Claire

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We had a letter in September asking us to submit the usual yearly documents, proof of residence, income etc and then had a bill for the next "trimester" October to December which we have paid and which has debited our bank account.  Am I correct in thinking that if we try and use our Carte Vitale it will be refused ? We will have been permanet residents for five years in January 2008. We have taken early retirement and live on my husband's private pension so are deemed "inactive"  All very confusing !!!!    

We came on holiday for three weeks - first time in France. We were persuaded to look around by an English estate agent that we met one evening.  We saw three houses from the outside only but fell in love with the one we bought. We arranged a viewing the following day and put our house on the market from France.We signed the contract two days before we left France.That was in August 2001.We moved in the following January and have not regretted it since. Perhaps not the best way to go about things but it worked for us.

Our Jeep Cherokee passed this week on deflectors. To replace the headlights, which is what is required for our car, would cost in the region of 800 Euros plus fitting charges.

Yes you are pobably right Will. I don't factor in my time or any other costs so am probably running at a loss. However, I do enjoy cooking for our guests and being able to sit and chat with them. I am lucky in that the gite is more of a hobby that has to pay it's way rather than make a huge profit as we do have another source of income to fall back on.   www.margerides-gite.com

This is the first we have heard of the new regulations and are not registered with DDAS

We also offer a four course meal on arrival for 18 Euros per adult and less for children depending on age. We find that most of our guests are keen to sample the local cuisine or are happy to cook for themselves in the fully fitted kitchen or use the BBQ that we provide. If guests wanted to have  a meal cooked for them it is a service that we would be happy to provide ourselves.  There is a lot of money to be made in catering !!!  

East Midlands are charging 50pence for a plastic bag which you get from a vending machine. Apparently you can have up to three items in each bag (so we were told)

We always use whitel although we have noticed that they become stained with what we suppose is sun cream.  We have started using dark coloured bath mats though (matching the decor of course) as these can start looking incredibly grubby very quickly. We have found very good quality bath mats in Aldi that only cost about 10 Euros so we don't mind replacing them a bit more often.           www.margerides-gite.com

The large pipe is a pressure relief pipe to relieve 'water-table' pressure from the sump; i.e. the ground under and around the pool.  If water in the ground backs-up it could become so pressurised there would be a danger of it cracking the pool and though highly unlikely in severe cases lifting the pool out of the ground.

I was working for an Estate Agent last summer and an English family phoned with a similar query.  They were told not to even think of coming to France to make a living from a gite business without some sort of other back up.  She suggested that three gites would be the absolute minimum that would be necessary to eke out even a small income.  We have a gite that we could let out three times over for the main two holiday weeks in the summer, the rest is a struggle.  We usually let a maximum of nine weeks during the summer period.  Luckily for us it is just a hobby as we have another source of income.

I used them whilst in the UK and listened every day on the way to work for about half an hour. I found them very good, however, when I started having French lessons here in France from a French lady who teaches English, she did point out some errors.  Some of the language I was using although correct is not normal everyday use for French people and although I would be understood the French would find my way of speaking rather amusing !!!

We live on my husband's UK Fire Service Pension and have no other income in France. This is taxed in the UK but declared on the French Tax forms.  We pay 247 Euros per quater and we can only assume the pension is taken into account.   The amount was reduced this year for some reason.  Last year we were paying 350 Euros per quater.

Hi Dave   I have pmd you. We have a gite in the Correze/Cantal border

Thanks to everyone who responded to our thread. The response has been amazing, there is obviously a market for this sort of thing.  We are sorted for this year and probably the next two or three so no more offers please !!!    

Is anybody interested in a house swap in September/October this year.  We have a three bedroom house in the Correze near Bort Les Orgues, an area of outstanding beauty. There are mountains, lakes and thousands of acres of forests to explore.  We have seven of Frances's most beautiful towns within an hours drive. We have been here four years and love every minute, but due to limited income have not been able to discover the rest of France. A house swap seems to be a good idea,  however, not having done this before does anyone have any advice as to the benefits and pitfalls.

We are really confused now!! We registered our Gite as a micro business on the first of this month.  We then decided to advertise with Gites De France and proudly showed him our documents from the Chamber Of Commerce.  He just smiled and said we did not need to register the gite as a micro business. He said because  it is our home (the gite is attached to the side of our house and we live here permanently)  it is not considered to be a business and therefore does not need to be registered.  We would therefore not need to pay any charges other than tax if we earn enough.  He gave me the name of an English man who has been working within this minefield for ten years and I intend to phone him this week to get clarification. Of course if we are not paying into the system we will not be able to claim anything back i.e. pension, social security.  We already pay URSSAF as my partner took early retirement and has a pension from the UK which is taxed in the UK. Incidentally the Chamber Of Commerce told us that many people who think a gite may be a good source of income decide against it as soon as they find out how much the first and second year charges will be. We know of one situation where the business owners  regularlry write to the agencies concerned explaining that they have not earned enough to cover the charges and the charges have either been adjusted or dropped entirely.

We use French Connections which has proved very successful with the English market.  We do not advertise in France yet

Hi We have a gite in Margerides near Ussel that is available if you havent found anything yet

Having read through all the information regarding PACS and inheritance we are getting rather nervous. Our situation is as follows:- My parner bought our house in 2003 in his sole name. Being ignorant of French inheritance laws we did not enter a Tontine clause or any other such clause. We are not marrried and he has three grown up children from his first marrige. We are planning to enter into a PACS agreement to minimise the risk to me in later years. Are we doing the right thing ? Is there any other alternative ? Can we now with hindsight have the house put into joint names. There is no mortgage and the house is worth a considerable amount of money. Ideally we wish for me to remain in the house after his death until my death. We would also like for me to be able to sell the house and downsize or return to England if this became necessary. Is this possible ? Some friends of ours in a similar position have had something drawn up by their notaire stating that his partner can remain in the house or rent it out for her lifetime if she so chooses. Has anyone else heard of this arrangement