La Pagerie, Sompt

What will France losing its triple A mean?

2012-01-17T08:13:00.002Z

This information is taken from http://www.english.rfi.fr and I take no credit for it!!

French politicians are squabbling over how important Friday's downgrading by the Standard & Poor's rating agency is and who is responible. But what will it mean for ordinary French people and European institutions? And will it kill President Nicolas Sarkozy?

France will pay more interest on state borrowing, scheduled to be 180 billion euros this year, further boosting state debt;
Local authorities’ debts will get bigger – many owe large amounts to banks whose interest rates will go up – pushing up local taxes;
State institutions, such as social security, will pay higher interest rates, as will companies that are all are part-owned by the state;
Mortgages and other personal loans in France and other downgraded countries may become more expensive;
Foreign investors, such as pension funds, may put their money elsewhere;
Europe will have more austerity – finance ministers say they will agree a new treaty to tighten fiscal rules at the end of the month;
Some European banks may be downgraded because their governments are seen as too risky to back them up if necessary;
The European Financial Stability Fund - the eurozone bailout fund - could be downgraded since its rating depends on that of the six top-rated countries;
Nicolas Sarkozy will die (electorally) - "If France loses its AAA, I'm dead," he told aides in October, according to Le Canard Enchaîné weekly.

Sea France

2012-01-09T17:33:00.001Z

Ferry firm SeaFrance is to shed 127 jobs in Dover after it was liquidated by a French court and told to cease activity.

The Tribunal de Commerce decided SeaFrance's future after a bailout by the French government was ruled illegal by the European Commission.

The court also said an offer by a cooperative of employees was not acceptable.

Hundreds of jobs in France are also expected to be lost.

Three ferries were operated by SeaFrance on the Dover to Calais route. The service was suspended in November.

Conservative MP for Dover and Deal Charlie Elphicke said: "It is a real concern for the... people in Dover who have worked for SeaFrance and also their families.

"This is a difficult day and I think the heart of the whole community goes out to them.

Eurotunnel - thank you

2011-11-10T17:40:00.002Z

We booked our usual October Eurotunnel crossing back in July of this year and as usual paid for the whole crossing by converting our Tesco Vouchers.

Come the morning of our planned departure and due to illness we are unable to make the crossing. I await the office to open and give Eurotunnel a call expecting them to tell me that I have lost my place and that is that. However, a very helpful woman informs me that as it is within 24 hours of our booked departure I can transfer the crossing to another day. I delay the departure for 48 hours at no extra cost and thank her very much!

Two days later and we still cannot make the crossing for the same reason and decide to cancel our trip. Again on the phone to Eurotunnel and am very pleased to be told that I can transfer the crossing to another date and all will be fine as long as we travel within 12 months of making the booking with no extra charges (unless the crossing I choose is more expensive).

After transferring my tickets for a February 2012 crossing I finish my call, and there is already an email in my inbox confirming the change.

Well done Eurotunnel - a great customer experience.

Thank you.

Local French Property Taxes for 2011

2011-10-06T11:05:00.000+01:00

Local French Property Taxes for 2011

This time of year is not the best for post dropping through your door with two rather hefty bills due.

The first is the Taxe Fonciere which is due to be paid mid October, and the second is the Taxe d'habitation which is due by 15th November (or a few days later if you pay on the internet).

This page gives details of the average costs around France and any exemptions that you may be able to apply for.

New holiday home tax scrapped!

2011-06-23T10:29:00.003+01:00

Great news!

The new tax that was being planned by the French government has been scrapped.

The decision to abandon the idea was taken over the weekend at a meeting between President Nicolas Sarkozy and the Minister of Budget, François Baroin.

The meeting was also attended by a group of senators representing French nationals living abroad, who would also be caught by the new tax.

The actual cost to home owners would have only been a few hundred Euros a year, but it is a great relief to home owners who are already struggling with the increased costs in running a second home.

Fed up with toll queues when travelling through France?

2011-06-10T12:03:00.004+01:00

Have you ever noticed this sign when waiting to pay at French tolls, and then seeing other vehicles drive up to the barrier and without stopping the barrier lifts and away they go?

