annual costs in france

[Julie]

Hi

I have an apartment in Spain with no mortgage and I need about 1,000 euros p.a. to cover my electric, community fees, household insurance, suma etc. I'm now thinking of buying a cottage in France, not too far from Limoges and am flying there beginning of November to look at the area. Ideally my goal for the future will be to drive to my country cottage in France, stay for however long and then drive on to Spain.

Can anyone give me some rough estimate of the cost of local taxes, insurance etc. p.a. bearing in mind it will only be used for a few weeks a year as I am still working. I'm not sure if maybe I will be buying too early!

Thanks

Julie

[synthia]

Welcome to the expat forum. I moved your thread to the France forum, where someone might be able to give you an idea of costs and pitfalls.

You said that you might be buying to early? Is this intended eventually to be a retirement home? If so, it depends on a lot of things, including how long it is until you retire, how sure you are that you want to live in this area, and whether you are hoping that by buying now you will be getting an investment or at least avoiding increasing costs.

[Julie]

Hi Synthia
Thanks for moving my posting I obviously didnt navigate the forum properly!
No I wont be retiring for about 15 years but if I did buy a property I would hope that family would make use of it as well as me but my long term plan would be to downsize in England and spend a few months in Spain, France and England. By buying now I would indeed hope to avoid increasing costs & have time to do any works that may need doing, which I think I would enjoy. Of course if local taxes and insurance costs etc are costly then it might not be the best idea for me. Anybody give me any indication of annual costs?

[giantpanda]

Originally Posted by Julie

Hi

I have an apartment in Spain with no mortgage and I need about 1,000 euros p.a. to cover my electric, community fees, household insurance, suma etc. I'm now thinking of buying a cottage in France, not too far from Limoges and am flying there beginning of November to look at the area. Ideally my goal for the future will be to drive to my country cottage in France, stay for however long and then drive on to Spain.

Can anyone give me some rough estimate of the cost of local taxes, insurance etc. p.a. bearing in mind it will only be used for a few weeks a year as I am still working. I'm not sure if maybe I will be buying too early!

Thanks

Julie

Hi!

French local taxes - Taxe d'habitation and Taxe Foncière are based on the " valeur locative " of your premises.

However there are local factors.

So basically if your town/village/Commune is rich, you will pay less than in one which is"poor ".
When is a Commune rich? When it has a high taxe professionnelle income ( eg. if you have a big local factory, they will have much money.

To get a idea of the state of Commune's wealth, all you need is to observe the " street equipement " ( Are the electricity and telephone lines buried? How are the pavements? How is the street lighting etc. etc. ).

So conclusion: Local taxes are dependant on the place ( so do not forget to ask, when you buy or rent a place - usally the agent will make these indication in his publicity on internet ). There can be differences over over 100% in 2 different neighbourly places.
NB. The local taxes do not depend on the length of you stay. eg. you have to pay for full waste collection, even if you are not there.

Yours,


giantpanda

[Julie]

Thanks for that,

I'll ask the agents

[Frenchy11]

Hi Julie, it depends on the number of bed rooms you have, from what you say about the amount of time you are going to use it, and if you have 2 to 3 bedrooms, in that area 1500 euros should cover the annual expenses.

Regards J

[Julie]

Hi

Thanks for that - its about what we pay in Spain

Regards

Julie