Angelite

I know the subject of inheritance has been discussed many times, but I have not managed to find an answer to this question: Our marriage is my husband's only marriage, but it is my second.  My husband has no children, but a sister and nieces, and I have one daughter.  When the first one of us passes on, can the other sell up and move back to England with the proceeds?  Or will one or more of the blood relatives own part of the property?    

I have an acquaintance, a middle-aged woman, who borrowed £20,000 to write off her existing debts.  She then used the £20,000 to run off to Egypt.  Life wasn't what she expected it to be, so she now wants to come home.  Surely she will face fraud charges?  

Can I put the other side of the coin, please? Rented a gite in June via Brittany Ferries, the directions to the remote hamlet were incorrect, sent us off in completely the wrong direction.  Phoned the caretakers who were letting us in several times to keep them posted, they were very good about it all.  No provision at all for rubbish, except for plastic box which said that there was a bottle recycling container 1.5km away.  Next day bought some bin liners and kept our eyes out for rubbish containers, nearest were 1.5km away, so took all our rubbish there evening before departure. When opening bathroom window (to let out possible condensation) load of dead flies and one live spider (arachnaphobic here!) fell out onto the window cill. We left it clean and tidy, but paid 40 euros for final cleaning anyway, to be on safe side. Gite was in an idyllic spot, weather was warm and sunny, like heaven after Lancashire, so none of the foregoing bothered us at all.  

Thanks everyone for the info, especially ErnieY about possible lack of foundations and damp-courses.  Presumably "breezeblock" was just a matter of translation.  

I've just been surfing a few property sites in anticipation of our next house-hunting trip next month, and have come across a couple of possibilities which are constructed from breezeblock. Does anybody have experience of this?  Are they as good as brick-built, or do they have any inherent problems? Grateful for any advice.  

Thank you everyone for your advice.  This experience was a steep learning curve for me.  Your point about signing in person with a translator present, Cooperlola, would make us feel much more secure about the whole matter.  When we were negotiating a price with the Immo, who was British, he said we could save money (and therefore pay more for the property) if we just used a local  Notaire who spoke English.  We said we would find one, but he said, no need, I know a Notaire who speaks English and will present bi-lingual documents.  However,when we had returned to the UK he recommended using the Vendors' Notaire, who would give the same service, but only parts were translated, and the accompanying e-mails were all in French.  So next time, definitely our own local Notaire and translator.  

We went over to France earlier this year, and found a delightful cottage .  We said to the Immo we would be using a Notaire in the UK, but he told us the local Notaire would provide a bi-lingual Compromis and we didn't need a UK one. In fact, certain sections were summarised into English.  The one Clause Suspensive we had asked for (subject to satisfactory survey) was not included, and several clauses said reports etc would be forwarded once we had returned the signed Compromis.  I thought the idea when buying is to find out all the facts before signing anything (and particularly parting with money!).  So I requested the copy of the survey we had been promised with the Compromis.  This was done by e-mail, and parts of the Diagnostic was unreadable, due to pop-ups obscuring the page, and when we got rid of the pop-ups, the page disappeared as well. We knew there was a certain amount of work to be done, but the survey then showed there was more than we had allowed for in our budget. We had always understood that the legal process in Frances takes three or four months.  One of the clauses stated "This Act must be settled at the latest by .. eight weeks hence".  How could we assure on a point out of our control? Because of these doubts, coupled with the plunging pound, we decided not to go ahead with the purchase, but what we are wondering, is this the norm?  Would we have been better using a UK Notaire?

Hi, we are looking for B&B in the Loudeac area  for next Monday night (10th).  Please PM me if you can help. Merci.  

Hi Rav4, we are going out to Brittany at the beginning of March to look for a holiday home.  Now is a tough time to buy, I have seen the pound drop from 1.34 to 1.32 in a matter of days, but hopefully, as other posters say, it may have stabilised. However, if prices drop further and the pound does strengthen later in the year, then we will have more competition for the properties, so I am going out with the attitude that if I find something which lights my fire- and, of course, that of my OH, then we will put in the lowest offer we think we can get away with. As the saying goes ... "If your name's on the ticket" ...  

First of all, thanks to the many posters on this Forum.  I have been reading it for months now, and learnt a lot from it.  Perhaps I'm a bit dim, but there are a couple of points I'm not sure of: If we (married couple) buy a property en tontine, when the first one passes over, will the surviving partner own all the property, or will 75% still go to nearest relative?  We had finally decided on the area we wanted to live in, Basse Normandie, when I read this morning about the high-powered electricity pylons planned for part of that area.  As some of the posts dated back to 2004, what is the latest position on these? Finally, I rang Newcastle this moring about the E121 and was told this would give us the same healthcare as a French citizen.  Does this mean we would have to contribute towards medication, or anything else? PS:  I know Cooperola is a whizz on health issues, perhaps he could help out fellow Lancastrians! Thanks in advance    

A few years ago we had our nine-year old GSD-cross vaccinated for rabies, with the idea of taking her with us to France in the campervan.  The next year we lost her with a stomach tumour "the size of an orange".  Somewhere at the back of my mind I thought it was a coincidence - I dislike all jabs, for humans and animals.  We now have a three-year old Lab and cat, and were planning to get them innoculated in readiness for when , hopefully, we buy a holiday home in France.  Although they are young now, time passes quickly and we would hate to do anything which might endanger their lives.  I find that the bigger breeds of dog don't seem so hardy as the little terriers. Oh crumbs, what to do now?    

We are interested in buying a Terrain de Loisir and putting a mobile home on it.  However, I did read on one site that you are not allowed to have a fosse septique (or water & electricity). We've also seen properties advertised with a chemical toilet - where would one empty this, I wonder, bearing in mind our responsibility to the environment.  On holiday in Brittany a few weeks ago, a French-registered campervan pulled up at some public toilets and the driver emptied his cassette in both the Gents and Ladies toilets, creating mess and smell - and upsetting several ladies who wished to use the toilets! If anybody could help with some information I would be very grateful. Angelite