Well, if you are a regular traveller through France then you may be interested in signing up to the scheme which will allow you to automatically pay for the tolls without having to fiddle about with cash or credit cards.

Sanef have recently started to advertise their transponders to UK residents which allows you to pay for the tolls through a direct debit scheme.

I have been using one of these boxes for about four years now and they really are fantastic. Although we tend to travel out of the summer season we still beat the toll queues and save plenty of time on our journey.

Interested - visit the Sanef English website for me information.

Yet another new tax to be voted on in July

2011-05-12T17:39:00.000+01:00

Here is a report from The French Paper that a new draft law was unveiled on Wednesday that could introduce a new tax for non French tax house owners.

Basically it is looking to cut out the loop hole which allows home owners to declare and pay taxes in the country they are resident in which means that the French government miss out.

Now, we have recently had to start paying a 'Tourist Tax' which is, put simply, anyone who stays at La Pagerie should be taxed for each night that they stay with the odd exception. We are unable to increase the cost of the rental weeks to cover this extra tax so we end up paying for it.

With this new tax it is thought that it will be 20% of the 'base' value of your property which in our case will be an extra 400€ to 500€ per annum.

Add onto this the other taxes (d'habitation, fonciéres, taxe de sejour) then we will be looking at an annual tax bill of 3,500€ before any other cost.

Voting on this bill is in July 2011 - personally I am keeping my fingers crossed for a no vote but I am fully expecting a yes vote!

France looks to reduce road deaths

2011-05-12T17:14:00.000+01:00

There has recently been a huge increase in the number of deaths on French roads and the French government is determined to improve traffic safety.

As a result, expect to see far more police as you travel through France and be aware they will be looking for a whole host of offences!

Part of the move to reduce the number of deaths includes the following new policies

1) Removing speed radar camera warning signs

2) Clamping down on the usage of mobile phones whilst driving

3) 1,000 new radar sights by the end of 2012

4) The banning of screens in the drivers field of vision (beware of your sat nav being in the wrong place)

5) Motorcyclists must wear reflective jackets and have larger index plates

You have been warned!!

Renovation work 2010 - The terrace

2010-11-09T10:10:00.006Z

The garden at La Pagerie is very large and is surrounded by a stone wall which makes it not only safe and secure but also private. We have had a number of comments over the past summer that guests would really like some sun loungers to make the most of the new terrace - this job was completed in October 2010.

The sun loungers are to go on the new terrace which was built by Chris during May 2010. This was a huge job and involved over 3000 separate paving slabs.

Over the last few years we have moved from the original garden at the back of the house, to it looking like a building site, to having a temporary terrace to the final instalment.

I hope you agree that the finished product looks fantastic and was worth all the work and effort that it took to build. Thank you Chris!

The terrace in 2009 before the latest addition

July 2004 and the existing flooring upstairs comes out and onto the garden

The grass - when you don't mow it for a while!

The original garden with upturned wine bottles for a border

Renovation work 2010 - The court yard

2010-11-09T09:39:00.009Z

Over the past few months there have been a number of alterations to La Pagerie which we hope will improve the house for the guests arriving in 2011.

The first of these was a new roof for the bread oven and new court yard gravel. This has really brightened up the court yard and made it a relaxing place to sit and enjoy a glass of wine (or two).

The bread oven roof and gravel work was done by Chris and Willy during and after our visit in April 2010.

The first image shows how the court yard looked in 2003 when we were house hunting.

The gravel was was a strange dark brown colour which never really looked appealing and now it's a nice clean white colour which really helps the look of the house from the front.

The bread oven roof was required as we were starting to develop a number of small leaks - which is never good!

The usual adding a layer of varnish to the gates was also completed - the gates get the sun all the day and in the long hot summers this can really take it's toll.

All in all we are very pleased with the results - just need to find a way to keep the gravel looking nice and white which after some looking on the internet yesterday appears to be done using diluted or thin bleach. A job for next April then!

La Pagerie - new facebook page

2010-11-08T11:21:00.004Z

I have just launched a new Facebook page for our accommodation called La Pagerie.

