mickcooke

We are thinking about building a swimming pool and converting rooms to gites. We have already got permission for the pool but would like to know if and how much (ie approximate per centage) a pool would make to our taxe fonciere (currently around 2500€) and whether we need to separately inform the tax fonciere people about the change or whether the permission from the marie will do this automatically. Also does it make a difference to fonciere if you convert rooms in your house to gites as opposed to outhouses, barns etc? Thanks - any info welcome

Hi i am new to this thread so I hope you are still reading it! I signed up for monthly instrallments a couple of years ago, simply to avoid receiving a huge bill. However, they never send me a schedule of payments for the coming year and consequently have very little paperwork regarding tax paid. Why is this and how can i get a receipt at least?

Well, thanks for a very full and frank discussion! Yes, believe it or not, I am not setting up a leisure park with wave machines, slides and thousands of visitors. I am talking about a straight forward 10x5 in my back garden for use by my family, our friends and a few guests we have staying at our two gites. If I am reading correctly, you are saying is that there is only one set of regs and they are aimed primarily at large public pools but are ambiguous enough to suggest that they might apply to gites. Is that so? Is there no regs at all aimed specifically at small time gite owners? Panda - thanks very much for your illuminating contributions. I would very much like to talk to your friends who have gites and get first hand info from them on this subject. Could you post an email address or phone number? If not could you forward my email address on to them and ask them to contact me. Contact details edited by the moderators. Please use the email or PM buttons on this post to contact the poster.

We are thinking about building a couple of gites and allowing the tenants to use our swimming pool. Can anyone tell me what regulations I need to have in place for the pool over and above the usual ones? For instance  I have been told I need automatic ph and chlorine balance equipment. Thanks for all relevant info Mick

We are thinking about building a couple of gites and allowing the tenants to use our swimming pool. Can anyone tell me what regulations I need to have in place for the pool over and above the usual ones? For instance  I have been told I need automatic ph and chlorine balance equipment. Thanks for all relevant info Mick

Andrew Hi. Well I am not much further than three metres away ie 3.20 so what are the exceptions? Also how do you know if your blocks are treated, and treated with what? Mick 

Hi I'm looking into building a pool and understand there are some planning rules to adhere to. The one I'm interested is the minimum distance between the pool and your neighbours fence. My understanding is that the minimum is 3 metres. Can anybody confirm that or provide a link to a list of the rules? Also does anyone have experience of building with polystyrene blocks? Apparently you use reinforced concrete in to give them strength? Any info gratefully received Mick

Does anybody know a good DVD rental scheme? I' m getting fed up with trekking 20kms just to post an out of date DVD through the letter box and having to pay for the privilege. I did look into this a while back but there were two main problems: a) Expense.  €15 a month seemed to be the going rate which seems a bit steep if you rent a couple a month. b) It's difficult to find reviews in English so if your French isn't quite there yet it can get a bit frustrating. Any ideas?

Hi - wondered if anyone has any advice on a good health mutuelle? We are a family of four (kids aged 7 and 12). What will be covered apart from the usual visits to the doctors eg dental care/opticians/hospitals - and how much would it cost a month?  Thanks for any info

Tim Thanks for this info.  I actually do have a monobloc preprogrammed for Hotbird 13e and Astra 19e but I just moved it round to point at Astra 28e. Just to make sure I understand, what you are saying is that because one LNB is pointing at 28e and the other LNB is prefixed 6 degrees apart it must be pointing at either 34e or 22e depending on which LNB is currently pointing at Astra 28e? (I dont know which one!). All this means of course that I wont be able to get BBC World (on Hotbird) without another satellite dish and cable but there you go. Do you not bother with English channels on Astra 28e? By the way I dont seem to have picked up four channels which were supposed to be on Astra 28e namely ITV3, ITV4, CBBC and Ceebies even though the list of channels has them on. Any idea why? Mick

I have a two-headed satellite receiver and, more by luck than judgement have set up a strong signal on Astra 2 where most of the English language channels are (BBC1,2,3,4, News24, Sky news, CNN, ITV1,2). However I'm keen to get BBC World as well, which according to my book here is on HotBird statellite. Now I should be able to do that because, as I say, my satellite receiver can get signals from two satellites at once. But how does that work? If you move the dish to point at one satellite don't you have to move it again to pick up the other one, and if so, surely you lose the connection to the first one? How can it point at two places at the same time? My theory is that because I have a French system (ELAP 80cm dish and ThallisV recepteur - €79.99 at your nearest LeClerc folks)  the statellite receivers (LNBs) are set at such angles to pick up Astra 1 (not to be confused with Astra 2) and Hotnbird 1,2,3 at the same time. It can only one of these two scenarios. If it is the second I wont be able to get Hotbird because, as I say, mine is now pointing at Astra 2 which is in a totally different place in the sky. Can anyone help please?!!! Perplexed non-geek (honest!)    

Hi we are buying a house in the Aude region near Carcassonne and want a swimming pool. The current owner wants to move quickly with the sale but the problem is we don't have planning permission for a pool and I understand it takes two months to get it (from something called the DDE). We asked if we could put a clause into the purchase contract so that we would get our deposit back if planning permission was refused but the owner won't agree. Does anyone know of planning pemission being refused for a swimming pool and what the reason was? We are not in a conservation area and we would not be building it near another house but we are near a rive that was subject to a flash flood seven years ago and which now is offlimits for housing construction after a ruling by the prefecture.  Thanks for any info Mick

Hi Jupiter and others - have you had any luck finding out  information on how property prices are moving in France yet? If so please could you pass on details, web address whatever because i will be needing this information soon as well. (Anything like Halifax, Nationwide monthly updates for instance? Is there any info on regional differences? I get the impression that the difference in regional movement  is as great as the difference in actual regional prices - ie prices could go down in one region while they are going up in another.

I might be showing an incredible lack of knowledge about satellite/cable TV (including how to spell it) but does anyone know if you can get Freeview in France and if so how?

Yes the problem is reading the review beforehand to decide what to buy if your French isn't that good (like mine) Spose I could read the reviews on an English language site and then order it on a French site - do you know of a good one?

Hi I just tried to sign up to a UK DVD rental scheme only to find out in the small print that that they post to UK only. Does anyone know of a DVD rental scheme for English language films that will post to France? Or is there a French scheme with English language reviews and soundtrack? Regards Mick