[Is it possible to cancel a compromise de vente because of increased risk of natural disaster?]

I am not sure how much water they are planning to remove (perhaps papachapa could give a link to the info?), but the key is relieving the pressure. I am led to understand that the risk of the glacier exploding will be reduced exponentially within a few days of starting the works, as the pressure will immediately begin to reduce once the first few 000's cubic meters are drawn off. It may be that to take all the water out would destabilise the glacier in other ways, but 25,000 cubic metres is all that matters.

It would be a real shame if the OP gives up on a lovely chalet because of this, and it is very true that many areas of the world carry some risk of natural disaster. In most cases, as is my belief in this case, the risk is extremely small. Certainly when we bought our property in the town it was stated as being in an area prone to flood, landslip and avalanche. Knowing insurance companies, they will know all about the risks (including the Tete Rousse glacier), and their premiums will reflect it already.

[Is it possible to cancel a compromise de vente because of increased risk of natural disaster?]

Hi

I know a fair bit about this problem in St Gervais as I am a property owner in the town and I have read a lot about it on the Marie's website.  It seems that there are approximately 65,000 cubic metres of water trapped under pressure in the Tete Rousse glacier on top of Mont Blanc.  In 1892 the glacier exploded, releasing 80,000 cubic metres down the valley, killing 175 unsuspecting people.

Following the disaster, they have been monitoring the glacier since 1904, and as the OP has said commissioned a more detailed survey in 2007.  The good news is that although there is a build up of water and pressure, work is commencing on 23rd August for 2 months to pump out the water pocket(s), and so reduce the pressure in the glacier.  This is costing the french tax-payer 2 million euros, but should sort out the problem and remove the risk.  The other thing of course is that there are now emergency procedures and early warning systems in place, so minimising risk to persons (if not all properties).

I am just concerned that the OP might be a bit premature in wanting to withdraw, and the seller may well cite the above-mentioned remedial works as good reason to deny the OP that priviledge (I am sure I would if I were the seller).  St Gervais is a lovely place and I am sure once the work on the glacier is finished in October any mild anxieties about property will evaporate. 

  

 

[Flex account, we have been ripping the ar5e out of it.]

It probably was too good to last, especially in the current financial climate.

The travel insurance (as so often with bank account 'additional benefits')offered will be worth diddly squat to most people however. By scouring the marketplace online, I get full family multi-trip european cover and winter sports for £82 per year, with superior cover amounts compared with what Nationwide will be offering. By the time you add on the extra premium to include my wife and kids, then a further extra charge for winter sports, I bet I would be handing over more than the £82 I pay already!

Looking at the fees for withdrawals and purchases, they probably are still favourable compared to most institutions, but maybe one of those other institutions may see this as an opportunity to grab some business from Nationwide and modify their own rates accordingly.

For me, when I need to withdraw cash in the eurozone it will be a case of seeing what I have in my French bank account, what exchange rate I got those euros for, when I might need to replenish them, then comparing that to the true exchange rate that using my flex account card would offer at the time. I may need to write myself a spreadsheet for that........

One thing is for sure. I am out in Austria last week of October, so unless the exchange rate is crap at that time I will at an ATM every day!

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Hi, thanks again to everyone for all these marvellously helpful and interesting posts, it really is very much appreciated.

Sweets, I think on doing a bit of scouring around that the usual practice is to take a modest non-returnable deposit at the outset to ensure that only people truly interested in buying use a property finding service.  This is retained to cover expenses if no deal emerges, and is offset against the final fee if a purchase ensues.  Best wishes

     

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Thanks very much to you all for the advice, opinion and insight. I will ponder the matter a bit more.......

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Hi Sweets, I just think there may still be people who wish to buy in certain parts of France who either cannot or do not want to do all the leg work for themseives, be it for a permanent move or to buy a second home.  They might value someone honest and straightforward fighting in their corner.  Is that worth something?  To some, maybe yes.  What is a fair price to pay for someone to help you in that way (if you want/need it)?  I don't know, but a figure of 1-2% of the purchase price might not seem bad if you get exactly what you are after with minimum effort.  If however as a proprty finder you have to 'get into bed' with an immo to split the sales commission to keep it cost neutral for the customer, that might not actually be in a client's best interests.  I would want to be 100% commited to the client's needs, but I think some would see value in that.  Best Wishes and thanks    

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Polly, without being disrespectful, I am not a complete dork.  There is no way I would invest any significant capital into something doomed to failure (but then again, this is a service we are talking about, not manufacturing).  Also I would not be so stupid just to 'land' and expect France to fall over backwards to accommodate me.  This is of course why I am getting some wise council on the matter.