Take a visit and post your comments on here for any feedback that you have. Thank you.

La Pagerie Facebook page

A little joke.....

2010-11-08T11:21:00.001Z

Shamus died in a fire and his body was burned pretty badly.

The morgue needed someone to identify the body, so they sent for his two best friends, Mick and Paddy.

The three men had always done everything together...

Mick arrived first, and when the mortician pulled back the sheet,

Mick said, 'Yup, his face is burned up pretty bad. You better roll him over'

The mortician rolled him over and Mick said, 'For sure dats not Shamus ...'

The mortician thought this was rather strange.

So he brought Paddy in to confirm the identity of the body.

Paddy looked at the body and said, 'Yup, he's pretty well burnt up..

Roll him over.'

The mortician rolled him over and Paddy said, 'Dats not Shamus '

The mortician asked, 'How can you tell?'

Paddy said, 'Well, Shamus had two assholes.'

'What? He had two assholes?' asked the mortician.

'O yes sir,, we never seen 'em, but everybody used to say:

'There's dat Shamus with them two assholes.'

Back from visit

2010-11-06T09:34:00.003Z

Been back from Sompt for about a week now after spending a very enjoyable two weeks there. Spent the first week on my own doing some DIY jobs after the summer season and then for the second week the rest of the family joined me and we did some good tourist trips.

Weather out in Sompt in October is usually very good and we had nice sunny days with chilly evenings which makes the open fire more enjoyable.

Will be updating the main site in the next few days with photographs of the improvements!

French Tax

2010-09-22T10:00:00.001+01:00

Here is a very good article about how to complete French Tax returns and what you will have to do when they have done their calculations. Take your time and read it through and it will make sense!!

http://www.french-property.com/guides/france/finance-taxation/taxation/

French telephone for holiday homes

2010-07-15T13:05:00.003+01:00

I know this has been around for a while, and French-Property.com have just written a small article about it. Basically, if you own a second home in France then you can get a telephone line and activate/de-activate it for when you are in the home.

This can be done via the internet and via telephone.

However, what is not clear is whether you can have internet access associated with this telephone line as well. My first thoughts are that it would appear in the 'too difficult box' and there would be many problems associated with it.

Anyone know any different?

Here is the article

World Cup Predictions

2010-07-09T12:50:00.001+01:00

This is great - no thought to this at all but the octopus appears to be getting it right!!

BBC News story

Good luck Spain!!

Taxe de séjour

2010-06-29T07:44:00.002+01:00

A new tax is being introduced - or rather HAS BEEN introduced to the Poitou Charentes region of France called the Taxe de Séjour. Basically, this is a tourist tax.

It is being introduced to encourage tourism in the area - by charging a tax to all tourists that visit. Strange concept. Of course, it is known that the tourists won't actually pay the tax, it will be paid for by the hotel owner, the bed and breakfast owner or the gite owner such as myself.

Every quarter, I need to complete three forms detailing how many people stayed at our house and for how many nights. Each person is then charged a rate for each night they have stayed. This rate depends on the star rating of the accommodation which is obviously not known yet because the haven't and will not get a chance to visit all the accommodations before the tax started (June 2010!!!).

I have written and asked what rate I should be charging but as of yet have not received a reply.

So, next year my rates will be going up to cover this new tax.

Not sure how this will encourage tourists to the area!!

Taking your pets to France

2010-06-01T12:51:00.000+01:00

The French-Property.com website has recently updated their article about taking your pets to France. So, if this is something that you are considering then take a read of the article and ensure that all the jabs and documentation is up to date!!

Read the article

First guests of the summer

2010-05-30T16:50:00.000+01:00

The first paying guests of 2010 arrived at La Pagerie yesterday - but the weather forecast is not great. Forecasting showers for most of the week which is a real shame considering that we have had a new patio laid in the past few weeks which would have been great for the guests to enjoy the sunshine.

Here's hoping the forecast is wrong......

France wins the Euro2016 bid

2010-05-29T11:39:00.000+01:00

France have beaten Turkey and Italy for the right to stage the European Championship in 2016.

