Lori

That is amazing Gardian. We have a Linky and so far haven't had problems. At the end of the contract calendar year, EDF will calculate the price for the coming year (monthly payment), based on the amount you used the previous year. You can, of course, disagree with that and make it what-ever you choose. You'll either pay at the end of the contract year or get a refund on any overpayment. Did the lady in question never get an annual review from her service provider? I watch our EDF usage online like a hawk. I know pretty much exactly what we spend each day. How much the laundry day costs, how much is used when we are not even in the house (vacation, etc.). I can't even fathom getting such a facture.

Kill them .... I can't even catch them.

Terrible creatures.

If you're referring to me Harnser, we thought the same thing. Dry as a bone all Summer here and riddled with mosquitoes. I saw a heaadline about it in the local news, but I didn't read the article.

I give everything the third degree. It is one of those things many people dislike about me. I also read every word of everything I sign. Another thing many people dislike about me. I don't have a large social circle. 🙂

Thank you Menthe. You are so right. If there is one thing we have learned as we have grown older is there is no such thing as perfection. And, that the world is over populated and there are too many loonies in it... 😁 We do feel very good about the house and the location. I'm sure there will be hurdles at some point, but we'll take them one step at a time. We will be very glad to get out of the rental life.

It has a Fosse and it does conform. Of all the many houses we have seen this one and only one other had fosse systems that actually have conform certifications (and current ones). All electrics are current. The house was built in 2006, so not too old. All windows are double glazed. All terrace doors have beautiful wood volets or volet roulants (recent). There is full insulation in the attic wall and floor. Oak beams on RDC and in the attic and chestnut floors throughout the attic. No signs of damp anywhere. We can easily see behind the washing machine in the buanderie - no signs of any damp anywhere. We did look at the water meter 3 times, no signs of any problem. Roof looks in excellent condition, no tiles broken or missing. The house is well above the 'damp course.' The large terrace off the back is also. All the visible construction is top quality. This builder of this house built all 3 of the houses in the immediate vicinity. Ours is the last one he built on this road. I am told he has a very good reputation and of all the houses we have seen - all over the place (including the more than 50 we've seen in the Vaucluse), this one looks the most solidly built and the most well maintained.

You can buy Apaisyl at any pharmacie. You don't need a prescription. Just ask for it. It works fairly well. 🙂

Oh thank you Menthe. That means a lot to me. The mairie, so far, has been amazing. The approval for the pool permit was very fast. Our real estate agent has been incredible. She lives 10kms from our house and knows everyone. She has been so helpful. We are prepared for a change of weather. Every house around ours has an in ground pool, so I presume they weather allows them to use it. Thank you for your post and I wish you continued good health.

Thank you Judith. We did monitor your area up until the last minute. Prices kept creeping up. Even Carcassonne prices were creeping up. This house is 140m2 with 5000m2 of terrain (beautiful terrain too, with fantastic views over the green, rolling hills - no houses in sight). There are other houses on the same street, but all have a good bit of land, several have a huge bit of land. So, we can't really see each other. We could never afford that in most of the areas we were monitoring. The house was built in 2006 and was only sold to its first owners (the ones we are buying from) in 2012. They bought it as a second home and kept it impeccably maintained with all factures, etc. They rarely every used it, which is why it looked brand new when we walked in. We could never afford this same house in any other areas we were considering. And it was rather a fluke that we ended up seeing it anyway. Slightly long story that I won't bore you with, but it rather seemed meant to be.

No, we have been renting for the last few years with the goal of buying in the Vaucluse. It just got far too expensive here and the weather patterns have become much more severe (Summer/Winter). Thank you for the well wishes. We were just informed that our Demande for a permit to build a pool has been approved. So far, so good.

We had to buy a tonnelle and add mosquito netting around it just to be able to sit outside in the Cour. When I go out there to clean up leaves, etc. I ALWAYS get bitten. Usually multiple times. Maddening.

Thank you very much.

We're back from our exploring trip. We saw many homes in the region around Brive. You can most certainly get a lot more for your money there than here in the Vaucluse. The house we found would be a minimum of 500,000€ in the Vaucluse. No question about it. The region was/is really very pretty. We had never been to the Correze. We were surprised by the endless rolling hills. Very pretty, very green, even though they too were on a level Red drought crisis. We ended up also looking in the Dordogne close to the limit with the Correze. That is where we ended up finding a lovely house. We had not been to the Dordogne in more than 20 years. We loved it at that time, but never would have dreamed we'd end up living there. We're very pleased about it. Hopefully, all will go as anticipated with the purchase. Acte should be signed around the end of November, unless something puts a snag in that. This will be our LAST move. 🏡

Thank you so much for doing that Menthe. I figure an annual maintenance on the VMC will fall in line with the annual rammonage and heating system maintenance. We don't do any of that ourselves.

Thank you all. Good to know about cleaning the ventilation grills Lehaut. That is what I was trying to figure out. Some of the data I read implied that a professional cleaning of the actual tube/ducts was required. If so, I am not clear on how often that would be needed.

We experienced pretty much the same as Gardian this year. Just WAY too hot, for far too long. And now, it is chilly. As I have said before, it seems as if Spring and Fall have disappeared from the Vaucluse. Our neighbors expressed the same thoughts. We may get a week or 10 days of Spring or Fall weather, but really that is about it. And the scenery on walks or when you head out on the road round here is of dry, terribly thirsty vegetation. A huge amount of which is totally dead from thirst. Not a pretty sight. Tourists were everywhere up to the return to school. Somewhat less now. Mainly the die hard Dutch with their camping cars. Also rarely see a Gecko this year. What we have seen is FAR FAR FAR more mosquitoes... Damn them !

Thank you Menthe et al, There are two very good sized windows in the upper floor. They will allow a cross wind for the upper floor.

Interesting. Thanks for the replies.

Thank you Wooly. Sounds like you might have the VMC Double Flux. I'm fairly sure the one we are looking at is Single Flux.

Thank you. I too have searched them to see how they operate, so I get that. It just isn't totally clear to me how often and in what way maintenance is carried out on them. No, I don't think I would install such a thing, but we are looking at a house that has the system already installed. Just wanting to know how to maintain it. Of course, I will ask the owners of the house. Just thought someone on here might have one and know the answer.

ventilation mécanique contrôlée (VMC) I'm trying to understand what type of maintenance they require. We've never had one before. I've read up and I 'think' I understand the difference between a VMC Simple and VMC Double (requiring more maintenance). I read that the system should be cleaned twice per year. Anyone know if this is true? Is this something that can be done by us or does this require a professional to clean the vents? Thanks for any tips/advice.

Terrible. Is the cause of the fire known?

I'm already experiencing the 'real' France.

Excellent advice. Houses on terraced land is another.