British expats Harry Braybrooke and partner Gillian made the right decision to use a currency exchange specialist for sending money between the UK and France, but soon after moving to their French home they found out that not all offer the same level of service. Article written by The Overseas Guides Company The Braybrookes used [...]
This week expat Alexis Goldberg, who lives in the south of France and writes the FranceBuyingGuide.com, answers the following reader question about furnishing a home in France: Article written by The Overseas Guides Company "We have moved into our house in the Dordogne but are struggling to find a reasonably priced modern furniture store with [...]
Boom-time or economic crisis, one corner of France that will always be attractive to British buyers is Brittany, thanks to its picturesque coastline and countryside, affordable character homes and easy access from the UK. Prices of pretty stone houses around Brittany’s northern coast, the Cotes d’Armor, are especially attractive at the moment, with two/three-bedroom [...]
In 2009 we moved into the Brittany Groundhouse, a major step in an ongoing journey and a quest to design, build and live in a truly ecological luxury house. Article written by Daren Howarth - Owner of the Brittany Groundhouse We also wanted to make sure we built within a sensible budget. The results have [...]
Summer time is here at last! Now before you get all carried away fantasising about a relaxed drive down to the south of France, with the wind in your hair there is one obstacle that you should prepare yourself for – traffic! Article written by The Overseas Guides Company In the few weeks of August, [...]
If you are in the process of sorting out your affairs and preparing for a move to France, now could be the time to act. Article written by Overseas Guides Company As a result of the European Central Bank cutting its benchmark rate by 0.5 per cent, French mortgage rates have fallen. As many French [...]
Repayments for some British homeowners in Europe got cheaper recently, following the European Central Bank’s cutting of its key interest rate by 0.25 per cent to 0.75 per cent. While anyone with a tracker mortgage in Spain or France might be celebrating the rate cut, buyers and other existing owners should be aware of [...]
Since settling into his first term in the Elysée Palace, France new President François Hollande has wasted little time in following up on manifesto promises to make substantial changes to the tax regime in France. The recent amendments to the capital gains and income tax on rentals are just two more in a string of [...]
On July 4, the new Socialist French government announced that they would be targeting foreign holiday homeowners with increased taxes in a bid to reduce the country’s sizeable deficit budget. Currently there are around 200,000 Britons who own holiday homes in France. President Hollande has announced that tax on rental income is to increase from [...]
Alexis Goldberg, a resident of the Languedoc region of France and author of the FranceBuyingGuide.com, compares day to day living costs in France and the UK. The cost of living in France is broadly less than that in the UK, leaving the big cities aside, although the margin is not as great as it once [...]