Dear ,

How are you? It’s me - Kim, writing this month’s introduction to the France Buying Guide newsletter. Alexis has kindly prepared an article about your first steps to successfully buying in France which you’ll see below. Believe it or not, she wrote this feature while on holiday! Can you imagine that… Rather than leaving everything to me, she eMailed me an article AND I just received another eMail saying that she can’t wait to get back to work.

I honestly believe that she’s enjoying her holiday…but she loves her work too! All the Overseas Guides girls love our work.

So…have you been keeping up on the French news headlines? I had to laugh about Cecilia Sarkozy, the French First Lady, snubbing President Bush. Did you hear about it?

I’m not sure if I ever mentioned it to you, but I was born in America (don’t hold this against me – it’s not my fault). I’ve lived in the UK for 10 years and I absolutely love it. I’d never go back to the States… And I really have several issues with George. (oh yeah – we go way back…George W. and I – heheehe). I’m proud to be American…but not necessarily proud of everything America does (and what it's government stands for).

Anyway…American papers reported that good ole George W. Bush asked Cecilia and her children to a picnic for hamburgers and hot dogs. She declined saying she was ill and then reporters spotted her with friends the following day. The headlines stated: “FRENCH FIRST LADY GOES FOR WALK IN TOWN DAY AFTER BUSH SNUB”

That cracks me up. Go Cecilia!

Okay…what’s in store for you this month? Well, as I already mentioned, Alexis has prepared a fantastic article about preparing to buy in France. We also have helpful information on how to create a currency strategy, how Independent Financial Advisors can help you, why Lonely Planet and Amazon are worthy of your attention and a good question on taxes…

Alexis will be back tomorrow, so if you need any help with buying a property in France – or anything associated with buying in France, she’ll be happy to help you.

Email Alexis on mailto:Alexis@OverseasGuidesCompany.com

Big Smiles,

Kim (& Alexis)
France Buying Guide
The Overseas Guides Company Ltd.

“YOUR FIRST STEPS TO SUCCESSFULLY BUYING IN FRANCE”

Planning your new home in France, whether you are emigrating or buying a holiday house, is such an exciting prospect but many people have no idea where to start. Maybe you have been mulling over the idea for a while but need a helping hand with the process. So how do you go about making a successful move? Will you eventually be celebrating on your French terrace with a glass of Bordeaux a few years down the line or less? And where should you start?

The short answer is to adopt a systematic approach, take it in stages and glean as much knowledge as you possibly can before you embark on looking for your new French home. Here, I offer you my tips to help you fulfil your dream from the start. Remember that the real key to success is to do your research and planning beforehand: homework done now pays off later!

• Arm yourself with a copy of our France Buying Guide, some paper and a pen. Read over the Guide, get yourself acquainted with the preliminaries, decide what sort of place you want, what is most important to you, discuss with your family and get your pen and paper out to write down your ideal situation when in France. Spend time identifying the factors that are relevant to you. Write down your reasons for wishing to buy in France.

• Take stock of your situation and get yourself a time plan. For example, will you sell your house, take out an English or Euro mortgage? When will you start to learn about French culture, work opportunities, if relevant to you, health and legal matters? I can help you with all of these points (France Resource Form).

• If your French is rusty, consider brushing up on it even before you start house hunting. You owe it to yourself to be at least aware of the basics and your integration into French society will come with ease if you can communicate even on a basic level with your French neighbours and friends. http://www.francebuyingguide.com/links.htm#language

• Identify your chosen regions. Consider weather, ease of access, all the pros and cons of the locality. Be aware that in rural France many shops close for lunch and restaurants and bars may not stay open until the early hours. Check out distances to your nearest village/town.

• Allow time for a preliminary “getting to know” visit. Talk to as many people as you can, ask about their day to day existence. Use personal contacts and the Internet to get up on the area you have chosen before you set off. Give yourself a good few days to get a feel for the area. Plan your trip well in advance and take advantage of good deals on flights. For example, if you can travel mid-week this is often cheaper. (Check our review of Opodo and Ebookers at http://www.francebuyingguide.com/links.htm#airlines)

• Now comes the fun part: finding your ideal home! We have found the most experienced and helpful agents in France who will help you find just what you are looking for. Do not be afraid to be absolutely frank with your agent: the better qualified your criteria are at the beginning, the more choice you will have when it comes to looking for your ideal property. The agents we recommend will hold your hand through the whole buying process and after you have bought. And this is whether you need a good builder, or just general advice on the area you have chosen. Fill out our short property form and give us your information for further practical and personal help: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/property.htm

