Mikep

I too was impressed by CA's prompt action when a friend's card went astray in the post and was fraudulently used. I had taken him into my local branch of CA to open an account - he's an artist (Raymond Hunt) and held an exhibition of his Alpine landscapes in nearby Chatel. He needed to be able to pay in euro cheques when paintings sold. There was no trouble opening the account, although he is resident in England. The troubles surfaced a few months later when the local branch rang me informally to ask if my friend knew he was overdrawn. Several suspicious transactions in Belgium had drained the account. A quick call to him established that he had never been there, so I dashed down to the bank to confirm their suspicions. In Belgium at that time you didn't need chip and pin, just a signature on the sales slip. No problem, no hassle - they simply reversed the transactions (for electronic equipment, flowers, luxury stuff). I asked if it would be a problem for the shopkeepers - the bank shrugged - it was the shops' problem for not checking identity adequately. What impressed me most was that the local staff took the trouble to contact me, a third party - no doubt strictly forbidden in the UK under data protection - and fixed the problem without stress. Of course there were forms to be filled in, but they were helpful with those too. I still find their charges too high!

If you're in the Haute Savoie, your CPAM office should be:   Centre 424 Service Relations Internationales de le CPAM d'Annecy   2 rue Robert Schuman   74984 Annecy CEDEX 9 telephone (in France) 3646 - website www.ameli.fr It may be worth mentioning that you can qualify as a dependant of your spouse if he/she qualifies earlier than you.

Once you have your business degree, a much easier approach would be to seek employment with a US-based multilateral, initially in the US but with prospects of working internationally in (say) their European headquarters. That way, they look after all the complications for you, and your likely earnings will be much higher - and possibly currency protected. You should get healthcare and moving costs in the package. You'll have less choice of location, and they might want to move you after a couple of years, but you can always change employer at that time. For example, GE have a large operation near Paris (Medical Systems) with lots of movement between the US and Europe (and Japan, incidentally). Some French language would be very helpful, but is not absolutely essential. I feel that your willingness to travel and work in Europe would be a definite asset to your recruitment chances. Good luck!

There was a thread a couple of months back (sorry, I haven't been able to find it) where a reader sold their property privately, and was then hit with a large bill from their non-exclusive agent on the basis that they (the agent) could have sold to someone else at full price, and their mandate had not been terminated by the fully-legal method (registered letter with proof of receipt - "accuse de reception"). You would be even more exposed to this on an exclusive mandate. I would strongly recommend that you hold out for a non-exclusive mandate, which seems to be used for 99% of sales. We're currently selling, and our agents readily agreed to a non-exclusive mandate. We then agreed informally to give them a "solo run" for a period of time, apart from some (named) people we were already in contact with. There didn't seem to be any effect on commission rates. You may of course be restricted in your choice of agent by the original purchase agreement. New buyers watch out!

I'm using two agents currently, one local (French), and one international (English). The English one visited several times, took all his own photos, and listed us on half a dozen websites with very good exposure. He's working for 2.5%. I supplied the words to go with the photos, otherwise he would have done them. For the French one, I had to take all the photos, write up my own brochure, pay to have it translated into good French, and print copies myself. He's put us on his own website (if you look hard enough) and in three local branch office windows. He's on 4% inc TVA. Different country, different approach - but we came here to be more relaxed, didn't we?

I guess by definition I'm asking the wrong group of people, but does anyone have a clear idea of the best time of year to move between France and the UK? UK to France is fairly obvious - if you move in August, you get four and a bit months in each tax jurisdiction because of the different year-ends, but a full year's allowances to set against your income during those periods. Going from France to UK, does this still make sense (7.5 months in each jurisdiction)? Or, if you move before the end of June, do you count as non-resident in France for that calendat/tax year since you're there for less than six months? In that case, does income during that period disappear into a black hole for tax purposes? Or is there a French equivalent of the P85 tax form, which has to go from HMRC to the French tax authorities before they will release you?

P-D de R put it better than I could. We just felt that a very specific ad in an unusual place was more likely to evoke a response than a routine one in a usual place alongside 10 or 100 other similar ones. Or, at least worth a try. The idea was originally suggested by a friend after a few drinks, and I scoffed at first, but came round to it slowly. I can confidently say we were the only alpine chalet advertised in Bakewell last year! Incidentally, the market seems to be coming back to life. We've had three other serious viewings in the past few weeks - one bought after two visits to us, but unfortunately not ours! He and his wife loved it, but their kids wanted bars and nightlife. Our village closes at 8.00pm apart from the restaurants and hotels.