France beat Italy and Turkey in the voting system, with France beating Turkey by just one vote after Italy had been eliminated in earlier voting.

The number of teams playing in the competition will rise from 16 to 24 for these championships.

The French bid was based on the matches being played at the following locations:

1) Stade de France

2) Paris Saint Germain's Parc des Princes

3) Lens

4) Lille

5) Bordeaux

6) Nice

7) Toulouse

8) Marseille

9) Lyon

10) Strasbourg

11) Saint Etienne

12) Nancy

The nearest location to our house is Bordeaux, which is just over two hours away. Not too near but would be good to be over in France at the time of the competition.

Water

2010-05-28T19:31:00.001+01:00

Water has been reconnected thanks to Chris and Deboarah.

It would appear that the water board decided to revert to a very old UK address and start sending the water bills to that address. Of course I did not receive them and so they decided to cut the water off.

All back on by 11am yesterday morning though with only a 25,00€ charge for the pleasure of being cut off.

Water - or lack of it....

2010-05-27T17:44:00.000+01:00

Had an email from the builder who helped us with our house - stating that he had been contacted by the water board who told him they had just turned off the water to our house!!!

No water bills or warnings received - they just turned off the water.

We have guests arriving on Saturday so not the best timing in the world.

Smoke detectors

2009-12-01T15:02:00.001Z

The installation of smoke detectors is soon to be made obligatory in all homes in France, but in recent tests most models did not comply with performance standards.

In a study carried out by the French consumer watchdog the Institut National de la Consommation, six of out of eight popular smoke alarms on the French market did not work properly in tests they carried out on them.

In the light of the report the French government has ordered trading standards officials to carry out their own tests.

Similar tests also carried out by the consumer body Que Choisir in 2006 found that only three of the twelve smoke alarms they tested could be recommended for use, with some then later withdrawn from the market.

All of this comes at a time when a new draft law is currently making its way through the French Parliament that proposes to make obligatory the installation of smoke detectors in all homes in France over a five year period.

Around 800 people die each year from domestic fires in France and it is estimated that only 1% to 3% of homes in France are currently equipped with a smoke alarm.

The difficulty with any new law is going to be the practicalities of ensuring compliance, unless the government were to employ an army of smoke alarm 'inspectors', which seems unlikely! It could well be that pressure will be exerted through French house insurance companies to make it a condition of insurance policies.

However, even then there remains the difficulty of ensuring the the alarms are installed and maintained properly.

TV Digital Switch over

2009-12-01T15:00:00.000Z

The digital switchover of French television will begin next year.

Digital terrestrial television has been around in France since 2005, when the TNT (Télévision Numérique Terrestre) came into service.

TNT offers a minimum of 18 free television channels, including the main existing terrestrial French television channels. By subscription, it is also possible to receive many other channels, including Canal+.

TNT does not give you access to UK television stations, for which you will need to buy and install a satellite dish!

The TNT service is already available to most of the population, although many households have chosen not to take it.

From the beginning of 2010 the diffusion of the analogue service will gradually be replaced, region by region, to be switched off definitively by 30 November 2011.

The calendar of implementation by region is as follows:

* 1st Quarter 2010: Alsace, Basse-Normandie and Lorraine
* 2nd Quarter 2010: Pays-de-Loire, Champagne-Ardenne, Franche-Comté and Bretagne
* 3rd Quarter 2010: Poitou-Charentes
* 4th Quarter 2010: Bourgogne, Centre, Picardie and Nord
* 1st Quarter 2011: Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France and Aquitaine
* 2nd Quarter 2011: Limousin, Côte-d’Azur, Corse and Auvergne
* 3rd Quarter 2011: Alpes and Rhône
* 4th Quarter 2011: Midi-Pyrénées, Languedoc-Roussillon and Provence

Those who receive their television service by cable or ADSL need take no action, as they will automatically receive the digital service.

Likewise, those who have a satellite installed to receive French digital television need take no action.