• Once you find the property you want, make an offer and think about buying your euros. When it comes to selling your hard earned pounds and buying euros you deserve to get the best rate possible. Smart Currency Exchange will help you achieve this. You can even reserve currency at a rate today and purchase it at that same rate in the future – This allows for peace-of-mind that the cost of your property won’t increase. You do not need to be a mathematical genius to work out what you will have saved: when the rate changes by as little as 0.1%, on several thousand pounds, you will have be “quids in” by a substantial amount. (get a Smart Quotation)

• Once you have agreed a price, you will soon have to sign the “compromis de vente” at which time you will have to deposit 10% of the purchase price with the notaire. There is then a 7 day cooling off period during which time you may pull out and retain your 10% deposit but the seller may not. After this time, the contract is binding and you are well on your way to owning your French property! We strongly advise retaining the services of a bilingual lawyer for help with the legal process: you should know exactly what is in the contract and have all aspects covered. Again, allow us to help you with this by filling out our resource form: http://www.francebuyingguide.com/resources.htm

Experience of people who have already successfully located overseas suggests that time spent planning in advance is as essential as choosing your ideal property: it will help you achieve what you really want and save you so much time and hassle later on. We can provide you with a time plan and guide you through every stage. Please feel free to email me with any enquiries you may have, I have been through the process myself and helped many people achieve their dream! (mailto:Alexis@overseasguidescompany.com)

How to Create a Currency Strategy

by Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.

Currency strategy – what is this and why is it necessary?

The last thing people want to think about when buying their dream home in their dream location is changing their hard earned sterling into local currency. This is a BIG mistake. One my clients called me after completing all his transfers and thanked me for saving him £20,000. This is a wonderful saving, but how did we manage it?!

There is a simple answer - by working as a team.

John contacted Smart Currency just after making the decision to buy his dream property - he was immigrating to France and moving funds in excess of £500,000. John had a reasonable idea of his projected timings: he knew the date of the sale of his property here in the UK, plus the dates for initial and final payments on the French property. Furthermore, John had already opened a French bank account.

He had also worked out all his figures at a specific Euro to the Pound exchange rate and thus his aim in working with us was to get a better rate than estimated and, if at all possible, improve on it significantly.

As we had time on our side, we were able to set up some target rates that were slightly on the optimistic side. The rates were not unrealistic, so we agreed that if the market moved in his favour, even for a short time, we would give him a ring and he could purchase the currency.

Aside from offering poor rates banks are not proactive in this way, and waiting to the last minute leaves you open to vagaries of the market – not a good idea.

Because of John’s decision to work with a really good team of specialists, and to USE TIME TO HIS ADVANTAGE, it all worked wonderfully. You can imagine how thrilled he was with his windfall of an extra £20,000 – at a time when extra funds would really come in handy.

So a currency strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. You just have to have a reasonable feel for the relevant timescales, the amounts needed, a good idea of what your target rate is and to work closely with a team like Smart Currency Exchange.

And How is the EURO performing right now...

The Euro is currently sitting at €1.475/£1 inter bank. It was only a couple of weeks ago that the Euro pushed up to towards €1.50/£1. At one stage, at the start of last week, we were close to €1.465/£1.

The European Central Bank (ECB) had made it clear that interest rates would be increased next month by 0.25%. However given the volatility in the market place and the need for the ECB to supply liquidity, the market is beginning to wonder if the expected increase in € interest rates will happen in the short term. However, we have to remember economically that Euro land continues to leave the UK in its wake.

To get a Better-than-Bank exchange rate and to discuss what options you have go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
or call Carl on 08081 630 102 freephone.

Burning Question - TAX

Question:

If I sell property abroad and bring my investment back to this country would I be taxed? If so, will it be tax on just profit I make on investment or the whole amount and what percentage will that be?' (N. Panchal)

Answer:

The answer is reasonably straightforward for resident and domiciled UK citizens.

If the property is disposed of (sold or given away) then the gain (assuming there is one) is subject to UK CGT (Capital Gains Tax), irrespective of whether the proceeds are brought back to the UK. There may well be foreign CGT in the country the property is situated in, which can be offset against UK CGT so you will not be taxed twice. In calculating the gain there are certain costs and relief available that can reduce the overall gain.

Assuming there is a gain chargeable in the UK then the total gain will be subject to tax after deducting the 2007/08 annual exempt amount of £9,200.