For just ten weeks a year (and probably only 4 nights per week when you're there), it might be a lot simpler to operate as a UK-based consultant and use a simple hotel in Paris (depending on which part, obviously). You wouldn't be liable for French tax or social charges, as you're there for less than six months in any calendar year, and your employer would make very substantial savings on your costs of employment which they should be prepared to share with you. You may be able to negotiate that they pay your expenses in Paris, or include an allowance in the contract fee. Either way, you can claim necessary expenses against your UK tax bill, which might be more difficult with a rented apartment. Same for flights. There are disadvantages - you wouldn't be entitled to healthcare or "social" benefits such as unemployment pay or pension. Good luck - I did it for three years, although spending fewer nights there than you're planning.

What a rude boy Leo is! Perhaps a little more background would have helped. We had spent the previous twelve months with Sotheby's International agency, which generated just one (useless) viewing. We were on their international website but only as one of 90 other properties, with no proper search function. They were on a 6% commission - 48,000 euros! Against that, one solid prospect for a £150 ad seemed like progress. I just thought it might help someone else, but if you don't like it, keep paying the commissions!

We tried a different approach to selling our alpine property in a slow market, which although eventually not succesful, made good progress and might work for others thinking of moving back to the UK. We had a good idea of where we wanted to end up (Derbyshire Peak district) and decided to advertise locally in that area for a possible property exchange - permanently. We buy theirs, they buy ours. On the face of it, it's ridiculously unlikely, but we felt that there must be someone, somewhere in that area wanting to move to France, but unable to sell their current property. It seemed unlikely, but we found one couple who nearly went the distance. They visited us (twice) and liked our chalet, even meeting the local Maire to discuss setting up their business. They were happy to go ahead, but when we visited them we found their garden more than we could handle. Ironic, since we currently have half an acre on a 30% slope in the Alps which we are starting to find too much, but theirs was even larger and steeper. Still, the approach would have had many advantages: no agency fees (5 to 6% on a high-value property), low cost (£150 for a large ad with photo), no problems of timing (even share a removal van!), possible exchange of equipment (washer/drier, lawn mowers, even 4x4s), and I could have project-managed their move and business set-up. Also, little or no currency exchange. Sadly, it didn't work for us this time, but others might be interested in the approach. We've been here for 15 years for an active retirement, and loved it!

Thanks for the rapid feedback - and top quality advice! You've certainly convinced me - I'll stay as I am and just grit my teeth! The price rises seem to have been delayed (presumably by the government regulation) but now seem to be coming through steeply, judging by the unit prices quoted on the link previously shown.

Coming back to your original question, David, one thing you should do is get your passport photos done in the UK. The Passport office is now incredibly fussy about them for the biometric passports (take off your glasses and don't you dare smile!!!). I looked older than my father on mine. I just renewed mine via the Paris embassy with no problems apart from having to post the forms and photos to the UK first for countersignature. The forms for Paris renewal are different to those used in the UK, and are NOT available to print off - you have to write in and ask for them. You might want to buy a stock of stamps!

We are all-electric (hot water, underfloor heating, no supplementary fires or stoves), and manage happily on a 12KVA single-phase supply. Our standing charge for this is 188 euros per year, and we use 19,000 to 22,900 units per year for year round occupation in the Alps (1,100 metres altitude). Reading the above comments, I'm thinking of changing to the TEMPO contract which would be 10% cheaper per unit for us (42%HC, 58%HP). Anyone else have recent experience of this change?

It's nice to hear from enthusiastic buyers, but please bear in mind that the costs of buying and selling are very expensive. You'll pay at least 6% in legal fees through the Notaire (he only gets a small part of that, most is the equivalent of stamp duty), and a further 4 to 6% if an agent is involved. The same amounts will be payable (notionally by the buyer, but it still affects the price obtained) when you come to sell in the future. You should plan to be in the property for at least ten years to pay off these high entry costs. This (along with inheritance rules) is the reason so much French property (particularly in rural areas) stays in families until it falls down - and also why the property market is so slow. It's a lot easier to buy in a hurry than to sell!

Property prices seem to be related to the potential for finding work - in country areas there are few offices or factories offering employment to younger people, so they often have to move away to big towns and cities after leaving education. Tourism only offers seasonal jobs. Distances tend to be longer, making lots of country areas impossible to commute from. This means gradual depopulation, even of very scenic areas, which holds down prices of existing property. This may be OK if you are retired with an income, but potentially a problem if you're hoping to find work to support yourself and family.

Not strictly relevant, but my Swiss son-in-law turns on every light in our chalet when they come to visit, even on the brightest day, and leaves them on until I follow him round to turn them off. I'm really looking forward to visiting them and returning the compliment, but he's never yet paid his own electricity bills - he currently manages a youth hostel on lake Zurich and gets accomodation (and power) provided. I guess it's all about background and upbringing. When we were kids, we were so poor we couldn't even afford personal number plates!