Those who have purchased a new television within the past year or so should also be able to automatically receive the new service, as all standard televisions will have been equipped with an internal receiver. Larger screens and those offering HD may not be equipped, so you need to check if it is 'TNT Intégrée'.

By contrast, everyone else who receives French television through a terrestrial aerial will need to install a TNT decoder on their television.

If you have more than one television, then you will need a decoder for each one, unless as we said, it is incorporated in the television.

In some cases, even though you have purchased a television equipped to receive TNT, you may also need to upgrade your terrestrial aerial and cable. You may only be able to find out if you need a replacement cable and aerial by first testing the system. Even if you get a reception, if the picture quality is only average or poor, then you will probably still need to change your aerial and cable.

The decoder is easily installed with a SCART plug and cable that will be supplied with it, which is simply inserted into the sockets in the television and the decoder.

The decoder boxes are widely available, either from an electrical shop, major supermarkets, or on the internet. Prices start from around €30. Prices are higher if you want to receive HD, or you wish to be able to view one programme and record another at the same time.

Financial assistance is available for the purchase of a decoder and/or a new aerial or satellite, subject to a test of resources. Eligible applicants are those who are currently exempt from payment of the television licence and living in zones d’ombre, where signal strength is weak.

You need to contact the centre d'appel on 0970 818 818.

World Cup 2010

2009-10-19T15:41:00.000+01:00

With England already through, I watched with interest to see whether France would ensure their place in the play off last week. They managed it and then had to await the now seeded draw to see who they would play in the two match play off.

They wanted to avoid Ireland and Ukraine, so of course they drew one of these teams. France will now play Ireland with the 2nd leg at home.

The matches will be played on November 14th and November 18th.

The full draw was as follows:

Republic of Ireland v France
Portugal v Bosnia-Herzegovina
Greece v Ukraine
Russia v Slovenia

Good luck France!!

Euro Rate dropping again

2009-10-07T12:11:00.000+01:00

You may think I’m said, but on a daily basis I check the €/£ rate of exchange on the BBC business website, and yet again over the past few weeks the rate continues to slide downwards.

When I first bought the house in France the rate was around 1,52€ to the pound. This made French property very attractive as in the rural parts of France the house prices were generally low anyway.

Now, the rate is virtually €1 to £1 and the price of local taxes etc continue to rise.
I was expecting a steady rise in the rate in the second half of 2009 but this does not appear to be happening with regular doom and gloom news being released about the UK economy.

Come on the pound – rally again and lets start having some good news!
Anyone have any thoughts about the rate of exchange over the next few months??

New Euro Coins

2009-10-02T11:16:00.001+01:00

Did you know that France has released two new Euro coins? Neither did I until today.

Apparently, the Monnaie de Paris (which is the French mint) have released around 2 million 10€ coins and around 250,000 25€ coins.

These were aimed at boosting the French coin collecting market and although they are legal tender in France they are not accepted anywhere else in the Euro zone.
Even in France though they are causing problems in the shops because the cashiers don’t know where to put them in their tills.

If you do happen to come across any in France, my advice would be to keep hold of them. The market value of these coins is expected to rise sharply with reports that the 100€ coin which was released last year already has a market value of 180€.

Departing guests

2009-09-28T09:28:00.000+01:00

The last booked guests of the season have just left La Pagerie.

We have been letting out La Pagerie for the past three years and thought I would compare the lettings from the past three years. We are still hopeful of some winter bookings for this year though!!

In 2007 the house was let for 20 weeks. This rose to 27 weeks in 2008 and has dropped slightly to 25 weeks for 2009. This obviously means that the income has also dropped for this year whilst the costs to maintain the house have risen (especially the local taxes!).

We have managed to fill the main summer weeks (July and August) for the past 2 years which is good.

We have already taken two bookings for 2010 - both for two week bookings which is great for us.

On the whole, not a bad season!

Welcome

2009-09-27T17:02:00.000+01:00

Welcome to the new blog site for La Pagerie.

I am setting this up so that when I find useful information about life in France, I can pass this on to other people. I tend to find this information from time to time from other websites and speaking to people in France.

I hope you enjoy the information provided here and please do get in touch if you have any questions or suggestions.