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Hi Will, thanks for the info and insight.  The last bit is a very interesting question.  I am sincerely hoping to move out to France within the next 2-3 years as a early retiree from the rat race.  Property finding is something I would find very interesting indeed, but if I did do it I would rather act independantly of specific agents if possible (in the best interests of potential buyers).  If I thought a property finding service was feasible, even if only mildly profitable (just to gently supplement my pension income), I would probably consider starting out a service from the UK initially, taking it out to France with me if it seemed worth it.  Any further thoughts greatly appreciated. 

[Property Finding - Information/Advice?]

Hi

If I wanted to do so, what obstacles (apart from the lack of a viable market) would there be to starting up a property finding service in France?  Do you have to register with the french regulatory authorities in any way?  Might such a business qualify under the AE scheme (I think somewhere I read not)?  Any advice, information or experiences very gratefully received.

['Informations' ou 'Renseignements'?]

Hi

I am writing a reply email to a school head teacher (female) and want to start by thanking her for the information contained in her email to me.  I am confused as to whether to use informations or renseignements.  I know informations is feminine and renseignements is masculine, but what does that refer to, the giver of the information, what it's about or any other factor?  Aside from the sex of the noun, is there any other difference in their use, or do the two words mean exactly the same thing?  Most grateful for any help!  

[Sky+ in France]

Hi, this is probably straightforward to many, but we are hoping to move to France within the next 2-3 years and I wanted to find out the following about accessing english digital TV channels:

1.  Is it easy to get a TV engineer in France to erect a dish specifically to access Sky digital TV channels?

2.  Is it possible to formally subscribe to a Sky package when living in France, or can you successfully use a viewing card registered to a UK address, or are you only able to access free to air channels such as BBC, ITV, etc?

3.  Can you use Sky+ in France, and if so do you just bring over your existing box from the UK?

Answers to these questions and any other kind advice on this subject most gratefully received.  By the way we aren't wanting to dodge either french culture or TV, but would like access to english TV at least until our language skills are good enough and to help in the settling in process.  

  

 

 

[Tax advice needed]

I concur, Angela is both very thorough and is English, so best of both worlds (especially concerning french tax affairs!).

[Form H2 - both to sign?]

Hi, we have just been sent an H2 form to forward to the Impots after our apartment was finished in December. The developer has kindly filled in the relevant details about the apartment on the form. Section 2 asks for my name, address and wife's name, but it isn't clear whether she as joint owner needs to sign the form or whether my signature alone will do. Seems a bit trivial, but with french administration being the way it is and there being a 90 day time limit for returning the form, it would be better if we did it right first time! Any advice gratefully received.

[Telepeage 'Piggy Back' Scam - any way to stop it??]

Hi, I was driving on the A40 back to Geneva on Saturday and I use a telepeage 'doofer'.  About 100m from the toll gate at one of the peages, I saw a french car in front of me going very slowly with his hazard warning lights on.  I overtook him and he immediately speeded up then tailgated me all the way through the telepeage gate, hence using me deliberately to get through for nothing.  Obviously completely pre-meditated.  Is this a common practice on the french motorways?  Do the french not use CCTV to root out offenders?  It all happened so quickly I didn't think to do anything.  Afterwards I wondered what would have happened if I had driven through the gate so I was just beyond the barrier then stopped.  Would the barrier have come down between my car and his, forcing him to reverse out and pay??  Any other strategies to stop it?  I would be interested on your views/experiences.

[Qu's on how to set ourselves up for french/UK tax on French property]

Yes, must agree.  Much better to use a french accountant who (in Angela's case at least) is English.

[New Leasebacks - Payments for Furniture - Any experience?]

