scoobie Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 hello all forumites. ive been going to france on and off for about 25 years, my parents owned prperty in the perpignan and Argeles Sur Mer area but came back to UK 5 years ago. we have two girls, one at uni and the other going in 18 months time. we've just spent christmas in Val D'Isere skiing and loved the area etc. on coming back to UK ive been informed of a studio with small garden for sale (not in Val D'isere) and am very tempted, we would be able to use/rent it out during the summer as well as using it for skiing in winter. It is part of the bigger plan because when the younger girls goes to uni we would love to have a few of these rentals, move out there and run them from there. my hubbie gets an army pension that would feed us sufficiently each month so would need to earn enough for day to day living costs etc. the problem is that we will have to remortgage the house to do so - also neither of us speak french but german!! (we cant find anything for sale in Bavaria)On the other hand we've been invited to buy a part share in a condo in Florida, 8 minutes from the beach which we can use for one month of the year. it is a new build and will be sold after 10 years with each of us taking our profit. we can afford to do this because we have the downpayment and then have to pay a certain amount each month. we would not have to remortgage the house and dont have to learn another language.the problem is we all love skiing, france is closer, we can take the dog - need i continue?? i think i know what i want to do but the reality of it is frightening. can you persuade me? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tenniswitch Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 [quote user="scoobie"]hello all forumites. ive been going to france on and off for about 25 years, my parents owned prperty in the perpignan and Argeles Sur Mer area but came back to UK 5 years ago. we have two girls, one at uni and the other going in 18 months time. we've just spent christmas in Val D'Isere skiing and loved the area etc. on coming back to UK ive been informed of a studio with small garden for sale (not in Val D'isere) and am very tempted, we would be able to use/rent it out during the summer as well as using it for skiing in winter. It is part of the bigger plan because when the younger girls goes to uni we would love to have a few of these rentals, move out there and run them from there. my hubbie gets an army pension that would feed us sufficiently each month so would need to earn enough for day to day living costs etc. the problem is that we will have to remortgage the house to do so - also neither of us speak french but german!! (we cant find anything for sale in Bavaria)On the other hand we've been invited to buy a part share in a condo in Florida, 8 minutes from the beach which we can use for one month of the year. it is a new build and will be sold after 10 years with each of us taking our profit. we can afford to do this because we have the downpayment and then have to pay a certain amount each month. we would not have to remortgage the house and dont have to learn another language.the problem is we all love skiing, france is closer, we can take the dog - need i continue?? i think i know what i want to do but the reality of it is frightening. can you persuade me?[/quote]Speaking as a Floridian, this is not a good time to be investing in property in Florida unless you are very risk-tolerant. Prices in some areas are expected to drop considerably due, in part, to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wen4699 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 We've just sold up in Florida at a bad time, due to exchange rate!! to follow our dream in France. But I disagree that it is a bad time to buy - there are great deals to be made. Our agent over there told us that if you get a buyer hold on to them with your arms, teeth and legs so as not to loose them - because they have soooooo much choice. Plus as a UK buyer the exchange rate is excellent.A few cautionary notes if you go ahead with the Florida idea - there are many insurances to pay i.e.Flood, hurricane and wind and general property insurance (contents may not be covered unless it is occupied more than 6 months of the year). And as we found, an insurance company can drop you on renewal for no reason at all even if you have never made a claim and then you have to hunt high and low for someone else to cover you (this happened to us twice in 13 years). You will probably need to budget for maintenance e.g. general house maintence, lawn cutting, sprinklers maintenance,pool maintence (if there is one) etc.When selling your property in Florida you will find that being a foreigner the government will withhold 15% of any profit made (there appears to be no sliding scale on the length of time you have owned the property relating to Capital Gains tax, as in UK) whilst they sort out how much you owe. For this you will need to employ a Florida taxman to deal with (not cheap). Notary fees for signatures on official forms in UK are not cheap - which is probably the way you will have to do it if selling your Florida dream all the way back in England. All paperwork has to notarised (very cheaply done IN Florida) so you will need to budget for this (£150 a throw).All of this on top of 6 - 7 % estate agent fees.We had a wonderful time in Florida spending a weeks out there every year - would we go out there on holiday again - yes, would we OWN a property out there again - no.Sorry, I don't want to paint a bleak picture but they never tell you about the things tat turn a great deal into an expensive white elephant in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kitty Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 You do have to consider the cost of getting to your second home. Driving to Val d'Isere is easy-ish and, as you said, you can take your dog - but check out the threads on how to get a dog passport - so you avoid kennel fees and that anxiety feeling that you shouldn't really be leaving your dog there. Also, you will be able to stay in France for longer than Florida. Summer in the Alps is lovely.Others will be able to comment about living in France with no French skills. I should assume that in Val D'Isere, English would be a second language? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scoobie Posted January 12, 2008 Author Share Posted January 12, 2008 thanks for your messages so far, one or two things i didnt mention - i am a teacher so get all the school holidays (while this is good it also means i can only go away in the more expensive school holiday) the florida property is being spearheaded by an english company - and while we would only pay our cleaning, electricity bills etc for the percentage share that we own, we didnt know about the tax etc. this is apparently a sure thing - we are guaranteed our profit at the end (should this be a warning to us - i dont know)with regard to our dog - shes quite used to staying in our local kennels which just happen to be owned by a friend and with the girls around at the moment she could stay at home if all else fails. we just feel so despondant about our country and the way it is run etc but need to make sure that we arent doing this just to swap one set of problems with another Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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