Property advice.

Post by **Longdog** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 1:34 pm

Hi all, are there any Morris owners with good tips on buying a property in France?

Post by **ani** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:10 pm

Winner of the last picture challenge was ladysister - might be worth a pm - they/he/she lives in Brittany - obviously not sure if British or French.

I expect there will be others to offer you advice on this one.

Post by **Longdog** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 2:36 pm

Have sent PM thanks.More advice would be welcome too.

Post by **MarkyB** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:27 pm

Wait till the exchange rate improves

.

Post by **Alec** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 6:36 pm

Hello longdog,

it is not very much different than buying a U.K. property. There are some differences in law, and I think once you make an offer it cannot be retracted.

We bought and sold a few years later a small holiday flat and had no problems at all. The notaire didn't speak English however so that could be an issue for you, our estate agent fortunately did the necessary translations.

Alec

Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:32 pm

alec is correct once you have made an offer it can not be retracted and likewise once an offer is accepted it can not be retracted.

make sure you know all the taxes habitation / council etc etc when doing your sums. when buying you will also pay an estate agents fee.

opening a french bank account can be fun.. after all they are doing you a favour by looking after your money after all!

where abouts are you looking my mother in law lives in normandy

Post by **Alec** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 7:45 pm

Hello Longdog,

"opening a french bank account can be fun"

That reminds me, we used Credit Agricole but they have a section called Britline which we found very good. You get the normal cheque book and debit cards which can be used to get cash from the cash points. Access on line or by telephone with English speaking (and British staff as well) staff. Mortgages etc available.

Alec

Post by **aupickup** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:07 pm

quite right an offer can not be retracted and the seller must sell once the offer has been accepted , only in exeptional circumstances cann the buyer opt out

also remember sur le table can you save you a lot of money

also check out inheritance laws of france as well

Post by **Longdog** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 8:28 pm

Thanks for helpful info we are hoping to eventually move to Brittany.The ultimate place would be around Concarneau but we may have to be less ambitious about location and opt for the centre Monts D'Arree region around Carhaix.The aim is to renovate a basket case as I have a fair amount of experience in this field, though not with roofless places admitedly.
We'll go with Credit Agricole though.I am assuming that we cannot get a mortgage at this time so we may take a while to renovate.

Post by **britany** » Mon Jul 13, 2009 10:36 pm

Hello Longdog
Good choice

PM sent
Dan

Post by **Longdog** » Tue Jul 14, 2009 8:12 am

Thanks Dan for info v useful.PM sent.

Post by **mick64** » Sat Aug 01, 2009 6:40 pm

Longdog wrote:The aim is to renovate a basket case as I have a fair amount of experience in this field, though not with roofless places admitedly.

Mine had only three walls...

is that basket case enough....

I found the process of buying [via internet] tres simple ,connection of water/electic etc was a bit harder....

Living here now and I have no regrets ...

Bon courage...

Post by **Longdog** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 5:58 pm

Hi Mick, thanks for reply and encouragement.We are waiting to sell and will be buying something a little more than just 4 walls hopefully.We had a slight change of plan and basically want to be en France by next spring.The plan now is to buy a property in the next few months that is habitable.
I will be "commuting" two weeks on, two weeks off as I run my own business here and don't want to give it up.
Are you in Brittany?
Any advice you can offer about the buying process would be good.
How do you get on with the Morris in terms of insurance etc?
Are there any parts that are no no areas.
Sorry for all the questions.

Post by **mick64** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:09 pm

Hi

I am a bit lower down near Saintes/la rochelle...

The minor is still a basket case also ,but I have a rhd 1976 vw ,it was quite simple to register it in France ,changing the headlights ,getting a certificate of conformity and a ct [mot] ,new reg plates in france means you can move about and not keep registering you vehicle to different areas...Insurance in France is very easy ,even a broker will make up insurance even if you vehicle is not on the list and morris minor will not be...

tyres/parts are expensive in France...

I bought our house on a whim offered the vender 5 grand below if he pays all the legal fees ,he said yes...Later we found out it had been for sale for two years..

we kept in touch via internet with the estate agents ,they gave us a date to sign ,then we came and the deal was done...

We kinda just bought it to camp in the field ,one evening the misses said can you repair it ,I said probably [after 6 stellas]and we was at the builder merchant the next day...

There is lots of French forums

Like this

http://www.totalfrance.com/france/forum/index.php

I live here now ,the climate ,the kids learning french and mortgage free and the biggest house I have ever owned...

Post by **Longdog** » Sun Aug 02, 2009 9:56 pm

I take it you don't regret it then

Thanks for those tips and will keep you posted on how things go.I notice a lot of Breton properties have photos with no leaves on the trees so the same applies there with a deflated market.