Mikep

Of course a common currency is essential - you only have to count the number of starving bankers in Geneva and Zurich! Greece isn't suffering from the euro, it's suffering from living on borrowed money, just like the UK.

. . .and offer to post it on U-Tube?

Sprogster's post was spot on - it's far easier to buy than to sell. It's also expensive if you eventually realise you would rather be somewhere else. My suggestion would be to choose your area (after a lot of research), rent there and then try to find a "search buddy" through the forum, an individual who knows the area well and has time to spare to show you around (and no, I don't mean me, you suspicious lot!). In my area I can think of several early-retirees who would be very helpful for little cost.

No real advice to offer, but just wanted to sympathise - we've been on the market for 18 months, but fortunately under no pressure. We did try advertising (in England) for a possible exchange and found a couple who wanted ours, but we couldn't see ourselves in theirs, otherwise it could well have worked. Good luck!

It's probably a silly question, but why on earth is the taxpayer required to fund a charity? You can bet the poor b****y taxpayer wasn't asked! One of the great things about living in France is that you can look at things like this as an amused bystander, rather than the mug who's left with the bill. No doubt there is equal silliness here as well, but we don't get to hear about it.

Servicing the fosse is all getting very bureaucratic now, with inspection and certification. You even need a receipt for the contents to prove it's been disposed of in a green manner (do I mean green?). It's possible your farmer had other methods in mind.

Ours cost 365 euros 18 months ago for DPE (energy efficiency), ERNT (Natural and Technological risks) and Amiante (Asbestos). We didn't need the electrical installation survey as the property is less than 15 years old. We have four bedrooms, 189 sqm habitable. Separately, we needed the fosse septique to be emptied, cleaned and inspected - that was much more expensive at 692 euros, plus 95 euros for inspection and certification (3,000 litre system). Hope this helps. They found two inspection panels under the baths which were tiled onto (they said) asbestos cement board. Seems unlikely in a house built in 1996. Otherwise, nothing to report for the money, but obligatory if you're selling.

It's not like NHBC, Dommage Ouvrage is public liability insurance. When we had our chalet built fifteen years ago (by an Architect Contractor), I still had to pay this - £3,700 then.

i.e. box 1AS (1BS for spouse). Watch out, though, ("tax free") lump sums are now taxed as income.

I would recommend keeping your UK Bank account  - I've had one with HSBC since the 1980's which costs nothing to maintain (apart from filling in form 3916 every year) and is useful for standing orders and pretending to Sky that I'm still UK resident. Once you've left the UK you will find it difficult to open any other accounts, and the regular demands from offshore banks for certified passport copies, utility bills etc are tedious. Many offshore banks also demand a minimum balance (e.g.£5,000 for Lloyds TSB).

I contacted my Tax Office and asked if they wanted the info repeating every year, as it seemed unnecessary. The answer was a very definite "Yes". It's worth keeping a copy (or printing out the on-line form 3916) of all the accounts - one missed from year to year might really get them excited.

You don't need to include any pension funds (including SIPPs) in your declaration of assets for Wealth Tax (ISF). When you start to draw on it, any Tax-free lump sum is now apparently taxable in France - if you still have the opportunity, it would be better to draw this before becoming resident in France. Once you are drawing from it, the income is not liable to social charges, so the effective rate of income tax will probably be quite low (depending on your other sources of income). My marginal rate on pension income is 14%. Beware high charges if you are considering QROPS.

It's not just in France where there can be unfortunate consequences. An English friend with three lovely daughters (two at university, one just left) remarried in April one year. Tragically she was killed in a car crash ten months later. She had not re-made her will (the original was automatically invalidated on her re-marriage) so the new husband got everything - house, savings, life insurance, pension, compensation from the accident. Her three girls got absolutely nothing. It's not just tedious paperwork - it really is worth thinking ahead. Sorry to dampen the discussion!

It's a fair point - it was less of a problem with us with three children - since the spouse would still own one half outright and a life interest in the other half, all four would have to agree to any disposal. I would expect the proceeds and ownership shares to be rolled over to any new purchase. We get on well with all three, and I would be prepared to take the risk of them falling out later, in order to take 470,000 euros out of the (potential) inheritance tax net on the first death (one full allowance for each child). The basic comment still applies - there are different solutions for different situations.

I've lived in the Haute Savoie countryside for 15 years with a dog and never seen a wild boar, although there are plenty of signs of their presence (turf turned over to find roots). The most dangerous thing about them are the hunters - their technique is to stand in a large circle around scrubby undergrowth, send the dogs in, and then fire into the centre at anything that moves. You don't see many old hunters!

Just a thought to the original poster - if everything goes to the spouse on the first death, then you fail to use the tax-free allowance from parent to child (156,794 euros the last time I looked), which is then lost for ever. Our Notaire advised giving the spouse a Life Interest in the property (Jouissance) and passing the residual interest to the child (children in our case) on the first death. It depends on your long-term wishes, but beware any simple solutions - you need good advice from a Notaire.

Would it be worth reminding readers that village/town name signs in France act as 50km/hour speed limit notifications, provided that they have a red border? There's no need for any numbered speed limit sign. I've lived here for 15 years, but got caught by mobile radar a few hundred yards after passing an "end of 70 limit" sign. I had failed to notice the village name sign shortly after it. I was only trundling along at 60-ish, which didn't feel at all fast - consequence 90 euros on-the-spot fine and one point.

Just out of interest (I thought about QROPS but didn't), what sort of costs are you paying to hold your fund? Have you managed to find out what happens if you return to the UK at some point in the future?

Pine is pretty useles for burning - it gives out very  little heat and will fill your chimney with tar, which is a fire risk. Better get rid now!.

Disputes with neighbours are far easier to start than they are to settle. Wouldn't it be better to get the Mairie to do the reporting?

I dealt with the non-residents section at HMRC (St John's House, Bootle) 18 months back when I started to receive a couple of pensions, and found them satisfactory. It took a few weeks, but I started early so was only taxed in UK for a couple of months. When I asked for the refund it was paid within weeks. In both cases I contacted them by letter - might be better than phone/email? My NT coding now seems to roll on with no problem.

As I understand it, just bedrooms and living rooms - not even kitchens. I don't think it has any implications for income tax anyway. For Taxe d'Habitation you would normally get a visit and survey for a new property, otherwise they will rely on existing records.

Even better, you get a full year's tax allowance in each country!

Thanks, Clair. I'm off to the bank!

Which account is that, Clair? My Compte cheque charges 5.95 euros every month, plus 108 euros p.a. for PEA (shareholding) accounts, plus 36.70 for a Mastercard debit card. I did a breakdown a few years ago of my Jersey sterling accounts which have similar balances and transaction loads - they paid me a couple of hundred in interest. I took in to my CA branch who were flabbergasted at the idea of a bank paying their customers! It didn't do any good - the CA charges stayed the same, and Jersey subsequently stopped paying interest. The good old days!