Ma Baggins

We have a holiday home in Orne.  currently the entrance gate is directly opposite the front door and it is a shallow front grass garden so we have to double shuffle to to get off the lane to get round onto the grass behind the front hedge and i am also concerned we end up parking our mini bus on top of the fosse. As our plot is very wide and there is much more land to the side of the property it would make more sense to have access at this corner so we can drive straight onto the side of the house and miss the fosse as well. My question is do we need any permission for removing a section of our hedge to put a gate way in?  We do not curently plan to put hardstanding down as we will leave it to grass.  If we do what permission do we need. Our property is on a narrow single track serving the tiny hamlet.  Please note it will be spotted what we do as the Marie secretary lives on the same lane, so I do not want to get anything wrong.  My french is not good enough to ask the questions at the marie and understand the answer(which is porbaly more to the point). thanks Ann

I have had my flex account for years and i ended up with a card reader and all the hassle for online transfers.  My OH opened a flex account 4 months ago including online banking and he has not got a reader nor do his transactions require him to use one.  Bugs me to hell as it is so much quicker not to use it.

Having read that so many of you tend to use Nationwide accounts for changing sterling to Euro's to spend or pay into your french accounts. Plus that the exchange rate would appear to be the same as you get from an FX. Unless you choose to fix a rate with an FX.  A spot transfer would be just the same as a Nationwide swift transfer costing £20 and in my mind be a simple way forward. Or have I missed something - i am new to all this and have not yet got a french acount as just purchasing my first french property.   

It is in southern Basse Normandie, nearest town is Carrouges.  I must be mad we had one viewing trip and i fell for this house and visited it 3 times while we were there, none of the others felt right. I have seen it at it probable at its worst.  We woke up to snow so it was very pretty, but very cold and while viewing it was beginning to melt so was very very wet and with no gutters we got wet going in and out of the house!!  Yet to see it on a warm sunny day so it can only get better. But i cannot wait, I hope to have it for Easter.

I have just had my Compromis through, so i thought i would update what has been used on it in my case.  It is all in the name I currently use (my partners, that i changed too with a home done Change of Name Deed). It states my birth name and it does referance that I was divorced, but does not show that name.  It quotes my passport number which i presume is being used to prove my current name, as the sellers are english and their passport numbers are not quoted.  

Thank you  all. I have signed the Compromis as from all your comments it is not worth negotiating further.  We were aware the electrics were 'odd' to our standards but this report seems to indicate some of our feelings were correct.  

I have just received the results of the house searches on the property we are buying along with the compromis to sign. A french friend has looked at them and highlighted the issues they show but she knows nothing of electrical regulations and has not bought in france herself. (we are in england) The searches have shown on the electrical search that there are some anomales which are then detailed the main ones of these are:- there are several referance to there not being an earth that there is no protection by a 30mA circuit breaker and 'l'ensemble des socles de prise de courant n'est pas de type a obturateur. - unsure what this is there are electrical items too close to the shower area of the bathroom (I am aware the water heater is at the end of the bath which the shower is over and there is a socket level with the back of the bidet) The asbestos survey showed possible asbestos in the wall and post cement and the roof tiles did contain asbestos. My querry is do we sign the compromis knowing this or do we ask for the electrical abnomalies to be rectified or can we reduce what we pay so we can sort these problems? Not sure sure which way we go with the knowledge from these surveys. I can supply the original french if this would help someone in advising us what we should do. HELP. 

thank you all that was all good to know.  I think I will try and persaude the agent to accept my passport and Decree Absolute while keeping my fingers crossed.  I have now found a photo copy of my marraige certificate I took before the court had it.  No doubt it will all sort out in the end.

Hi My offer has just been accepted on a property in Normandy, apart from now I need a bank account in France and sort out the best way to transfer money.  I also have been asked for my marraige certificate (plus the usual birth certificate etc).  I am divorced so I no longer hold this as i now have my Decree Absolute.  Do i need to get a replacement copy or do I just need my Decree Absolute as it details when and where i got married? Another thought is will i have a problem with my Change of Name Deed, that i also need to supply, as it is not a deed pole.  The deed has been accepted by the pasport office but it has not official mark on it or anything as it is something you can do without the cost of a solicitor or court. Thanks Ann