Collywobble

Hi ali-cat, If you are left with any residual stains, consider using peroxide.  NOT the stuff you dye hair with which is about 3%. ONLY use the 5% or better still 6%. You won't get this from a supermarket.(I know I'm shouting, but this is dangerous if not used correctly)[:)] The good stuff will not 'bleach' material/clothes etc if used correctly.    Read the directions and follow the manufacturers instructions! For stain removal, it is much safer than bleach (see above statement) as it evaporates and the only residue is water and perhaps some sludge from the offending substance that was causing the problem.  Try and never use bleach outside the laundry and NEVER EVER use it to 'kill' mold outside of a bathroom. (it doesn't really kill it all, and then you are breathing in poison in addition to mold) Up until recently I was doing mold inspections and certified by several testing labs. (We now do dry carpet cleaning, duct cleaning and odour removal) We frequently use peroxide to remove stains from carpet, with no damage caused to the carpet. (again, read the above comment) BTW, good quality peroxide and a toothbrush is fantastic for cleaning the grout on floor tiles - even white grout that has gone black over time. Again not the cheap stuff from the local supermarket, as that WILL 'bleach' your carpets if it spills/runs.[;-)] Food for thought. cheers

[quote user="Teamedup"]you have never lived/worked can be a bit of a shock when you realise that there isn't any work/too much competition/not the atmosphere that there appeared to be when you were here on holidays.     Add to that, an income that perhaps you aren't used to. Artisans work long hours and their pay doesn't reflect that. [/quote] It's almost enough to make an honest man work on the black!  [:)]

[quote user="Abs Turner"]I didn't think there were any properties left in that price bracket! One thing I did notice was that properties advertised on Green Acres (or those type of websites) were cheaper as it was often the vendor who advertised and already knocked the immo's fees off but you have to deal with the vendor yourself , but anything is possible with a translator (if your french is like mine isn't up to negotiating deals) which would work out cheaper than immo's fees even if you pay for the time to get them to help transfer over the utilities and stuff.[/quote] There are hundreds. many seem ok, but whilst a picture says a thousand words, they are of the house and not the sewage plant/garage/steptoe & son yard next door. so I would think of the houses about 5% are what you want - taking into account personal preferences). The pics I like are of internal/external AND of the street in general.  I always wonder why an agent puts in three pics of the livingroom, two of the kitchen and one of the bathroom, but none of the outside.[8-)] Look on seloger.com (has an english option) or Yahoo.fr. select your region, property type and start with a price range of €1-€25000 the €25000-€50000 and so on One of the problems with searching websites for properties, cars, etc  is that they sometimes (read very often) limit responses to 200 or 250 to protect the server from malicious attacks, so if you do a search for: All property types (homes, land, garages...) in 24 between €0 - €1000000 There will often be too many to show and you will get a truncated listing. This of course varies from website to website, but in general if you make the search more granular, you will see more suitable properties. cheers

"it would probably be illegal to do otherwise" So it wouldn't happen?[blink] You sound honest, but I guess you are measuring others by your (decent) yardstick.

Is it true (as I have been advised) that when in a social setting (or any setting I guess) that it is a no no to ask strangers what they do for a living as it may be seen as a way of working out the persons income bracket? Funny, as it is very much the sort of question I would use in place of awkward silence when meeting people as an ice breaker instead of my bad jokes (did you hear about those 150,000 turkeys that got the chop recently?...they thought all their Christmases had come at once.   boom-ta!) I guess it might be seen a bit like "what school did you go to?" in N.I. or parts of Scotland?

[quote user="Jc"]In the UK,we saw a house for sale in an agent's window,went and had a look at it and were going to buy it;on the way back to the agents,I saw the same house for sale in another agent's window at a lower price-guess which one we used.[/quote] To be honest, I didn't know that in the UK you could have a home with multiple agents. We bought and sold four properties over the last ten years in Scotland and I never heard about it, or was this in England?

[quote user="cooperlola"]Now that the percentage is evident, yes it does seem a bit of a p**s take![/quote] My thoughts exactly [blink]

