colin

After looking into the uk buy to let market for a while, specifically new builds offered by developers, we have noticed that the properties tend to be overpriced which i presume is to cover all the hidden costs that the developers hide in the final prices (stamp duty paid, 5% deposit paid etc) we are know looking at french buy to lets (not leaseback) and have identified two or three properties that look favourable but i was wondering wether these types of properties are realistically priced or is there a tendancy to up the price in france as there is in the uk. has anybody purchased any of this type of property and actually seen an increase in the value? we are looking at residential properties rather than the holiday style properties that leaseback offers as we think they will be easier to sell when the time is right.. this is a link to the sort of stuff we're looking at. http://www.your-french-property.co.uk/buytolet.php thank you nervous 1st time investor[8-)]

these type of things are everywhere. we were looking at investing in the uk buy-to-let market and a quick browse on the internet for information just throws up dozens of links similar to the one mentioned. they target people (like myself) who when starting out have little idea of what they want or how to go about getting it, they promise the earth and streets paved with gold. the only person benefiting from this advice is peter parfait. The uk market is now so over crowded we have swithched our sights to france, i would much rather seek and take advice from people on this forum and others like them who stand to make nothing from passing on the knowledge thay have and the REAL experiances  they have been through, than somebody who charges for a few bits of info that you could find on a dozen other sites or buy simply picking up a phone and talking to a reputable estaste agent or developer. 

thank you i'll check out the links.

I'm a first time investor and am currently trawling through all the info i can find on investing in french property. The one subject i cant figure out is the capital gains tax and taxation in general. I'm looking at purchasing one or two buy-to-let residential properties with agreed rental returns (any shortfalls will be covered through insurance policies) so hopefully they will pay for themselves. The idea is that once the children are independant i will sell the properties and use the money raised through the increased values to finally purchase a home in france for myself and my wife to retire to. However i've read that as a non resident i will be liable to pay upto 50% capital gains tax. Does that mean that if i made say 30k profits from the sales in the future i would have to give half of it over to the tax man? If anyone could enlighten me i would be very grateful.