe's new routes Southampton to Brest and Cherbourg are at least a step in the right direction.

There are inumerable places in the world where property is cheap, including a few in the UK. However why anybody would choose to relocate there solely because of the price of real estate escapes me.

There are also few if any restrictions on how much the tax can increase .Tf1 news featured a town in the Nord where the tax had increased as an example from 500 euros to 1600 euros in one go. With these huge increases the locals were being forced to borrow to pay next month!

I suppose its a demonstration of the strengthes and weaknesses of the Internet. Its so much easier to ask nowadays. While I'm here can anyone tell me how to find the Mairie in our village, I've been looking for 15 years..........

As French banks tend to be more local than we are used to in the UK, especially Cred Ag, who still operate as semiautonomous regional banks, I suggest you approach the problem from the other end. Check to see which banks are available in your local towns and then see which of them offer decent online banking. We have been with Soc Generale and have found them OK for the past 15 years. One of the things they brag about in their adverts is "why pay to consult your accounts on line?" So if they have a branch near you, they could be somewhere to start, though I know like most banking recommendations, others will say not with a barge pole!  

Yes there are but, other than providing  certainty against exchange rate fluctuations they have some drawbacks. They often require large balances to be maintained to avoid regular charges. They pay low interest rates. They are of little practical use in France as you either cannot make payments from them to Foreign suppliers , or they charge large fees for eacjh payment. Unless you regularly receive payments in Euros in the UK you would find it much easier to have an account in France.

Now Chaps and Chapesses, we are talking about France aren't we? Of course there are plenty of rules to obey and/or ignore. I did a quick search and found the following about the use of fireworks. Sur le domaine privé, il faut avoir l'accord du propriétaire des lieux, prendre les mesures de sécurité (feu placé à 30 mètres du public et de tout produit ou matière inflammable), prévenir votre assureur, prévenir le maire qui est garant de la tranquilité public du lieu de tir sans toutefois demander son autorisation. Oh and it went on to say that if you are near the coast you should let the coastguards know as well! I'm rather with Redcap on this one, there isn't really much of a tradition of private fireworks in France other than the kids with a few bangers on 14 July. Instead they go for rather grand public displays.  

It seems they are available eg: http://www.chauffe-eau.fr/chauffe-eau/instantane/appareil.php?evacuation=sans%20raccordement&id=36 But at €350+ they are more expensive than electricity, and with a max flow of 5 litres per minute, I don't know how it would cope with sink and shower.  

I assume that you aren't having a French mortgage. Without a mortgage I would expect you to be charged about €7500, with a mortgage nearer €9000. The charges may seem a bit steep, but when the French talk about the Frais Notaire they include the many and varied stamp duties, in your case about €5000, which Brits tend to think of separately.

Don't know if they are still legal, but we used to have one of these, and it was  very unpleasant! The room smelt of fumes, and if anyone used the sink while somebody was in the shower the dousing in cold water....... We replaced it with a electrical  chauffe eau, no fumes, cheaper to run, no cold shocks, and no gas bottle!

Normal rate TVA 19.6% which applies to  Newbuild. Lower rate TVA 5.5% for repairs.

14.1%

I think the main danger in newbuilding in France is that because land is cheap, it is easy to get carried away, and build something that costs more than its realisable resale value. Its not like the UK where if you can get a plot, and build something, there is a virtually guaranteed profit. It  isn't a problem if you are in for the long haul, but anyone who buys land , builds and then needs to make a rapid return to the UK could easily find themselves making a loss. The fact that newbuild attracts VAT at a full unreclaimable (unlike the UK) 19.6% is a further disincentive. All this written from the warmth of my French newbuild  

Some Wednesday to Wednesdays are certianly available at £9 each way in April, even with the taxes at £20 each way, I suppose a total of £58 return isn't bad. Just checked even Saturday to Saturday in July is showing £9 each way. Some people may think its worth a punt a that price, even if they cancel the route , you wouldn't have lost anything.

Does it ever end? Just wait till you get your Taxe Fonciere assessment! Our main little surprises were the phone connection (£700) just to cross the road, and the Assurance Dom Oeuvrage.(£2000).  

LA ROCHELLE Until the end of 1974, the plant released all radioactive liquids and solids directly into the sea. Since, and until the end of 1990, it sent at least a part of the solid residues to the CSM. These wastes are composed, among other substances, of thorium 232, uranium 238, and their descendants (including radium 226 and 228). I always wondered why everyone in the Charente had such a glowing complexion.

