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Hello
from France. This is our 5th newsletter of the year and we are trying
to keep the content fresh and interesting for all readers. In this
edition, we have included some comments and feedback from clients
who have made the move to France this year, sharing their experiences
with you and a comment from the editor of Living France magazine.
We would also draw your attention to the new-look website, which
has received a bit of a face-lift and now includes more property
and more detail about each property. Our business partnership with
local agencies has been expanded in recent weeks enabling us to
provide a wider selection of quality properties over a wider area.
One of these has just been concluded with an agency operating nearer
the coast, which will change the profile of our properties at the
start of 2003.
Our thanks to the revised website go to Doug Silk who has started
up a website management enterprise in the heart of the Poitou-Charentes,
and he would be glad to hear from any potential clients looking
to create or revise their sites. He has our full recommendation.
Property Viewing
We have to report several instances where clients
have lost out on their dream home because they had failed to follow
some of the basic guidelines that we give to clients in advance
of a viewing visit. This has resulted in their frustration having
found their ideal property only to not have the required ingredients
to proceed immediately with a contract.
A word of caution... many clients making their
offer on the last day of their stay in France and then going home
to the UK hoping to conclude the paperwork by post. Almost inevitably
there are queries that are more easily sorted out face to face,
and if we can get the contract signed when you are here the vendors
signature can normally be added immediately and the 7 day period
of reflection can commence. Otherwise, we lose 2 days in the post
to the UK, 2 days back to France (at best) and if we are not careful
the property is sold in the meantime to some one else.
Remember, the more information we have about what
you want the better the options will be that we can offer to you.
Client
Feedback
Here
are some comments made by clients about our services and other situations
that they have encountered in France.
"From
the time that we first contacted them in February of this year Allez
Français have proved to be extremely helpful with all aspects
of our house search and subsequent purchase. From recommending an
excellent local B&B, to providing very competitive car and house
insurance quotes; from regular emails with property details, to
answering our many queries; Peter and Bridget were, indeed still
are, always ready to help in any way they can. All of this serves
to make Allez Français an ideal one-stop shop for all of
your property needs in the Deux-Sèvres region of France."
Doug & Nick - August 2002
"We both
felt that there was nothing else that could have been done to make
our visit more effective." M.D. Scotland
"We couldnt have done it without you. Thank you for your support
and patience and encouragement it was exactly what we needed throughout
the process, which was far less painful as a result of your help.
We wish we had taken notice of your recommendation for the Currency
Specialist - they certainly offered a better deal than our bank,
but we had left it too late." ML Marigny (79)
"Thank
you so much for your efforts to find us the right home. You were
the only agents to have listened to our requirements, the others
were a waste of time, showing totally unsuited properties. We were
very impressed with your planning of the day and the professional
way that you have set your business up working with the French agencies.
Congratulations, we will recommend you to our friends looking to
buy in France and tell them not to waste their time with some of
the other, more established names." SV
Alert
Val Davenport writes
to advise of potential problems for people trying to obtain their
form E106 from the DSS in Newcastle. There are delays of at least
3 months before you are likely to receive your E106, so plan well
in advance of your departure from the UK if you are going to rely
on this cover.
Currency
It is strange to find
that purchasers of property in France are always keen to negotiate
a good price on the house of their dreams, but then fail to appreciate
that great savings can be made by ensuring that they receive the
best exchange rate from £ into Euros.
Dont fall into the trap
of not getting the best deal for your money. Take expert guidance
and use a specialist currency dealer. We have every confidence that
Foreign Currency Direct will ensure that you get the best deal and
give you the peace of mind to enable you to concentrate upon the
other matters associated with property purchase.
The £ has weakened
against the Euro again recently, and with stock markets still depressed,
you could pay the price if you wait for a recovery in the FTSE.
By the time your shares recover the £ could be worth less
and French prices are certainly going up.
How NOT to find
a place in France?
Lucy Cypher,
Editor of the excellent Living France magazine and I have spoken
about the two intrepid house hunters Nippi and Nigel from the programme
A Place in the Sun on Channel 4 tv.
The programme
is both entertaining and irritating to watch as the two characters,
both of whom speak little if any French and who have scant knowledge
of French property purchase procedures, bumble their way through
each half hour show.
It certainly
isn't a useful guide to help those considering buying a home in
France. The episodes have failed to touch upon such vital topics
as French Inheritance laws and which method the pair had chosen
to buy together, let alone how to deal with the right-of-way problems
they encountered, or the best way to start renovating the property.
Whatever you
do, though, dont get carried away by fantasy, do your homework
first and dont believe everything you see on TV...
Thanks Lucy
for allowing me to reprint this - Peter Elias
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Don't forget, we have a special arrangement with the
BBC who are interested in following through on any of our clients who are giving up the
boring lifestyle of the UK for something more exciting on this side of the Channel.
