thinking french future Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 My apologies if this question has been asked before , can anyone give me a list of the various outgoings that I would incur if I owned a property in France . I am thinking of buying now whilst there may still be a bargain or two left as its impossible to buy anything in the UK . 1 -In GB we have the council tax bill based on two people .What is the French equivalent , does it depend on the region is there a scale ? . WHATS THE BEST WAY TO CHECK WHAT I MAY PAY WHILST BROWSING AT VARIOUS PROPERTY..2 Water / do they have meters and mains as we do , whats the charges ?3-What other charges do they hit you with .4- IF I bought a do up with a bit of land but didn’t finish the house for a year or two , would I have to pay anything on it as a council tax , if it had a bit of land would I pay for that as a tax as well WHILST NOBODY WAS IN THE HOUSE AS IT WAS BEING RENOVATED . Hope somebody has the answers , don’t be shy help a novice out ,Many thanks THINKING FRENCH FUTURE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaligoBay Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 1. There are two taxes for houses. Taxe foncière (owner tax). Taxe d'habitation (occupier tax). Ask the agent immobilier if the previous owner will tell you what they paid. Yours won't be exactly the same, but it will give you an idea, because they range from almost nothing a year to over 1000 euros a year, depending on area.2. Water. Ask when you're looking at the house. It may have a source of free water, but not necessarily potable. Mains water is likely to be metered, and charges vary around the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russethouse Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Welcome to the forum TFF, but just a 'heads up' - Could I ask you not to use caps please - in 'netiquette' terms it is considered to be shouting and a little rude, which may not help you get repliesGood luck with your quest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thinking french future Posted March 26, 2008 Author Share Posted March 26, 2008 SORRY , won't do it again . any other advice for me regarding my question . where would you start to look Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Avery Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Do a search of this Forum. The cost of living etc has been covered many times,. Then look at Taxe fonciere and taxe habitation,. A lot of the answers to your questions are already here in threads linked to those topics, go here for a starthttp://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/1170453/ShowPost.aspx When you have looked at all the threads, feel free come back with specific questions. However, if you are thinking of retiring here look at the Health issues topics as there are now rules about what you need to have to live in France. Good Luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gardian Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 As well as the good suggestions above, there are a number of publications available in good UK bookshops.'Buying a Home in France' and 'Living and Working in France', both by David Hampshire and published by Survival Books are probably as good as any. Around £12 each.Inevitably, there's some out-of-date and inaccurate information, but they should give you a lot of what you need as a starting point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyF Posted March 26, 2008 Share Posted March 26, 2008 Don't forget the cost of buildings insurance which is compulsory in France and also the standing charges for utilities.One of the two property taxes (can't remember whether it is habitation or fonciere) isn't payable if the house is certified by the Maire of your commune as uninhabitable during renovation, but if you stay in it while doing the work you have to pay all the taxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulT Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 We have found that the two taxes in France, for our property, are much lower than our UK property - about £450 compared with nearly £1,500.Our property has a water meter and the cost seems very reasnable, again compared with the UK.Our property, at present is a holiday home, and will be for a few more years due to changes in health regulations.If your property is to be a holiday home then if you just have heating set for when it gets very cold, i.e. a frost stat then heating should not be very expensive.A big cost will come in visiting the property. The so called cheap airline can be expensive at times - pays to book well in advance and avoid times such as Xmas and New Year. Plus you have car hire on top which has got more expensive.We find that a trip of a week or more is cheaper to drive, even though it is 750 miles. We do have a dog so taking her with us (which she loves) removes kennelling costs.However, it is a different way of life in France so you must make a credit for that.Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Taxe Fonciere and taxe d'habitation amounts depend very much on where you are: in cities you can end up paying in excess of 1200 € for each tax.RegardsPickles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 [quote user="Pickles"]Taxe Fonciere and taxe d'habitation amounts depend very much on where you are: in cities you can end up paying in excess of 1200 € for each tax.[/quote]We live just outside a small town and pay approx 600€ for each tax - but the taxe d'hab does include the TV licence!Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody234 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 apparantly they work out the tax fonc and tax d hab on the rental value of the house, mine is like 1400 euro a year for a 70m2 house in a hamlet, well 70m2 is a small house compared to all the others around my hamlet, and the others pay about 300euros, but i did fill out the H1 form 2 years ago, and before that it was 110 euro for both taxes, so best you dont fill one out if you ask me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Val_2 Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 Your income is also taken into account as well and details such as dependents or students in full time education etc which is why holiday homes often pay a lot more because they do not file french tax returns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maude Posted March 27, 2008 Share Posted March 27, 2008 We also pay for dustbin services-155 euros,then standing phone charges-32 eu for 2 months.water charges and supply-about 200 eu,standing charge for elec.but this depends on the supply kilowattage-the higher the supply,the more ya pays. car insurance aprox the uk amount but no car tax for the average car.MOT (equivalent) every 2 years-55euros.Income tax if resident.In fact, sorting out papers last night we found old bills for utilities and council tax uk 2002.not a great deal of different to what I am paying here--BUT using the 2002 figures.These have obviously increased a great deal-but we did have services/facilities.here we have no facilities in the semi rurals,apart from yearly ditch gouging to take away surface water.I wouldnt say the cost savings are anything to make such a major decision about. Then of course,there is the ongoing health debate,not exactly cheap,unless you are blessed with exceptional good health. Maude Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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