As I said its just another tax, in this case a tax on new development. The percentage varies from commune to commune. We paid €1000 to create 160 metres of habitable space, I guess you are probably creating something of a similar size. This may be a bit out of date but gives the general idea of how to calculate the taxable value. I suppose there is a chance that your barn automatically falls into the secondaire category. SHON Ile-de-France Autres régions 1 à 80 m2 306 279 81 à 170 m2 448 407 170 m2 et + 588 535 résidence secondaire 588 535 prêt à taux zéro 215 196 Par exemple, si vous faites construire une résidence principale de 120 m2 en province et sans prêt à taux zéro, l'assiette de la TLE sera de 80x279 + 40x407 soit 38600 Euros. Sur cette assiette, les communes peuvent appliquer un taux compris entre 1 et 5%. Dans l'exemple ci-dessus, la taxe maximale à payer serait de 38600 x 5% soit 1930 Euros. Pour connaître le taux de votre commune, aller sur taxe.com The fact that you personally don’t benefit directly from the infrastructure works is unfortunately irrelevant. You will just have to feel a warm glow when you park outside the Mairie thinking that you have in your own little way contributed to that lovely new lampadaire or the cobbled parking bay.

As has been said many times before we are all suffering because we need to use what is one of the few major transport links in the world that receives no public subsidy. Few of us realised just how significant a (hidden) subsidy Duty Free was. Not only did it provide passenger volume hence ticket revenue,plus food & drink sales, but the profit margin on duty free sales was enormous. The ferry companies are now left with high operating costs which they have to recover from a declining market. Their efforts at market segmentation are no different to how the railways operate. I have just checked the price of a return from Birmingham to London , and a standard fare varies from £97 to £33. If they simplified the fare structure on the ferries the fares would probably be at the top end rather than the bottom. Do any of us really understand that cost structures and demand patterns for Channel Crossings? It will be interesting to see how Speedferries progress. They are trying the low fare approach, but if it fails it won't necessarily be because of the actions of "The Pirates" it might simply be unworkable. Who knows, perhaps the answer might be a one ship service that waits at Dover  and only sets off when its full. But would we be prepared to accept the uncertainties of such a cheap and miserable service?

quite right Number 1 you fill in when the work is completed and they assess your the value of your property for the taxes. Number 2  is your bill, and it tells you how to pay it on the back. You can either pay by direct debit , in one go or for next year month by month, or you send a cheque to the local Tresor Public. elsewhere on this site you will find all about the fun and games you can enjoy if you try to set up payment using the Internet. Number 3 Is your bill for the taxes which come due when you are granted planning permission. They take the floor area, multiply by a notional value and then a percentage decided locally is applied . It is supposed to cover the infrastructure costs, roads, drains, parks, parking spaces necessitated by  development. IE Its just another tax. It is payable in two chunks 18 & 36 months after permission is granted.

I think that in the days that Southampton was active in the cross-channel market, access to Portsmouth was limited by restrictions imposed by the Royal Navy. Now that the RN don't have so many ships to play with, Portsmouth is much more convenient for the ferry operators. I think the last major car ferry link between Southampton and France was Stena's short lived effort to Cherbourg. Who could forget The Can Can lounge on the Stena Normandy. I think it ceased about 8 years ago, though the ship still visits Cherbourg for Irish Ferries.

They pay more because in effect they pay both the employer and the employees contributions, a trick which Gordon Brown is showing signs of recognising in the UK. There is talk of introducing a higher rate of NI for some categories of self-employed in recogntion of this "lost" of revenue.

I think Stuie is probably referring to the exemption from tax fonciere that applies for two years to newbuild construction but not to renovations.

Miki circumstances / income? Sorry meant circumstances & income. If we are being picky presumably you meant party not privy I think they are already privy to a lot more than we might think, but as to what retrospection they might get involved in, thats where the circumstances to come into it. If our friend has juicy worldwide income which might  profit the Fisc, they might be very interested, probably to his detriment. I suppose the nightmare scenario would be if he were to prove that he should have been declaring worldwide income for a number of years, hence landing himself with back tax and penalties, but then they still disallowed the CGT claim, on the technicality of the number of returns. I agree with your original comment, if there is CGT to pay on a gain, even at 40% its probably a small price to pay to keep out of the clutches of the Fisc. However again if there is loads of money in play there are probably (expensive) advisors about who may be able to justify their costs. But that would require detailed probing of the circumstances and income on both sides of the Channel.

It will all depend on the balance of your circumstances / income. Given that you haven't already made yourself known to the Fisc you are starting at a disadvantage.  But the real issue is whether it is now worth trailing all your UK income through the French tax system, and  calculating the cost thereof in terms of tax/ contributions, (& penalties for late declaration?), and professional fees, in order to save (I assume) 40% of whatever your gain is.