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baralbion

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  1. [quote user="Cassis"]Interesting question.  In the UK, the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations 1989 govern vehicle lighting.  Part of this says that headlamps must not cause undue dazzle or discomfort to other road users and must not be lit when a vehicle is parked. But I have never noticed deflectors etc. on foreign plated cars in the UK. [/quote] Brittany Ferries sell them on board (as well as those for UK cars going to France). The trouble with the deflectors I've seen is it seems you can only use them once which makes for considerable expense with multiple trips. Does anyone know of a re-usable type?    
  2. [quote user="Owen"]Hello, If you are a French resident but have letting income from the UK then the UK retains the right to tax this income (and does so!). You still have to declare this income to the French tax authorities and tax paid in the UK is offset against tax liability in France. In practise this means that for the vast majority there is no more to pay. Like the UK there are various expenses that you can deduct from the gross income but they differ slightly from those in UK which, along with the different tax years, means that the net income declared will be different in France to the UK but the result will usually be fiscally neutral. Regards Owen[/quote]   Thank you. That's very clear - and not unencouraging.
  3. I am grateful to those who have commented on my question about income tax on letting a French property. May I now put the reverse case? If I live permanently in France and let my house in the UK, I believe I would be liable to French tax on the income from that letting.  But is it, I wonder, ever possible instead to pay tax on the income to the UK's Inland Revenue in these circumstances? I will, possibly through gritted teeth, pay whatever tax I have to, but I should prefer to continue to deal with a tax regime with which I am familiar. Otherwise, I can see a situation in which I may already have paid UK tax through my letting agent in the UK which I would then have to claim back after being obliged to pay tax in France as well. I realise these are matters on which I should eventually have to seek professional advice. But any general guidance would be helpful.    
  4. Thank you for all these  helpful replies. I should perhaps also have explained that we live in the south of England, that we are looking at Lower Normandy, that there are only two of us, that we use Brittany Ferries day crossings, so no need for a cabin, and travel as far as possible at off-peak times.
  5. I’ve been calculating whether we can really afford to buy a house in France, initially for several shortish visits a year, but later for more prolonged stays. The purchase price of the property of course has a bearing on it all, but that is something you know in advance. What is less clear is the cost of maintaining a property and visiting it several times a year. I have reckoned that £5000 a year should cover insurance, local taxes, three or four ferry crossings, extra personal insurance and car insurance, payments to a gardener and someone to keep an eye on the property and a bit left over to enjoy France while we’re there. I have not included living expenses as we have to pay these wherever we are – even though there will be some variations between France and the UK.   I understand the difficulty of arriving at anything like an accurate figure: all our circumstances are different. But am I anywhere close? Have I missed anything out?  
  6. I may want to let a property in France once I have bought one. Initially I should be running the letting as a UK resident. I understand I would have to pay French tax on the income. While I may not relish the prospect I will do it if I have to. What really bothers me is grappling with an unfamiliar tax régime. How difficult is it, even for someone who speaks French fairly well?
  7. I am grateful for all these comments in response to my original post.  Our own experience of agents has also been somewhat mixed. Typically, even from some of the best-known web based agents in the UK, you get a list of appointments with agents in France. Often these appear to have made no preparations for your visit at all. They just hand you their folder of properties and invite you to take your pick. On the basis of inadequate information and photographs you are then driven many kilometres to see one totally unsuitable property.  Comments so far suggest that neither buying through agents, nor using property search agents, nor buying direct from British owners is very satisfactory. Where, then, is the hapless seeker after a French house to turn?
  8. Thank you for these prompt and helpful replies. My main thought about buying from a British owner was that a British-owned house might be more likely to be configured and decorated in a way likely to appeal to a British buyer. A British owner might also be more likely to understand the concerns of a British buyer (although I am old enough to know that any seller's main interest is in getting the best price).
  9. Does anyone have any experience, please, of either: a) buying in France direct from British owners? or b) using a house search agent in France? Both seem to have their attractions, but has experience proved otherwise, I wonder?
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