The applicable rate depends on the individual’s overall income, so for basic rate tax payers this would be 20% and for higher rate payers the rate is 40%.

If you are contemplating disposing of an overseas property and concerned about the tax treatment on any potential gain it is always advisable to seek professional guidance in advance.

Any questions? Why not check out the forum at:

http://www.FBG-Forum.com

Just what DOES an IFA do?

By Karen Gilbert – The Overseas Guides Company August 2007

I am often asked a plethora of questions regarding preparation for buying property overseas and / or emigrating. Common questions are around inheritance tax in various countries and options for the re-investment of equity from UK property sales.

With increasing UK house prices and increasing wealth here in the UK, these both seem to come up more and more. I heard on the news only last night that the average price of UK property will reach £300k within the next 5 years! If this is the case, wealth management and the services of Independent Financial Advisors will be even more useful to an even larger number of people.

Over time I seem to have picked up a fair amount of knowledge on some finance related topics – which I hope I’ll come to find useful at some stage soon! Where Overseas Guides Company readers are concerned though, I always suggest that they speak directly to an Independent Financial Advisor.

I must say that I have always thought of IFAs as something only used by those will a lot of money. That said though, as I’m now working with IFAs, I can see their usefulness more and more. In fact, I am sorting my pension out with an IFA now. If you’re interested in the process of working with an IFA, I’ll cover this off towards the end of this article...

Financial planning is an essential part of planning to buy a property abroad. My contact Antony, who works as an IFA based in the East Midlands, wrote the following piece for me as an overview of the ways in which an IFA can assist you when you’re buying a property overseas.

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By Antony Howard, IFA.

What ever your motivation for purchasing a property overseas - emigrating abroad, purchasing a second home at your dream holiday location or seeking out pure property investment possibilities - it is important that you obtain financial advice.

What is an IFA and how can they help me with purchasing my property abroad?

An IFA is an Independent Financial Advisor. The ‘independent’ status means that you can rest assured that you are being given unbiased, impartial advice across all areas of your financial portfolio. They will provide advice on areas where there is potential for additional growth and also areas where you could be vulnerable.

In a nutshell, by seeking advice prior to embarking on your property purchase, an IFA can assist you in two key ways. They can help you with any complicated financial enquiries and they can assist you in securing your financial future – ensuring that you preserve your assets or even increase them.

When purchasing a property overseas, it is likely that you will be faced with a variety of financial options. Questions on equity release, cash flow, fluctuating interest rates, financing and re-financing alongside questions of individual, company or trust ownership, together with tax implications (Capital Gains Tax, Inheritance Tax and Income Tax) and adequate lifestyle protection can sometimes result in a minefield of choices that many of us are not qualified to answer.

Additionally, if you are emigrating abroad and the sale of your UK property releases more equity than your overseas purchase, an IFA can help you to re-invest these additional funds tax efficiently.

With the correct advice and proper planning you can embark on the exciting journey of overseas property investment, armed with the knowledge to make the right choices.

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I thought I would share with you my experience of working with an IFA in setting up my personal pension. I hope this short account is useful and acts as an introduction to the way in which IFAs operate…

I had been considering for sometime moving my old company pension - which had been frozen for 12 months - across to a new personal pension. As usual though I’d been busy with one thing or another and had not found the time to do something about it.

The perfect opportunity – Antony and I were discussing pensions not so long ago and I thought this would be a great chance to finally get organised and get things moving with my future financial planning!

Antony and I had a few initial conversations over the phone. I actually knew very little about pensions (my previous company pensions hadn’t required too much thought!) so it was useful for me to understand the basic concept and the benefits of having one. We also discussed the various options from high risk through to lower risk and the type of strategy I might take.

As far as pensions are concerned, an IFA works with you to understand your financial position – taking into account your income and outgoings - and then assists you in making decisions based on affordability, your current age and your financial objectives for the future (including your desired retirement age – I mentioned 32!).

To instruct an IFA you need to fill in a set of forms. For my pension, I had to complete forms relating to my income and outgoings and also had to sign authority to Antony so that he could have access to the details of my previous company pension – the forms took me about 15 minutes to complete and cost me nothing. As I understand it an initial consultation, which includes the implementation of your pension, is free of charge. However, if clients want to receive ongoing advice and guidance on all aspects of their financial portfolio, a retainer fee may be charged.

Within a week or so I had a document from Antony detailing the value of my old company pension and suggesting what I might like to do now. My desired retirement age of 32 just wouldn’t be possible without a small lottery win but none the less I agreed my pension plan and the funds in which I would like to invest.

