miaviv

Hi I'll be moving to Metz this summer and wondered if there were any Brits around the area, thanks for any info.

Hi, you say you have pmed me, I haven't got it, could you post it on here please.  Not sure why it hasn't worked.  Thanks

I was wondering if anyone could advise me regarding a good investment - here is my story - We are currently selling our house and will hopefully end up with 200K euros in our hand once we have paid off the bank what we owe on the mortgage. My husband (French) is being transferred in his job and we are looking to rent for a while (perhaps 3 years max but could be less) where he will be based as it is not somewhere we would like to put down any roots.  I would prefer to invest the money in a "bank" rather than property so that we can keep our flexibility should we move after only a year let's say (very up in the air as to how long we will be in the north east) to somewhere we would like to buy in (back to the south of France hopefully).  I'm still a British citizen although I haven't lived in the UK for 14 years but still have a current account with a small amount in it.  Is anyone able to advise me on what account might be good for me to check out - I'm presuming that the UK would have better interest rates to offer but not sure what I would qualify for as a non-resident (checked out some that the Halifax are offering which seem ok).  Would I get gross interest or net ?  Is it likely to cost me loads to transfer this money etc.  Has anyone found any great savings accounts in France that don't necessitate paying a fee (hate this) when you make a deposit ?  Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

I would assume this would apply only if you "declared" the shower room. 

Just reading the comments that have ensued since I posted on this subject.  Just to clarify on the taxe d'habitation situation - I have lived here for 15 years, have paid income tax for about that long too so have always paid taxe d'hab according to my family make-up and the type of property that I lived in (single girl in a Paris flat/young married couple/couple with 2 kids in a big house etc).  I hadn't thought that some reading these posts wouldn't earn a living in France/don't delcare income tax here so excuse the confusion.  Taxe foncière - it was written into my last acte de vente that this would be split pro-rata between previous and new owners of the house, this is perhaps not the case for everyone. Taxe d'hab is paid by all regardless whether you own the home or just rent it.  Taxe foncière is only for homeowners.

You will pay Taxe Habitation on a house that you live in on 1st January in the tax year, if you moved in or bought after this then you will only pay the year afterwards and even then this is only paid in the following year, confused ??? Example : you buy property in May 2005, you are eligible for Taxe d'habitation from January 2006 but you will be asked to pay it in 2007.  Taxe d'habitation takes into account the people living in the house (number of children etc) but taxe foncière is solely valued on the house and its facilities like council tax in the UK. Taxe foncière is normally divided between the purchaser and the seller of a house in the year that the transaction takes place and on a pro rata basis (split according to the months you or they own the property over a 12 month period) this is normally specified in your purchase agreement documents from the notaire.  Not sure when you get this bill though. hope this helps

Hi, we live in Toulouse now but will be moving to live in Metz this summer (July 2007).  Can anyone tell me where the nice places to live are (husband will be based at the airbase in Montigny les Metz) or indeed if anyone knows of a house to rent around this area I would love to have any information.  I'd love to meet some fellow Brits who live in Metz too so please get in touch.  Thanks in advance

We are coming from the Toulouse area to Carcassonne and fancy finding somewhere to picnic not too far from la cité, does anyone have any nice places to recommend ?  We don't want to be too near the road due to our small children who would probably appreciate being able to run around a little.  Thanks in advance