DIY House renovations

[johnthewine]

I am planning to do some major renovation work including an extension on two properties I own in Departments 37 & 46.

In order to contain costs I would prefer to tackle as much of the work as possible myself with the aid of my nephew who is a builder in the UK (not French registered).

What actions do I & my nephew need to take to make the work a 'legal' job?

[wiskersnatch]

Hello.

Provided you are not working for payment for others you do not need to register.

You should know that if you are registered (or use a registered person) you can pay just 5% for materials as opposed to the 19 or so %.

as you seem to be doing this as a business (as opposed to a primary home) you need to know you may be liable for Capitol Gains Tax.  If this is so you can not offset your material costs but can offset the costs of employing registered artisans, including materials (even if they are you).  It may be worth registering just to buy materials.

There is lots more you need to understand and I can highly recommend this site as a place to ask the questions.  You need to know the questions to ask of course.

I do hope this little ntroduction helps you.  If you need any building advise I can help if you care to PM me.

[BIG MAC]

New work New work ..so good they named it twice?

[wiskersnatch]

[quote user="BIG MAC"]New work New work ..so good they named it twice?[/quote]

 

Nice one.  Sorry about that... my fingers are fat.[:D]

[AnOther]

Correct me if I'm wrong but do you not (theoretically at least) have to guarantee work for 10 years whether it be professional or DIY ?

An extract from THIS site (not renowned for being 100% correct 100% of the time [:'(])

"Renovation Insurance. It is now required that all completed renovation work be accompanied by a ten-year, insurance backed defects guarantee. What this means, in effect, is that whilst property owners may still do the work themselves, unless the renovations were carried out by a recognized professional, the insurance will likely not be available and may adversely affect the sell on value of the property."

 

[wiskersnatch]

[quote user="ErnieY"]

Correct me if I'm wrong but do you not (theoretically at least) have to guarantee work for 10 years whether it be professional or DIY ?

An extract from THIS site (not renowned for being 100% correct 100% of the time [:'(])

"Renovation Insurance. It is now required that all completed renovation work be accompanied by a ten-year, insurance backed defects guarantee. What this means, in effect, is that whilst property owners may still do the work themselves, unless the renovations were carried out by a recognized professional, the insurance will likely not be available and may adversely affect the sell on value of the property."

 

[/quote]

Only a registered Artisan can make that Gaurentee but if people buying are willing to forgoe that (forget the clause name) they may do so.

[bigears]

hi

In the original post, there was no mention of selling the houses.

[Nick Trollope]

They are your houses, John and you are allowed to do whatever you like, yourself...

Potential problems;

If you ever decide to sell the properties, you will be liable to all sorts of taxes (depending on a whole number of factors) and the cost of the work you do yourself is not deductable. Then again, nor are costs from registered Artisans in some circumstances.

If you are doing this for a business (and 2 houses would be regarded as a business), then you open a whole can of worms with the French tax authorities - speak to a good accountant.

Don't worry about TVA, it is impossible to get it back - so, 19.6%. Actually, not true. You can get it back, but then you must charge it on any sale or rental and be registered appropriately, with all that implies....

Your Nephew is an excellent builder, I'm sure, but he is not legal to work in France, even if you don't pay him. All building trades are regulated in France and he would not be able get any of the necessary (and mandatory) insurances without registration. You would also be putting your wealth and liberty at risk, if for example he hurt himself then the hospital would ask for your employee insurance - if you didn't have it, you would be expected to pay. French hospitals are expensive!

I know a couple of people who have tried to make a few € "developing property", just as we did in the UK. You can't. Simply too much regulation.

[BIG MAC]

Slightly off topic..If you have adjoining buildings which are convertable into another house is there scope to develop all as one then split at a later date and would this be advantageous for a private individual?

Hypothetically an adjoining suite of buildings is developed as private habitable space in a given year under Permis then later in the same year the developed section gets scheduled as an independent house in its own right...........overly complicated, Not thought out well enough, Is the Gentleman in the stripy shirt completely barking,  or wizard wheeze?,