baypond

is that inclusive of travel to and from the Gers?

I have read a few of the posts about closing swimming pools down for winter, and I will certainly be attempting it myself next year. This year I asked a local swimming pool company to do it for me ( as I am knew to running a pool) and they sent me a bill for EUR 410. Can anyone give me an idea of how much these pool companies usually charge, or is EUR 410 par for the course. It seems excessive. I havn't paid them yet as I wanted to get an idea if it was a fair charge. Pool is 10 x 5m , saline.

I think the cheque has more credibility in France because you are not allowed to write a cheque if you have insufficient funds in your bank account. I think it is still illegal. On that note, there seems to be no concept of post-dated cheques. I paid an english architect working in France by post-dated cheque and asked them not to pay it in for 3 or 4 days because I needed to transfer funds. They ignored my request because the needed the cash, and knew the bank wouldn't look at the date on the cheque, and paid it in.

Hi, I am one of those bankers! All I would say is that banks are regulated. They can only lend within those regulations, and those regulations are set by government. In the case of the USA, President Carter pushed banks to lower their lending criteria (or face in many cases discrimination cases) and persuaded lending intermediaries Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy lower grade mortgages from the banks. In the UK, banks were allowed to lend 100% mortgages, lend on many multiples of earnings, permit self certification etc etc, and all the time the Government raised stamp duty and encouraged buy to let. No wonder, in a competitive market place, the market became too leveraged. So yes, the banks shoulder blame, but people shouldn't be blinkered in to thinking that everything that is happening is because of banks, it is governements who are also at fault, but accept no blame. That is the biggest con.

Hi, I had an offshore EURO account, but changed to an onshore account for more flexibility. I couldn't get cheque books (which are far more widely used in France) for the offshore account, and the charges for each electronic payment were prohibitive. I have found BNP Paribas very efficient for account control and e-banking too. One gripe is that ATM cards have very strict weekly and monthly limits applied, regardless of the account balance. I have moved to a gold card so that I can take more than EUR 2,000 per month from cash machines.

Hi. The earlier comment that if you offer the full asking price, the vendor is obliged to sell to you is correct. In theory, once a full asking price offer is received, the vendor has to proceed or risk having to pay the full estate agency fee agreed under the 'mandat'. The issue you have here seems to be twofold. Firstly the vendor appears to be ignoring the fact that you offered the full asking price, and secondly the estate agent is not advising you appropriately. The agency can not be 'at a loss'. They have the 'mandat' (contract to sell the property on the vendors behalf) and they absolutely know what terms have been agreed in the mondat. So.... your first task must be to find out exactly what 'modat' terms between vendor and estate agent have been agreed (ie to sell 2,5 hectares or 20 for starters). Once you know this, you will know if the estate agent is acting in your best interests or not. If for example you have offered the full asking price, but the mondat actually sets out a different price or acreage etc, then, in effect you wouldn't have offered the full asking price under the terms of the mondat. However, if the mondat clearly sets out that you have made a full asking price under the terms of the mondat, then the estate agent can (sometimes they just don't want to because of local reputation,hassle etc considerations) issue a form of writ that reminds the vendor of the terms of the mondat having been reached, and advising the vendor that if the sale does not go through, the estate agent will persue the vendor for full agency fees. However, this is where it gets difficult. The process is very lengthy. The agency have to prove that they are not bullying a local habitant, and the court case can be expensive. Sometimes agencies just don't want to persue the case, and prefer to look for other solutions. Unfortunately I do not think you have any compensation rights and potentially just have to 'move on'. Afterall, if the agent happens to be handling the other offer, your hand is weakened because in either scenario they get their fees. This is why you first initiative must be to sort out your relationshp with the estate agent to see if they are actually acting in your interest. It sounds to me like the estate agent is not 'at a loss' just hiding behind smoke and mirrors. Just as a caveat, I can not absolutely guarantee that I have the full facts correct from top to bottom, but we have just finally signed a compromis de vente from an vendor that held out for more money (i can explain more if at any stage you are interested) The estate agent was on our side, but there is a perception amongst some locals in France that every english person buying in France has more money than sense and that they can change the rules....