In France there are two property taxes to pay – Taxe d’Habitation and Taxe Foncière – both are forms of a council tax. The Taxe Foncière is payable by property owners – whether they live in the property or not. The Taxe d’Habitation is payable by the residents of the property – whether they own [...]
There are two property taxes to pay when you have a French property – the Taxe Foncière and the Taxe d’Habitation. The Taxe Foncière is the responsibility of the owners of a property. The Taxe d’Habitation is the responsibility of the occupiers of a property – whether they own or rent. Payment of the Taxe [...]
Property auctions in France are not as popular as in the UK or US – in fact a very small percentage of properties are bought and sold in this way. The majority of property deals are through estate agents (immobilliers) or Notaires – lawyers who are authorised to conduct conveyancing law in France. Auctions [...]
There are different types of auction in France and one of the lesser known variations is the candle auction – in French “vente à la bougie” or “vente à la chandelle”. This form of auction is unique to France and has been in use since the 15th Century. The purpose of this form of auction [...]
the role of the Notaire in France is critical to several aspects of daily life. A Notaire is a legal specialist who is self-employed but has public authorityand is vested with the privileges of official authority which he or she receives from the State. A Notaire is a public officer who will operate in [...]
When you’re considering buying the home you’ve dreamed of in France there are a lot of decisions to make before you commit, here are a few things to think about: Location of your house in France Most people visit an area in the summer months for a short period of time and decide that it [...]
After all the excitement of searching, you find the house of your dreams in France and its time to go ahead and buy. In France, buying a property can mean paying quite high fees – anything from 4% to 10% and more often than not its the higher figure. There are also the legal fees [...]
Situated in the heart of Montreuil-sur-Mer, about an hour’s drive from Calais port and 15 kms from Le Touquet, we feature this month – the Hôtel de France and Relais du Roy restaurant. The joint hotel and restaurant business is situated on the original London to Paris coaching route and dates back to 1578. It [...]
How to Search for a property in France As elsewhere, looking for your perfect French property can be achieved with the help of an Estate agent, or property finder. You can also buy via a Notaire (lawyer) – the advantage to this being that there is no buyer’s fee as with an estate agent, the [...]
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Well, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that the sheep across the road has gone to the great pasture in the sky. When I bought my house nine years ago it came with a sheep! The lady who owned the house before me had let the man across the road [...]
The allure of the good life in France and the charms of the beautiful town of Beziers ensnared British expat Mark Binmore who runs the highly successful Maison de l’Orb, a beautiful B&B. Mark told us that he lived in London since the early 1990s, worked as a pub landlord for several breweries, is the [...]
Expats in France Donna and Dave Faulkner fell in love with Deux-Sevres in the Poitou-Charentes region when they visited friends who lived there. When Dave was unexpectedly offered a job – they said goodbye to Britain and jumped head first into life in France in their new home which needed a bit of renovation as [...]
British expat Sue Aitken lives in south west France and runs Blackhen Education – a business that she set up after planning to move to Spain to be a teacher. She and her partner travelled through France on their way to jobs and a life in Spain but they fell in love with [...]
How two Brits met and changed their lives with a move to France… Chris was a veteran of 30 years in the Metropolitan police, running his own outdoor activity business specializing in mountain biking, walking and climbing, father to three grown-up children and mentor to many more. Charlotte was a classic single “Social Butterfly”, [...]
I was recently asked to write about expats in France, people who leave their homes in all areas of the world to go to France to live. I thought back over the years about the many expats I’ve met, interviewed (I am a journalist not just a crazy person going round firing questions at [...]
It’s good to know some things stay the same When my mother bought her holiday house in northern France 35 years ago, I had no idea how large a part this lovely country was going to play in my life. I was eleven at the time, and simply enjoyed the trips across the Channel [...]
As you might know by now, I cannot resist a French flea market and the one I went to on Sunday on my French countryside jaunt was particularly small and not great but on the last stall in the road there was a cage with a cockerel. The sign said “Cockerel Nagasaki €5.00”. The [...]
