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Everything you always wanted to know about France |
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Issue 46, December 20 2000
1. My Mums Christmas Card
I am very proud of the Christmas card my Mum made and sent to
us, so I have put it on our site at ...
So you can all share it.
Merry Christmas Mum and Merry Christmas to you all.
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2. Buying Property in France
This is very simple, the seller agree to sell and the buyer
agrees to buy. You exchange a simple contract and a government
official, a Notaire, presides over the work for a fixed
percentage of the contract.
But - you must understand the system and ask the right
questions.
Our new Website and Magazine at...
Will be addressing all questions about Buying, Owning and
Renting property in France. The writers will be professionals in
their subjects and the aim is to keep it up-to-date and
accurate.
For example, some of the things you must consider when buying
property in France, this is just a quick list of thoughts from
Don Montague who will be contributing to the new Digest ...
- accepting an estimate for works which only mentions the
materials to be supplied - the artisan has up to 30 years in
which to allege that you haven't paid for the labour.
- buying a property next to a canal, not realising that there is
a legal right of way 6 metres wide down each side of most canals
in France.
- not establishing the precise situation regarding rights of way
and maintenance costs of any track, path or roadway passing
across your property or leading to it from the public road,
before signing ANYTHING.
- buying a property without checking that the physical
boundaries correspond to the boundaries in the cadastral
register - previous or neighbouring owners may have moved
boundaries without registering this.
- buying a property over which water may flow from one just
uphill or from a neighbours rainwater downpipes - the
neighbouring owner probably has rights to allow this and you
cannot stop him.
- buying a property with a septic tank in a village where mains
drainage will be put in shortly - a mixed blessing, connection
to the new system will be compulsory, with increased water costs
- thinking that you can easily have an intrusive electricity
pole moved or suppressed - it'll cost you a fortune.
- thinking that a legally required "termite certificate"
guarantees anything
- your adjoining owner may be concealing his own termite
infestation, which will soon be yours.
- not insisting on a specific interest rate being quoted in the
clause of your preliminary contract which would allow you to
back out as buyer if you cannot get a loan
- not insisting that the Notaire verifies that no-one has been
granted certain kinds of rights to occupy a property you are
buying - you might find they cannot be evicted, ever.
- not enquiring about the neighbouring church, and at what times
of day its bells are rung, and for how long, before signing a
preliminary contract.
- buying a property with a spring water supply whose water
quality has not been independently certified during the last
three months.
- buying a property jointly with someone, without careful
consideration of what happens if you fall out or one of you dies
- this is Much Trickier in France .
- not checking whether the vendor has carried out illegal works
to the property, or, alternatively, requiring the vendor to
indemnify you for all costs which may arise as a result of this
after you have bought.
- in buying a new house, not making sure that the electrical
installation has been inspected and approved - if it hasn't, EDF
may refuse to connect you. Same may apply to gas?
- when buying a flat or apartment, not insisting on seeing full
details of the house management system, insurance and shared
costs.
- employing a British solicitor to vet French contracts is a two
edged sword, and may lose you the house you have set your heart
on buying, solely because the vendor won't put up with
interference from a non-French lawyer.
Thanks Don Montague -
Basically if you don't ask, then no-one is going to tell you.
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FREE PLUG
Hello Tony,
I just wanted to say hello - it's nice to know that there are
other ex-pats around...... Wendy Ward Johnson
(Wendy has this web site for other Ex-Pats living in France)
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3. Airlines - Your legal Rights - Rule 240
There is a lot of misunderstanding about your legal rights and
the obligations of airlines. You may have read about "rule 240"
which was an official American federal requirement stating some
of the rights of passengers. This was changed in 1978 but
airlines still must publish and make available their terms and
conditions, those relating to compensation are still commonly
referred to as "Rule 240". Things are changing again and
airlines are now (since December15) self policing, this is
likely to lead to worse rather than better services. I have been
trying to get a clear statement but there seem to be two things
you can do to get the best service you can in the event of a
delay which is the fault of the airline.
Firstly, insist on a printed paper ticket for your flight, not
an electronic ticket or a reference number. The reason is that
if you are offered another flight from another airline, you may
have to get the printed ticket first, there may be a huge queue
and if there is a computer problem, you will be stranded.
Secondly demand from the airline you are travelling with or your
travel agent a copy of that airlines policy for a - SCHEDULE
IRREGULARITY, formerly known and still referred to as RULE 240.
Read it, get a photocopy and if you have to produce it at the
desk do so quietly and politely. I have heard of many instances
where this has produced an immediate flight/hotel/taxi/phone
where previously one was not available.
Rule 240 applies to all fares unless the specific "fare rule"
states otherwise. I have heard of no fare that Rule 240 does not
apply.