Hi Chancer, yes the mortgage thing seems a bit odd and if you bear with me I'll try to explain.  When I got my mortgage in 2007 it had a 2 year 'franchise' period during which I didn't make any repayments, but interest was rolled-up at mortgage rate for drawn-down funds and at a nominal 1% on undrawn funds.  The idea was to cushion things financially while the property was being built and while no rental income was being received.  Once the 2 years were up, the accrued interest was simply to be added to the original loan and repayments would commence on that basis.  The other stipulation however was that after the initial 2 years was up, the facility to pay the nominal 1% interest on the undrawn funds was removed and both capital and interest repayments started on the whole amount of the original loan plus all the rolled up interest.  It shouldn't have been an issue as the original completion date was for December 2008, and all funds would have been drawn down well within the 2 years.  Unfortunately there has been a one year delay in the construction (one of the contractors went under) so we have yet to draw down the good few thousand euro remaining in respect of the other furnishings payment.  I did question whether it was right that the bank was basing my repayments and interest on money I had yet to draw but to be fair it is in their written terms.  What is also in their terms however is that if the remaining funds are not needed, I can ask the bank to reduce my mortgage accordingly and they will do so at their discretion.  So it would be nice to know either way!

As regards what the bank will loan on, they were aware that the purchase price quoted to them included a substantial sum for furnishings, fitments and equipment.  In calculating the 80% loan offer, the bank only excluded the VAT element on those furnishings, fitments and equipment, and allowed the HT value.  I think this exclusion was because they know that it is a common stipulation in Residence de Tourisme commercial leases that the Lessor (i.e me) must be VAT resistered, so that the contractor (via me or my accountants) can reclaim the VAT on the build, so reducing the cost.  They will therefore also know that I can reclaim the VAT on the Furnishings, etc so they won't loan on it.  I was led to believe by the mortgage broker that at least in mortgages taken out on RDTs including the furnishings is acceptable, maybe this is because the 9 year commercial lease on the apartment obliges the holiday company to repair, maintain and replace to keep everything to a good standard?

You made an interesting point at the end of your post regarding whether this is the developers way of offsetting the furnishing cost against the overall cost, but given what I've said above about the banks' willingness to lend on this element, I think that is unlikely.  Either I will get a bill in the next month or I won't, if its the latter it will be a case of me judging when it would be safe to ask the bank to reduce my mortgage accordingly!  Sorry that's been longwinded.....  

[New Leasebacks - Payments for Furniture - Any experience?]

Hi, I have a bit of a conundrum and wondered if anyone out there has experience which might enlighten me.  We bought an off-plan leaseback from Lagrange in 2007, and signed a contract for the furnishings and equipment with a sister company of Lagrange (same business address).  The furnishings contract stated that the total amount (an unfeasibly inflated sum) was payable when the acte authentique was signed.  The notification letter from the notaire in fact asked only for half the amount due for furnishings, and this was duly paid to him along with deposit, fees, etc when the acte was signed in mid 2007.  A few days later we received a pro-forma invoice from the furnishing company with an apparent nil balance to pay on it.  Since then staged payments have been made for the building, and the residence is due to be completed imminently.  We have now received notification that we owe no more for the building itself, and even though the residence is very close to opening for business, we have yet to be asked for the remaining half of the furniture costs.

What I am wondering and hope others who have bought a similar off-plan leaseback in the past might be able to tell me is whether the furniture companies do tend to bill very late for the remaining amount owed, or have we been lucky and either the notaire or the furniture company has slipped up in some way back in 2007 and we are thought to have paid in full.  The importance to me is that currently I am paying both capital and interest back to our french bank on a mortgage on the property which includes the remaining amount for furnishings still to be drawn down.  I would love of course to tell them that in fact I don't need that money after all, so reducing my outstanding mortgage and payments accordingly, but would hate to do this prematurely, only to find that the furniture company come knocking on my door a few months down the line.  I know all will likely become clear in the fullness of time, but any insight or experience would be valued and of great interest, thank you.   

[french property deeds]

Hi, the original post prompted a thought that we hadn't received any copy of the Acte D'Authentique or Deed of adoption of 'La Communaute Universelle' following the purchase of an off-plan apartment in July 2007. More importantly, my french accountant also pointed out that the notaire owed us 950 euros as they had overestimated legal fees at the time of the purchase (something which is very common - apparently). It was only when I wrote (recorded delivery) pointing these various things out that I received both the paperwork and the 950 euros.

I think it is important to at least have a copy of what you have signed (or was signed by proxy on your behalf) for your records, but the 950 euros was what really surprised, delighted but also slightly irritated me. I wonder when or indeed if we would have received that money had I not asked for it and not had an on-the-ball accountant who told me about it.

I wonder how many other unsuspecting souls are actually owed money by notaires, never mind any paperwork! Might be worth people checking that out.

