groslard

[quote user="fussy"]hello we live in the vendee, we bought our house in may 2006, moved in,in sept, we bought it for 260,000 euros, its a four bed detached on 3,000 sgms, if we put it on the market today, we would expect to get a minimum of 300,000 euros for it. If I can help furthur, please e-mail me [/quote] I expect that most of the people on here have experience of buying in France. It is when you try to sell that you find the real value[6]

Thanks! I suppose it all comes down to the sort of pension you have: an annuity might be considered unearned income I suppose.

[quote user="nectarine"], it is a case of 'buyer beware'. Sorry this isn't a legal viewpoint but it is more of a common-sense viewpoint.  Good luck. [/quote] I agree with almost all of what you say, especially about contacting the Notaire, and checking that there was an 'as found' clause in the contract. There was in mine. I would sound a note of caution though on relying on "common-sense", or on ideas such as 'buyer beware', unless you know the details of French law, which is often different not only in detail, but also in spirit from the UK. For example in the UK surveys are the rule, and subsequent defects can be taken up with a surveyor if they should have been noted in his report. In France there exists this idea of a "vice caché"..a hidden defect which a normal person such as the "father of a family" couldn't have found out in the situation. If it can be shown that the seller knew about them but didn't tell there can be repercussions. An 'off the top of my head' example would be a house in which the light switches and plugs were new, hiding the fact that the wiring was faulty. But has been posted, usually there is a clause in the contract by which the buyer accepts the house 'as found'.. I am just 'going on' because I have often come close to tripping up over areas where the emphasis in the two countries is different. It can be misleading..

Are you saying that people on a E121 don't pay any social charges anywhere?

Wouldn't some one with a UK Old Age pension have a E121 permanently?

[quote user="Benjamin"][quote user="cartref" The reason I gave the detail that I did was that a previous poster was suggesting that certain income sources did not need declaring, which from the details you were giving, was incorrect. [/quote] I don't see any posts suggesting that. My UK pension ( not Old Age) is taxed at source in the UK I declare it with my French tax return so it is taken into account for the "revenu fiscale de référence" which is used among other things to decide if you have to pay taxe d'habitation. Although your income tax may work out lower than in the UK, don't forget you will have to pay CSG on your private pensions, which adds to the total

There is the idea of vices cachés..hidden flaws "le défaut que l’acheteur ne pouvait pas déceler, compte tenu de la nature de la chose vendue, et dont il n’a pas eu connaissance au moment de la vente.  "a defect that the buyer couldn't find out  about, given the nature of what was sold, and which he didn't know at the moment of the sale" I believe there is a 6 month limit on claims. If you read French there is this site But as has been said there may be a clause in the contract saying that the buyer accepts the house in the state it is in, including these "vices cachés"

I have had excellent service from free. I have a good speed (around  6,36 Mbit/s for download) free phone calls to over 70 countries fixed phones (for me UK, Sweden, Canada and Romania are frequent destinations) plus loads of TV stations. I had to choose the appropriate package size in 'reglage du ping(fastpath), and I re-initialize the freebox from time to time as recommended but apart from that I have had no problems in 3 years.

You should certainly take care where you park and for how long! Stupidly I didn't know the French law about parking for more than 7 days without moving the car, so I left it perfectly well parked and quite legal (insurance, Contrôle technique etc) in a cul de sac near me where it wasn't blocking any body's way and where there was no need to change the side of the road every 2 weeks. BUT I left it for 3 weeks! When I got back there was no car, so I went to the Commisariat to report the fact, and they told me it had been taken to the pound for 'stationnment abusif' I had to get a taxi out there, and pay a fine of 135 euros to the pound. OK so far..I was in the wrong. I paid my fine, and the man said.."oh by the way, there was a problem. The people who took your car dropped it when they were putting on the trailer, and the front wheel came off"...he didn't tell me that before I had paid of course! He then explained that as it was undriveable and there is a daily charge for cars in the pound it would be best if I scrapped it as that would avoid further charge. I was a bit in shock so agreed like a fool. OK so far I'm in the wrong, and I was a fool to agree to what he suggested. But what has really rubbed my nose in it is that today I got a PV for 75 euros "majorée" (that is to say increased) for the original parking offence. Of course I hadn't even seen the ticket which was apparently on the windscreen while I was staring at the hole where the wheel whould have been

[quote user="cartref"]Hi, Hope someone can help me here. I am a 60 year old single person in receipt of 2 private pensions and UK State Pension All these add up to a gross amount of £12109 per annum. [/quote] Are these all paid in the UK? If so some are taxable at source I believe..

