FabSwingers.com forum: Buying in France

By *orny98 OP Man
over a year ago

Stratford upon Avon

Hi folks live in the uk but looking to buy in the south of France preferably between the beaches and the mountains, looking for something run down if possible so can be done up to our own spec, just looking advice on what areas / villages might be a good choice xx

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Hi folks live in the uk but looking to buy in the south of France preferably between the beaches and the mountains, looking for something run down if possible so can be done up to our own spec, just looking advice on what areas / villages might be a good choice xx"

I assume your looking at the Med as opposed to Atlantic? Do a search for flood zones!

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By *orny98 OP Man
over a year ago

Stratford upon Avon

The med preferably

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By *orny98 OP Man
over a year ago

Stratford upon Avon

Thanks for the advice on flood zones didn’t realise how serious it is over there, great factor to take into consideration. Thank you x

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By *edonistsatplayCouple
over a year ago

Portsmouth, North Brittany, France

Not sure if FAB will allow the web address in full, but have a look at leboncoin dot fr.

Just select your area, 'Maisons' and your price range

A lot of French folk advertise privately on it and a few of the estate agents do too.

Be ware that not all the listings include the notaires fees though.

have fun!

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By *orny98 OP Man
over a year ago

Stratford upon Avon

Thanks guys will take a look xx

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By *esFranceMan
over a year ago

France

Or do the cheap option of a mobile home on a residential campsite Gives you all you need to buy a car have a French bank account then you can really look round to find your perfect place ? not everyone's cup of tea but great place to start also a lot depends on your level of the French lingo ???

take care and have fun Les XxxX

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Try a long term let first in your chosen area

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By *exy BeckyCouple
over a year ago

Bergerac, France

"Try a long term let first in your chosen area "

This is our advice to anyone thinking about settling here.

Without a doubt, it's a huge gamble to buy in an area if you are not familiar with it.

We initially rented a house in a village that we thought we knew. Having lived there, we realised that it would have been wrong to have bought in that village and could have cost us a lot of money by moving on.

It works for a lot of people, but it's still a gamble.

And just one more word of warning....

Termites....!

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By *rightonfranceMan
over a year ago

brighton - chalais france

Termite reports come with a property when you are looking at it but make sure it has a recent one..

However what I would say is make sure whatever you do here is to ensure that you have a renewable income, a niche product to sell or can find work as whatever nest egg you come over with soon runs out..

The dordogne is full of fellow brits but if you look around the other areas of the Charente, Charente maritime or gironde you may find a nicer property cheaper.

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By *otlovefun42Couple
over a year ago

Costa Blanca Spain...

"Try a long term let first in your chosen area "

This is always the advice we give to people who ask us about buying in Spain and I would think that France is no different.

Better to spend a years rental money than splash a fortune in the wrong place.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Some good advice given but sometimes not as easy as it seems.

Renting -(based on our experience in 2013). In order to rent via an agent you need a social security number - the agent takes an insurance policy out in the event you default. From November - March the landlord cannot throw you out - even if you don't pay! A private rental with another Brit etc is your probable route.

Registration - register with your local impot (tax office) - if your coming after brexit you will also need to register with the prefecture and get a carte de sejour (temporary) - you will need translations by an authorised court approved translator. Birth, marriage and any UK pension income. It's a legal requirement to submit a French tax return each year that you are here.

Health - apply for a carte vitale - if your working your employer will help. If your coming on an S1 - retired and getting UK state pension (depends if this continues after brexit), but you will have the same cover as a French national - you pay 30% of the bill. You can take a "mutual" - top up insurance.

Work - if your employed no problem it's sorted. If your self employed you need to have at least 2 clients. The business activity must be registered with impot and also chamber of commerce. Every business in France is required to have business insurance code civil responsibility. Public liability in short. Get an accountant as it's complex. That's assuming you want to be legal here in France. There are several types of self employed - But your probably looking at micro enterprise.

Well that's enough to keep you busy for awhile - learn French is a very good idea.

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By *orny98 OP Man
over a year ago

Stratford upon Avon

Great advice folks really appreciated, it would be more of a holiday home for the time being not looking to relocate yet, as I’m a developer I’m looking on location really somewhere that isn’t to quite which is upmarket if possible and somewhere that isn’t to far from the beaches and mountains, thanks again guys xx

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By *ala1956Man
over a year ago

Cross Hands

Buy a Motorhome ,plenty of places to stop overnight or longer ,you can then check out all the places you might like without being under pressure .

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

"Great advice folks really appreciated, it would be more of a holiday home for the time being not looking to relocate yet, as I’m a developer I’m looking on location really somewhere that isn’t to quite which is upmarket if possible and somewhere that isn’t to far from the beaches and mountains, thanks again guys xx"

Ah ok different rules then!

If you want upmarket and close to the action suggest the "MARAVAL" area of Cap d'Agde - you will get a nice villa or house for about 500,000€. If you buy an apartment here you will buy the freehold but it's known as co-propriety. That is You and all the other owners own the building "joint and severally". You engage a syndic to manage the building and pay a maintenance charge to them. Be careful you need to know if the syndic has problems - high ratio of debt or maintenance problems (concrete cancer for example). You are required to have insurance in force prior to completion of the purchase - this will also give you code civile responsabilitie - a legal requirement here. Allow an extra 10% to cover legals etc.

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By *exy BeckyCouple
over a year ago

Bergerac, France

You could have saved the time a lot of people if you had given the full circumstances in your first post...

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By *rightonfranceMan
over a year ago

brighton - chalais france

so basically its a maison secondaire you're looking for.. It would have given us a better chance to offer advice if you'd said up front what you were really looking for.

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By *elaxchillcuMan
over a year ago

cheshire

Has anyone purchased a mobile home in Rene Oltra was hoping to take our motorhome for the season 2019 before taking the plunge .motorhome is great but want to explore the area in a car tried it this year on a motorcycle but not for us any advice appreciated thanks in advance

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Doing up a property will cost you as much, if not more than in the UK. You haven't the multitude of local builders merchants competing with each other. No free delivery and delivery can be very expensive.

It's a buyers market here and has been for many years. There are more properties for sale than purchasers. There are many expats looking to return to the UK. My advice is make a check list of what is imperative, what you can do yourself and what you will have to pay someone else to do. Refer to the list for every property that you look at once you have decided upon a location. Everything can change in a short distance.

Unless you can do the work yourself, try not to go for a renovation.

Look for a property that has everything that you need. You'll be surprised the bargains that are out there.

If you want a pool (taxes will be higher for an in ground pool and I've heard that there is consideration being given to raising more funds by taxing above ground pools) buy the property that has one. It will likely cost you €25000 for an in ground one plus terracing, but a new one will only add €10000 to the value.

Taxes are also higher for second home owners.

Good luck.

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