[quote user="Fumanzoku"]"In Australia there is now a database for landlords/property owners to place names of people who do this very sort of thing, also if you get 4 weeks behind in your rent your name is added." There you are, that's what is needed. How does this stand with the law in Oz? [/quote] The database is http://www.thelandlord.com.au/  although I'm sure there would be French/EU objections to a local version. My brother lives in Melbourne and rents out a couple of properties. Apparently the database is legal, but there always concerns about abuse. E.G. a landlord could have a grudge or simply be unrealistic about wear and tear.  I think that users of the system need to adhere (religiously) to the rules in order to have the appropriate paper trail, should they be challenged by a tenant. I don't think it's for things like, "they didn't clean the oven", it's more for people who do a runner or cause serious damage. I guess it can also be difficult to officially blacklist 'professional renters' who habitually play the game and know their rights, stretching things out and paying on the last day allowed etc, as often they don't actually break any laws. I have had these sort of tenants in my own properties before. They only ever intend on staying for two or three months and always skip owing the last month, but leave the place clean/undamaged so if it went to court they can look more victims. On the other hand...when we were first married, we rented a house from a landlord who was also the builder. His daughter had lived in it for a few years and when she moved out the place was like a bomb site. She had never cleaned the oven/toilets/windows etc. I honestly don't think that the landlord had visited it after she had moved out. We cleaned it (as we were young and stupid) and when the landlord's son came around for the rent the first time, I pointed out that there was a leak in the roof which was causing a stain/small hole in the ceiling. No one came to fix the ceiling, but the leak stopped.  When we went to move out 18 months later, the landlord tried to keep the bond as we had failed to notify him about the ceiling (the leak having stopped must have been a coincidence).  Basically his lazy daughter must have said she left the place clean, and his lazy son didn't pass on the message about the roof.  Now I would have been peeved if I had appeared on some sort of database.

[quote user="BJSLIV"]The system is the opposite of the way it works in the UK. In France you pay full VAT (19.6%) on a new house , but a lower rate (5.5%) on repairs. In the UK new houses are zero rated, but you pay full rate on repairs. In France they also deduct VAT from any profit made , even by the homeowner, on the resale of a new house within five years of completion. [/quote] To quote others on the forum, 'the system is setup to stop you getting rich' What is the deal, tax wise  with selling a renovated property?  One that was purchased to 'develop' ? i.e. shortest time to own prior to selling and are there big differences if you rent it out in the interim? Cheers

Those comments shed light on this, but even if the €11,000 includes all extras, doesn't it still seem a bit steep on a €33,000 (or €44,000) property?

Cerise, Yes, that is a very good idea.  My French isn't as good as it was a few years back, but even then I was more of a "How much are the ...?",  "Where is the...?", "Hello Doctor, my father hit his head on the toilet..."  (real quote)[:D]  but I wouldn't have been confident to order building supplies etc.  To be more precise, I could probably form the questions, but be lost in the answers[:)] I had actually thought about working for an English speaker for 12 months or so to build confidence and get into the swing of things. Your bang on the money with the last comment; thinking you want to be somewhere that you have never lived/worked can be a bit of a shock when you realise that there isn't any work/too much competition/not the atmosphere that there appeared to be when you were here on holidays. cheers

Hi I recently saw a home requiring medium type renovations on an English language immobilier website that appeals to me (the house, not the website) A few days later I noticed the same home on a French site, (seloger.com?) with a different estate agents and it was €11,000 cheaper. Three weeks later and they are both still listed. BTW the 'English language' company seem quick to flag thier homes as under offer, so I don't think it has been forgotten or anything. I am trying to be tactful as the the English agents are active on this forum, so I guess I have the questions: 1) Is the French system similar to say the US/Canadian ones where estate agent 'A' can advertise a home and estate agent 'B' brings a buyer and they share the commission? 2) One of the sites shouldn't have the home advertised  (maybe the seller is playing funny buggers?) 3) Buyers get stiched up by €11,000 for the convenience not needing to explain the all the jokes in "Allo, Allo" to French people ?[:)] cheers

[quote user="nonpc"]No its not a wind up His wife Priscilla managed to keep them afloat as she was a professional table tennis demonstrater [/quote] Hi Nonpc, but this does sound a bit Two Ronnies or "Carry On" ....He was a Plumber, but his pipes leaked... ...She kept the plumber afloat as she was a "professional table tennis demonstrater"   (you did say afloat?) Sorry, but I can hear Kenneth Williams saying "Your 'avin a laugh, inchya"  Cheers PS I know I've gone off topic, but nonpc, you either have a great sense of the satirical, or, um, something [;-)]

[quote user="nonpc"]very sad story coco A friend of mine from wales who moved to france last year also had to give up his plumbing business as he had lots of problems with the different plumbing styles and pipe work he said he could not cope as he had to many leaks [/quote] Seriously? or is this a "My friend Everard..."  Sound a bit Larry Grayson to me [;-)]