My signed forms and direct debit mandate went in the post today so all should be up and running for me soon. The count down to retirement is now officially on!

If you are interested in any of the topics we have touched on in this article, please just let me know.

Antony and his team really are fantastic and I would be more than happy to put you in touch with the team there. They have successfully assisted numerous Overseas Guides readers with a financial plan for their overseas property purchase.

Feel free to email me at: Karen@OverseasGuidesCompany.com

The Road to be Travelled! by Carol Dunning

To my mind there is no point in setting off on a journey without having done a bit of reading first. It’s all about 'doing your homework'. I have learnt from bitter experience that it's a whole lot better to learn from someone else's mistakes rather than your own - and usually a whole bunch cheaper too...

In my twenties – more years ago than I am going to share with you – I found myself in Corfu, having hitch-hiked there with a friend plus a couple of American fellows. One of them was travelling with a typewriter (I know….what DID we do without computers?!!) and had several guidebooks to hand. I often saw him pouring over them, planning out what he wanted to see and where he wanted to go – and how to get there!

I later found out that, while I had been lying on the beach, he had visited the lovely church of St. Spyridon and indeed seen the Saint’s silver casket paraded through the streets of the town. Later, reading about the island in ‘My Family and Other Animals’ and ‘Prospero’s Cell by the Durrell brothers, I could have KICKED myself, reading about what I had missed seeing…lesson learnt!

Of all the guide books available, I would have no hesitation in putting the Lonely Planet Guides top of the list. To find your dream property you cannot do better than take these guides with you on your journey of exploration. It will tell you the pros and cons of each place, list restaurants and things to see and do and, of course, how to get there – all things that may well affect your decision to purchase. There are many guide books, but in my experience none are as concise, as detailed and somehow as HONEST as these compact books.

The first was written over 30 years ago by Tony and Maureen Wheeler. They are still actively involved with Lonely Planet as directors of the company, and still both travelling and writing. And I think that’s the point: there is a genuine love of travel, a deep sense of adventure and a real knowledge of the locality that comes through the pages of these guides to the reader.

Today the company has offices in Melbourne, Oakland and London, with over 500 office employees and 300+ on-the-road authors. There are over 500 Lonely Planet titles, each one containing practical travel information plus concise background information on the culture and history of the countries.

They have yet again won the Wanderlust award for “Best Guidebook Series” this year – the fourth year in a row Lonely Planet has received this recognition. Just as importantly, we at the Overseas Guides Company award them 10 out of 10!

You will find Lonely Planet books if you click on:

Lonely Planet Publications (they currenty have a 30% off sale)

And then there is Amazon. Amazon is an addiction that I simply am not prepared to give up. Where else can you find almost every book currently in print, plus almost every CD or DVD?

And the brilliant thing is that you can usually get it cheaper on Amazon than in most high street shops.

I went in under ‘Books’ and typed in ‘Greece’: up came a list on Guide books, Cook books, books on nlearning Greek, stories of people who had moved to Greece, the history of Greece…the 2nd World War in Crete, Paddy Leigh Fermor’s wonderful book on Mani…

There is also an endless number of things to buy: not only books and CD’s/DVD’s, but headings like Home and Garden, Toys and Games, Jewellery and Watches – it’s hard to believe that there is anything they DON’T have here!

There are three things that have made me an addict: firstly, of course, the sheer range of products. Then there is the ease with which one can order…I have to confess that throughout our office I am known as a complete technophobe – usually I just don’t get it. Unhappily for my bank balance, I DO get Amazon – it’s so easy.

Finally, there is the incredibly good service: mere days go by and there is my order – always correct, always on time… Next time you see a film that you enjoy, just pop on to your new best friend Amazon and within a few days it will be yours for ever!

What more can I say other than ‘Amazon, you’re the BEST’!!

You may want to get hold of the books I have reviewed in the past, or indeed one of the slew of other books available to guide you through the process of buying abroad – and don't forget to take an English / Greek language dictionary or phrase book with you. Amazon is a great place to try - click below to get more information.

Have a Great Month!

It was great writing to you...and providing you with helpful information - at least, I hope it was helpful. If there is anything I or any memeber of the team can help you with, PLEASE let us know. We have some excellent connections with people who provide mortgages for France, solicitors that work with British people buying in France...We work with an outstanding estate agency that has been able to help quite a few of our readers to find the perfect property... Whatever you need...give us a shout!

Best wishes on all your plans and have a GREAT month.

Smiles,

Kim (& Alexis)