Thanks everybody! Figeac came to mind because I have been looking at the eastern end of the Lot valley ( the part still in the Aveyron specifically St Geniez D'Olt) , and one day venturing a bit further afield I went past without having time to explore: it looked attractive and the right sort of size,  and looking  at web advertisements since I have seen one or two appartments in my bottom of the price range.  However, other suggestions are more than welcome.... I'm not a newcomer to France, but I have recently retired, and am looking for a less stressful environment than city life.

Thanks a Lot ([:D]) that is really helpful.

It's certainly true that you don't see many about, but judging from this site they are legal ( I have met a couple of people with them but only for getting about in the interior of the Hospital) Scootronic

Yes true as I said "I take the point that living in a non-sterling area with a pension in sterling involved an element of risk when I came over here"

Well the Euro didn't exist ( as the CMU didn't) then there was the chance that Britain might join (but it didn't although it said it would) If coming here and relying on a certain stability in exchange rates is a gamble, so is coming here and relying on a temporary (2000-2007) arrangement for health care. But the changes to the CMU and the decision not to join the Euro are political decisions, which every Government has the right to make. The fact that I might be inconvenienced by them is the same in both cases. Both situations could get much worse:  in Economics a collapse of sterling, and in Health a right-wing UK government that decides to abolish E106s and E121s. Let's hope not!  But be careful of judging other people's "gambles"  

Not quite accurate, since the Euro didn't exist, and the UK might have joined it. I take the point that living in a non-sterling area with a pension in sterling involved an element of risk when I came over here, but that could have disappeared if for example Blair had kept his promise to join. So it's not "Plain. Straightforward. Simple." I have noticed a tendency on these boards to assume that all British people over here have come in the last few years (since about 2000 when the Euro came in) so I understand your over-simplification. It's the same with the "CMU de base" which was a 7 year aberration, unknown before 2000 (see my post on it called "a slight alteration") This also wasn't in force when I came here. And I'm not shouting "retrospective" just because things are turning sour..[:)]

1)If I make an old-fashioned video recording of a TV programme, or a Film on TV I don't think it is illegal. What is the difference if I make a copy onto my hard disk, directly from the stream?  (I  have the dégroupé option with free) 2)If it were a simple question of protecting the artist's livelihood I could sympathise: but it is much more about a vested interest protecting vast income. Just look at the sums involved. On a related issue of privacy: 3) For those who read French,  see this link The Police will soon be authorised to install 'trojans' on computers to help their enquiries: an interesting point will be if a hacker cracks the system and uses information gained.

Good luck and enjoy your house..

They just want a photo copy of your passport to prove you are resident in the same country as your residence for tax purposes

Tax number Perhaps they want you to get a French tax number?

[quote user="mister"]Clair & Goslard,   Thanks for the prompt replies - I am most grateful. The form included with the bank’s letter contains these sections to complete:   Je soussigne ( nom, prenom(s) tells qu’ils figurant dans la piece d’identite ): Surmame/ Christian name …………………   Atteste sur l’honneur:   1. Que ma residence fiscale est situee hors du territoire francais, a l’addresse suivante…address in UK…………….   2 Que mon numero d’identification fiscal ( NIF ) est le suivant ( pour les residents de la communaute europeenne )Have you got a French Tax number?…………………………….   3 Que je suis titulaire d’un compte de cheques et/ou de compte d’epargne et/ou de placement monetaire et/ou que je suis proprietaire ou usufruitier des titres qui sont deposes sur mon ( mes ) compte(s) ouvert(s) a la banque populaire du Massif central. that you have a cheque account/savings account/money in their bank   Je m’engage, en cas de transfert de mon domicile ou de pays de residence fiscale dans un autre de la communaute europeenne ou dans un pays tiers, a transmettre a la Banque Populaire du massif Central une nouvelle attestation de non-residence indiquant la nouvelle situation de ma residence fiscale, et ce, au plus tard avant la premiere mise en paiement des interest suivant ce transfert. I will tell them if I change my address   Je comprends que la presente attestation est requise par les dispositions de la legislation fiscale de la repubilque Francaise.   Fait a…..town Le………..date Signature ……………………   Presumably I need to complete this and return it? But as I said, my French is not great, so I'd be reassured to know what information ( and documents - if necessary? ) might be required.   Thanks again for your help. [/quote] my comment are on the form..

Sorry your post appeared as I was writing

Normally a "Declaration Sur L’Honneur" is just that... Je, le soussigné xxxx, déclare sur l'honneur de ne pas être résident en France Sorry about the bold

In any case the English explanations are valuable...

It's all covered in the link I posted: which will be needed to enroll for online payment too, although as I said it is too late for this year..