craigw

not wishing to add fuel to the fire but I think all he was doing was quoting the comedy show "little britain" and not making a bold statement. Just seeing both sides thats all.

oh bu99er, i am losing the plot!

I can see on the net http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/8-19-2005-75143.asp about a proposed luxury hotel & race circuit, however, the report is a year old. Does anyone know if it was scrapped as its pretty near to where I am looking to buy a house ???

thanks again guys, much appreciated.

good point about if things go wrong. Can you get lcd tv's at decent prices in france? is there a kind of french equivalent of dixons or currys ?   re furniture, the house is a new build but looks like an old cottage so not sure classic old heavy french furniture will be appropriate. I was thinking of some decent leather sofas and decent beds mixed with the odd few bits from ikea in bordeaux? a lot to think about, i'm sure you have all been through it.   exciting though. thanks again.  

thanks very much guys, all very useful.

things like kitchen tables, beds, leather sofas.. are they cheaper in france or better to buy in uk & take over ? also do UK Tv's work in france ?   (I did do a search before asking, thx)  

where do i ask about buying furniture, shipping stuff & transporting furniture please, thanks.

i suppose they just leave them with a sorn declaration in the Uk and factor on nothing being done in france.

I did think that myself. Basically the total of the notaires fees and her agents fees come to just over 2% of the sale price. I have confirmed there are no other fees. i found the house myself & did 99% of the negotiation so the notaire is fine with this.

Just checked my insurance, we each have up to 180consecutive days cover in france on either of our cars, dont have to tell them when we are leaving uk.

hi Ron, If insurance wasnt possible I'd never do it. Maybe I didint explain it properly (or maybe i'm not 100% sure what I mean!) but, I'm thinking that if my family were going over for the summer I'd drive the car down in jun & leave it there until aug or something, my uk insurance gives me (i think, 60 days or so european cover)  

hypothetically if you drove your uk registered car to france & left it there to use when you were there (insured at all times), what would happen ? ie leaving it on uk plates.

wow, so many replies so quickly! thanks. the house is relatively new & has been rented out almost the whole time since it was built so I'm assuming any defects should have shown up by now. We didnt see the house through an agent although the notaire also acts as the local agent & I am paying her a token sum as she has assisted with the sale a bit. the ten year guarantee on the house is in force but I'm not sure how comprehensive this is. The vendor of the house is also the builder & he seems fairly well regarded in the area. (just a bit more info in case its relevant) thanks for all help.      

hi all, great site by the way.   We have been looking for a house in france for a couple of years (at the same time as selling a property in UK, this has finally sold). I have trawled latitudes, francophiles and many others & last year I found a 4 bed cottage in perigrd vert & we went to see it. At the time our sale fell through so we couldnt proceed. I have now gone back to the owner & we have agreed a deal at more or less the same price as a year ago (it seemed/seems like a good price compared to what else I have seen) The house is less than 4 years old, we have an english speaking notaire (who is also a friend of & acting for the owner, is this a problem ?) Finances are pretty much in place but my long term girlfriend & I arent married. I suppose my questions are, -am I missing anythuing obvious? -do I also need a solicitor -do I need a survey on a 4 year old house (all looks good but I am no expert!) All help very much appreciated, I can think of nothing else.