The good news is that you get a full year's allowances in each country. For example, if you moved at the end of August, you would declare income in the UK for April to August and have one year's UK allowances to offset against it. You would then declare your income for September to December in France, and have another full year's French allowances to offset. The timing's a bit tricky, as you have to get the French tax authorities to fill in a form and send it on to HMRC before they will accept that you're released from further obligations to declare and pay in UK.

Hi David, I've sent you a PM (private message).

Good luck, David, from your note you're going through all the right thought processes. If it's any help, I moved my various personal pensions to Alliance Trust and they manage my SIPP for me. The funds are invested in UK Investment trusts (of my choice) because the total annual management costs are 0.5% or less, (way below Unit Trusts or Insurance funds) with no commission to pay apart from 0.5% stamp duty. Alliance Trust add a small fixed amount (I think £125 per year per SIPP) to handle the paperwork, plus small amounts for reviews and payments. Their costs are all well covered by the dividends on the investments, any surpluses are automatically re-invested. I find that the most useful feature is the "volume control" on income - if I need more (up to the government limit) I simply ask them to pay it. However, I found I was getting a substantial discount on my Taxe d'Habitation of 894 euros provided our annual income was below a ceiling of 32,920 euros. I've just started receiving state pensions from the UK and Belgium and a small company pension, so it's been very useful to be able to adjust the SIPP income downwards to stay within the discount limit. I intend at age 75 to continue with the SIPP and ignore the annuity option. There are UK government limits on the annual income, but if you actually do the sums, the limits are not too unreasonable as they are based on annuity rates for a 75 year-old. If I die, my wife simply takes over the whole fund, not 50% as with a company pension. If the rules haven't changed by then, the kids will get the 35% remaining after UK tax. Alternatively, she can always opt to take an annuity or cash (less tax) at that point. I have no connection with Alliance Trust apart from as a satisfied customer. I moved to them from Winterthur because they (Alliance) charge small fixed sums rather than a percentage of fund value - this may or may not suit you depending on the size of your pension funds. I consider current annuity rates to be daylight robbery. By being self-invested, I feel that I've got a form of inflation cover (shares tend to rise with inflation over time) and 100% spouse cover at no cost. However, I take the investment risk - if it goes wrong, there's nobody else to complain to. I've just completed a fifteen-year analysis of how it's working. Following ten years of dismal stock market performance my total pension funds are worth 4% less than they were in 1996 - however, in the meantime I've drawn 61% of the original sum in income, so the investment growth has pretty much covered my income. Although annuity rates have deteriorated, I feel that I should get a better deal now (at age 66) or in the future (age 75) than I would have done at age 52. Please be clear - I'm absolutely NOT recommending that you do the same - it's up to you to think it through and make your own decisions. As I said, good luck!

Could I suggest that you have a look at this article: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/moneybox/4796084.stm It may be out of date (since 2006) if the rules have changed again, but I was not aware that they had in relation to "Trivial Funds".

Don't be too pessimistic, David! I'm 66, and according to the UK Government actuary, I'm likely to live another 21.1 years. Don't want the money to run out before then! I still think that if you return to UK you will go back into the old rules, i.e. heavy tax if your children inherit your pension funds after you were UK resident. However, the taxation of pensions seems to be becoming (very) gradually fairer, so the situation might improve over the next few years. You can always leave the pension funds to charity without any tax to pay. I don't think there is any need to proceed in a rush with QROPS - you can't change until you've been out of the UK for five years anyway. On a more positive note, your pension income is treated very gently in France as you are (currently) not liable for socialist charges - my marginal rate on pension income is still only 14%, whereas bank interest is at 14% income tax plus 12.5% social charges.

Are you sure about the "trivial" rules, John? My understabding was that the sum total of ALL your personal pension funds had to be below the trivial limit for you to take it as cash. If this is right, you could get into a real tangle!

Please do your sums very carefully, and work out what extra it will cost you over (possibly) 25 to 30 years. An extra 1% per year doesn't sound much until you do that. I have a normal SIPP (not QROPS) which provides most of the advantages at very little cost (all upfront and fixed, no annual percentage). Also try to find out what happens if you return to the UK at some point in the future. I've tried and failed - that just increases my natural suspicion. I may be paranoid, but that doesn't mean they're not after my money!

We've looked at quite a few properties for sale, and frequently get the impression that the last thing the vendors want is to actually SELL the property. Could it be that they want to be able to "prove" a low value (maybe for divorce or inheritance)? "Yes, Taxman, we put it on the market at 100k euros and nobody bought it!". We had one case where we drove 50km to an appointment to view quite an expensive property, and the vendors weren't even in! The time had been suggested by the vendors a week before. They never contacted us afterwards to explain or apologise.

I'm not sure about the legal position, but I understood when we bought our plot that the "right to take" applied only to land next to the country road (route communal). We have a "chemin" at the back of the property which is shown as our property up to the half-way point, confirmed by "bornes" in the path surface.