Maggi Thanks for that. Every bit of info helps. cheers

[quote user="KathyC"] For example, the statement that self employed people have high overheads isn't necessarily true; [/quote] KathyC,  your comment is accurate if for example you are talking about a 'self employed' lorry driver who gets paid as a subcontractor on a set fee per mile/job/hour basis and doesn't really have that many outgoings, but not for a (legitimate) tradespersons me thinks. (no disrespect to lorry drivers) Based on what I have read in the forum, I am budgeting €4000 PA for insurance,  something an employed person doesn't need to worry about. But you are right when we think about most management (or other salaried) roles. Many managers - regardless of the industry -  earn less per hour than their staff when you think about the "stay till the job is done" mentality. I have worked in other industries where many management came in every saturday to keep their heads above (paperwork) water . The comments about sickness are painfully true. I once cut my hand on a tablesaw (think upside down power saw) and was unable to work for six weeks (all unpaid). More recently my wife became seriously ill and needed an operation. I was only able to work two or three 1/2 days per week and had to juggle kids, homework etc (I admit to having a whole new respect for my wife after that). This went on for almost three months and we have no family in the area (i.e. country). We are still feeling the financial pain of that one, and in a very big way. For this reason I am about to go from being self employed to being an employee for a while as I will be guaranteed an income and will be able to write some of my losses off for tax purposes. The potential unpaid element of being self employed is something that people don't take into consideration (along with most overheads) when they are handing the chq to the self employed person who they just got to do something that they wouldn't/couldn't do.[;-)] Cheers

Hi, as usual, question 'A' becomes debate 'B'  [;)]   and this is evolving from "How much pay does a workie get" to "Justify that hourly rate" [:P] As with any job, I think people sometimes forget that you not only pay someone for what they do, but for what they know. Obviously some jobs take longer to 'know' than others. Put it this way, most of us have a legally issued drivers lic. but there is a huge difference in peoples ability. Why would it be any different with plumber, painters, hairdressers, pilots, doctors...   This is why some people get paid more than their peers. However, at the end of the day, the job will probably be done better/safer/faster and possibly cheaper by employing a (competent) professional. I guess there will be thoughts along the lines of "you are wrong because I know one time where a tradesman made a c**kup of ..."   yes, but overall, you are better to have a 'qualified' and experienced (insured etc) person do the job and pay the going rate, or even slightly above it for best person.  As a former family friend who is a solicitor said "my clients may not like me, but they pay me because if they try and do it themselves, it will probably end in tears"    I must admit to not really appreciating other peoples comments along the lines of "the system will prevent you getting rich" but it does appear to be the case. cheers

[quote user="Teamedup"]Is the 30€ an hour the price that the customer is charged Val2. [/quote] Teamedup, That is how I am interpreting it. My original question was "from the homeowners perspective" cheers

Will, Val, To be honest it is a bit more than I expected, but I do appreciate the additional administrative overheads. Thanks for the info, it does help me budget/plan etc Cheers

Hi Fi, I'm sure that I will be corrected momentarily, but a bit of info to consider is that most (i.e. OECD) countries have a reciprocal tax treaty status to avoid double taxation. The usual rule of thumb is something like: "did you spend 183 days or more in any one country"  if yes, then you are considered a resident for tax purposes.   (As an aside, it gets more complicated if you share your time between lots of places, then someones tax department will often make the decision for you) So when you say "6 months", tax types will want the answer in days. The good thing is that you can manage the situation to suit. But, keep in mind that someone well known (actor, musician???) got hit for tax a few years back when they visited a sick mother (?) in England and exceeded the 183 day thing. Mind you I think they were worth millions. This said, my experience has been between UK & USA and doesn't take into accound the EU social security/healthcare benefits/obligations, but I still think the 'days' bit comes into it. cheers

Don't know about commercial, but this is the family from the C4 'No going back' show.  They actually came across as nice people. http://www.clearwaterlakes.com/info.htm        Does carp odour cause human eyes to close? There is loads of info on their site if you are patient with the flash bubble menus etc. On the site they have actaually quite detailed info on land use, fishermans accomodation, recent catches, rates, rules etc. It's worth a look. Cheers

Hi All, I hate to sully the forum with matters of argent, but I would really appreciate any (even anecdotal) advice regarding the average hourly rate (from the homeowners perspective) for a charpentier. I have the the relevant papers/experience. I also do very good floor/wall tiling, plastering (at this one, I'm slow, but do a  good job) and maintenance plumbing; alas, no papers for the latter skills.  If there are any builders reading this, subs rates are also of interest. (feel free to PM me)   but I think it prudent to stick to the carpentry begin with. I'm particularly  interested in the Perigord or Carcassone areas, but any info / advice is appreciated regardless of the area. BTW, Please (please please) don't lambaste me with comments along the lines "there is more to life than money" or "It's the lifestyle, not the money" etc... as I totally agree,  which is why I actually want to live in France.  [:)] This info will help me budget the more mundane / pragmatic aspects of life - like having insurance and feeding the kids [:)] I have read many (highly informative) comments about Artisans insurance, tax, Devis, SIRETs, working noir etc, (I want to do everything correctly) but there don't seem to be many comments about what people actually pay for an  artisan. Thanks in advance for this. Cheers Colly