[UK Revenue & Customs NDO Deadline approaches (New Disclosure Oportunity)]

Surely this is only relevant if you have failed to declare savings interest or other taxable foreign assets in previous tax years. If like me you will be correctly declaring your first foreign savings interest on the 2009 UK tax return, there is no need to do any other than file the return online by 31st January like anyone else?

[UK tax treatment of French TVA?]

Thanks for the useful advice.  The irritating thing is that in France the aquisition costs of a commercial property (legal fees, mortgage set up fees, stamp duty equivalent, etc)  are allowable against income tax, hence initially I made a significant loss to offset against future income.  I have only just started receiving income from the lease, so to date and for the foreseeable future I won't actually pay tax in France, merely reduce the loss to carry forward.  In the UK however, aquisition costs are only allowable against capital gains tax, so I will be hit for UK income tax against all net income from the french venture.  I won't have any french income tax to offset against it, even though the income has indeed been taken into account by the impots in France.  I will likely write to HMRC to clarify the position, but if anybody has any experience or knowledge of this type of situation I would be grateful for it.  Ultimately any liability is likely to be fairly small, but like everyone else, I don't want to pay any more than is necessary.  Also, has anyone got an answer regarding which exchange rate to use on expenditure in my original post?  Many thanks again.

[UK tax treatment of French TVA?]

Hi, I am UK resident and have a leaseback property in France.  I receive the rental payments for the apartment from Lagrange with 5.5% TVA added.  Part of the lease stipulated that I must be registered for TVA in France, so I am, and as such pay TVA over to the Impots on rent received and claim back TVA paid on any costs, e.g. accountancy bills, etc.

On my French tax return (completed by my english speaking French accountant) I declare the income and expenditure net of TVA, presumably as the TVA is dealt with separately.  I am not VAT registered in the UK and have no reason to be.  The question is, when I am declaring my French income and expenditure on my UK return, should I use figures net of TVA (as on my French return) or with TVA included?  I suspect it is the latter, but being VAT registered in one country and not the other makes the situation a little unusual.  If I must declare the income and expenditure to HMRC with TVA included, can I then offset any net TVA payments in France against UK income tax charged on my French profits?   

One final question, I know that regarding income received, you must use the exchange rate in force on the day you received payment to convert euros to pounds for tax purposes.  With expenditure, do you use the date on the bill, the date you make payment, or can you choose between them?  Sage advice would as always be most appreciated.  

[Time limit for fixed speeding camera offences in France?]

Hi, when I was over in France in late October, I was flashed by an under-bridge fixed speed camera on the A40 near Chamonix.  I was probably doing about 100kph in a 90kph limit, driving a swiss hire car, and of course I'm not proud of the fact that I was going too fast.

I am expecting that a demand for a 90 euros (?) fine will wing its way to me in the UK eventually, via Avis in Switzerland, but I just wondered if there is a statutory time limit for issuing speeding tickets in France as there is in the UK?  It would be useful to know when I can let out my breath!  Thanks in advance for any information.  

  

[Ce or Il for it. Are they interchangeable?]

Hi, I have been brushing up my French using the Michel Thomas advanced course and in it he tells off one of the students for using il instead of ce for it.  My school French is a dim and distant memory, but I'm sure that when I was taught back then il used to be used quite frequently as an informal substitute for ce, much like informal English when we say 'She's a bit cold today', when referring to the weather, etc.  Am I mistaken about this, and if not, in what circumstances is il acceptable (or not acceptable) as a substitute or alternative for ce.  Many thanks as always. 

P.S.  I should have said that I know that to use il in phrases such as Il pleut, il est (for time) and Il faut, are fine 

 

[hydrocoritsone ointment]

Hi, as there is no need for Hydrocortisone ointment (or cream) to be sterile, there is no need to bin it after a month.  Just go by the expiry date on the tube and you won't go wrong.  Trust me, I've been prescribing the stuff for the last 20 years, and it remains both safe and potent for a considerable time.  Hope that helps.

[Double Taxation Query]

Hi, thanks for that. So are you saying that the accountant made an error in declaring it on my french return? If so, I will need to make sure that in the future I don't tell her about savings interest earned in France, though the numbers are always likely to be very small.

Further related to this thread however, I also made 700 euro profit from rental income in france in 2008, but again this was simply offset against 2007 losses by th French tax authorities. Should I also be declaring this 700 euro in the UK or is this not necessary. If I do need to declare it in the UK, once more there is the issue of whether any tax has been paid notionally on this income already in France and what I should therefore say to the UK tax authorities. Any further advice would be most welcome?