Buying a holiday home in France

Hi,

We're looking to buy somewhere in France for up to about 140-150k (including taxes, fees etc). Mainly considering southern Brittany, somewhere fairly warm but driveable from the ferries, and not too far from the beach, where the kids will enjoy going to until they become surly teenagers. We're not really thinking about rentals, as between our families its likely to be used a fair bit during the year.

Has anyone out there any recent experience of doing similar (or know a website which answers some of the questions below)? We're interested in how people went about it (did they find places via the internet, or did they find estate agents and ask them what they had)? We're probably holidaying there this summer, so we'll have the opportunity to look around then, although may not be in a position to buy until a bit later.

We'd also be interested if anyone has an idea of the following;

a. What ARE the taxes and fees combined? Some sites suggest about 13k, some are more vague...
b. There seems a lot of properties needing renovation - is this a headache in rural France (our French is pretty OK, but sometimes we have difficulty letting Irish builders understand what we want!) and is it expensive?
c. A few talk of potential extensions etc, is there much red-tape getting planning permission in France (I suspect yes, but throught I'd ask ... ;-)
d. What sort of annual taxes and charges can we expect? I know most countries have some sort of local property tax, and some have a higher rate for holiday homes, is this the case in France? We're also wondering how much full year phone/TV/broadband is likely to cost.

Thanks for reading, any advice will be gratefully received!

Dearg

Hi dearg,

Taxes and fees combined should be between 5.5 and 10% of the value of the property. All of these fees are combined together as "Frais Notaires". The reason for the large spread in % is that part of the taxes is a mortgage tax which depends on the amount of mortgage registered against the property. If you are financing the purchase through a remortgage of property in Ireland the French will just view this as paying cash, as the mortgage tax only applies to mortgages registered against the French property.

With renovations etc in Brittany, check out www.angloinfo.com, due to the number of ex-pats living in France there is a mini industry of Irish, English and english-speaking builders etc to service the market. They tend to charge a premium for their services, but then again a lot of French builders will just take the mick out of a foreigner anyway. Ask for references before you commit to any builder over there.

Re extensions, all houses in France have what is known as a "cos". This is the exact size a house is allowed to be on a plot of land. So even though you may have the space to extend, you may not be allowed to. It's best to speak to the local agent when you view the property, and then talk to a local architect. All planning is handled through the local town hall, and even the smallest villages have their own town hall and Mayor.

France Telecom do combined tv, broadband and phone packages for 29.90 a month, if you want to get English TV it will cost your about 400 Euro for a dish and a sky box with various packages. As French TV will make your ears bleed and will leave you crying yourself to sleep at night, you might want to consider the 2nd option.

The two main taxes you will pay are Tax Foncier and Taxe d'Habitation, these are both set annually by the local town hall and vary from town to town and property to property. Ask the agent when you are viewing the property what the taxes and charges are.

Finally as regards buying the property, you will be much better off if you don't do it remotely. Pick an area, spend a couple of weeks bumbling around on holiday and go into the local agencies.

try this website,

www.bcdproperty.ie

Hi gaga / dearg,
I read on one of Sundays papers(Cant remember whether Indendent or Tribune) that the tax agreement between France and Ireland had changed recently and now CGT was only due @ 20% upon selling a property there as opposed to 20% here and 16% there which was the case until recently anyway. The source seemed to be ouicando.com and boasted that now was a great time to getin to the french market due to the tax changes. I have tried finding a backup to this info but have yet failed....