Rule 240 generally applies only to delays that are absolutely
the airline's fault, such as mechanical delays. They do not
apply to what the airlines call "force majeure" events weather,
strikes, "acts of God," or other occurrences that the airlines
say they cannot control.
Basically, Rule 240 states that an airline must deliver you to
your destination within two hours of the originally scheduled
flight time. If they cannot, they must put you on another
carrier.
I found a very helpful site at..
Click on their link to "Rules of the Air", this will give some
background and briefly answer some questions.
Other sites which may help you with information about your
rights are...
I am getting copies of the conditions applicable for most
airlines, some are on our new information site with a lot of
other advice and links where you can get help at...
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FREE PLUG
Dear Tony. Many thanks for the encouragement and the tips.
I look forward to seeing my name at the top of the new "Gifts"
page, when you find 30 hours in a day! I could use about 50
personally...and any mention of my site at..
...in your next newsletter would be of immense help to me.
We're just getting started, and desperately doing everything we
can to increase traffic to the site.
Yours most sincerely, Ellen McDaniel-Weissler General Manager
ItalySource Gifts
(My pleasure Ellen, hope you have a good Holiday)
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4. Paper Flight Tickets - Electronic Tickets
I mention the advantages of having a paper ticket in the item
above, I received this mail in response to a comment I made in
an earlier newsletter.
Hello, Tony,
I am writing to thank you for providing such wise advice about
E-tickets to your readers. As a travel agent, I am all too well
aware of the misfortune that can result from having an e-ticket.
My travel agency provides only paper tickets to our clients and
I will not sell an e-ticket because I honestly don't believe
that e-tickets are in travelers' best interests.
The airlines rushed the e-ticket product into the market place
without ensuring that the underlying technology and customer
service structure was as sound and reliable as it needs to be to
protect travelers when something goes wrong.
As a professional, I would urge all your readers to insist on
paper tickets whenever they travel whenever they travel by air.
Best regards,
Dale Eyerly Colson Travelstar, Inc. Westport, CT USA
An interesting point is that some airlines are now cutting their
commissions to agents for ticket sales from 10% to 8% but this
down to 5% if they issue paper tickets. This can only encourage
the agents to recommend electronic tickets, although as you can
read here that this may not be in the travelers best interests.
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5. Venice and Donkeys
New properties we can offer include accommodation for up to 5
people in Venice and a charming Gite in South West France. The
apartments in Venice are near the station and the owner will
help plan your visit. The gite is called The Bat House (great
name), it is situated on the edge of a tiny hamlet 15 minutes
from Agen and can accommodate up to 6 people. The owners run a
donkey sanctuary so you will be helping them with his service as
well as having a wonderful vacation.
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6. Holi-Swaps - For Sale
In the last newsletter I Wrote about Holi-Swaps at
The owner, Maurice S. Clarke has put this website and all the
business up for sale. So if you are looking for a ready-made
Internet business and you like travel and people, this may be
interesting.
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7. Recipe from Nizas #9
This week - Confiture de Figues
In autumn we are knee deep in Figs outside out back door, once
the villagers would collect them and make many preserves, but
now most fruit is just left on the trees. I remember once seeing
people pay over £1 sterling each for figs in Harrods London, on
that basis I could be a millionaire here.
The recipe is at..
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8. The Nizas Project - Christmas
The Christmas holiday is not the main event this time of the
year as, with the Scots, the important festival is the New Year.
In France 23% of the people do not have any Christmas
decorations or a Christmas tree (official figures and don't ask
me how they worked that out).
The schools are out on the December 22 and the kids are working
hard until then. Boxing day does not exist and it is usually a
work day. The shops are quiet and there is no big rush or last
minute shopping apart from me as I have not done anything at
all. In fact Christmas is a much more enjoyable holiday than the
crass commercialisation in some other countries (and I don't
have to watch "A Wonderful Life" ten times).
The big event in Nizas this week is the school spectacle. Our
village school has grown from 19 pupils when we arrived to 52
today. We added 3 at one time although our two girls have now
gone on to the college in the next town. This is very good news
for any community, it means we are a thriving and living
village.
The kids can start school at 2 years old and are at the village
school until they are 11. The whole village joins in the school
spectacle and mums make cakes to sell, we guess the weight of
the ham, a super tombola with wine and food for prizes, all the
usual wonderful things and then the children performing. We had
clowns and at the end the real Father Christmas came on a donkey
and gave every child a present.
(I was kidding, I really do like "A wonderful Life")
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9. Rental Properties Wanted
Our accommodation lists are growing, but we do not have
properties in every village in France, yet, if anyone has a
rental property , please write to me as we are getting inquiries.
We have a demand for vacation properties plus many people
who wish to come from 6 months to 2 years.
We are developing a database of French properties where
any owner can add their property. You can see the start of
this projects at..
If you need any more information write to me at...
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