France Property
When consuming a property abroad - even if you will probably be living there or simply splashing out holidays or the odd weekend there and hiring it out for the rest of time - it is know which sort your tax state of affAirs is in order that you don't get hit with any unexpected tax bills.
First matters first. In France there is not any such occupation as a French property consultant. You can find land brokerages (agents immobilier) who may offer to undertake much more for you than only help you buy your French house, however that is it. A French land brokerage is a qualified, licensed individual, nearly invariably well coached and highly professional.
France is too gigantic and the real estate properties too various to say its had its day
There are two styles of joint outright proprietorship of property - tontine and indivision. The default position is indivision in equal shares. If you want to mirror unequal contributions within the buy deed it is really important to put up this together with your legal adviser. Should you own en indivision, on each of your deaths French law will dictate who's to inherit your portion of the property. For example, should you die prior to your wife, your children may have inheritance rights in respect of your share, resulting in joint proprietorship with your wife. You're likely to have to give consideration to whether this is likely to lead to any issues for any of them. Might there turn out to be a problem in case your spouse remarries, wants to occupy the property permanently, desires to sell, or does not have a great relationship together with your children? Also, would the divorce or monetary complications of a toddler have an antagonistic impact on your wife's curiosity about the property?
A little bit of commons sense goes a lengthy way
Budget realistically: purchasers quite often under estimate the cost of restorations. Choosing the best French builder can likewise turn out to be difficult, you're likely to see that building costs are beyond you expect. All the time seek independent advice prior to buying property overseas and make certain you have any legal documents translated therefore you know what type you are signing.
Perhaps you are lucky sufficient to have just one suggested to you. In case you haven't, you ought to look very rigorously at exactly what type you'll get for your money. Is there many sort of written accord between you or is it a case of "oh yes, I may help you with that", followed by a larger than expected invoice or a failure to deliver.
Taxe fonciere is paid by the property owner no matter whether you reside there or abroad - but there is an exemption for two yrs. for newly built properties.
Usha Lawver is our guest
French Property expert.
Other French Information:
France will be joining the fight against music piracy by subsidizing the legal downloads of 12 to 25-year-olds with its new “Carte Musique” program.
As PC Mag reports, the European Commission approved the country’s plan earlier this week. “Carte Musique,” proposed in March 2010, will give youths the chance to buy a €50 gift card for the price of €25. The French government will then pay the difference.
The program, which should launch sometime in the next few weeks, is supposed to last two years. Those who participate will be allowed to purchase one card per year. Websites that accept these cards are supposed to offer lower prices for music downloads. They should also provide offers to extend music subscription services or contribute towards advertising “Carte Musique.” French government officials expect 1 million cards to sell each year.
The European Commission has praised the new measure, saying that it is particularly “well designed to achieve its objective” of combating illegal downloads, and that it will not interfere with the European Union’s competition rules.
That being said, PC Mag does add that there are some concerns that larger groups like iTunesclass="blippr-nobr">iTunes, Amazonclass="blippr-nobr">Amazon.com and FNAC might not participate. This is because “Carte Musique” limits the benefits each website operators may receive from the program at €5 million.
What do you think of this new initiative? Does it have potential for success in France, and should other countries follow its example?
Image courtesy of class='blippr-nobr'>Flickrclass="blippr-nobr">Flickr, Salman Al-Salman
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We got a pretty good look at Samsung's Android-based Galaxy Player 50 at IFA last month, but those looking for even more can now get a pretty thorough overview of the device courtesy of a new Samsung ad that runs a full two minutes and forty seconds. What's more,
Samsung Hub is reporting that at least one retailer in France is already selling the device, which is basically a Samsung Galaxy phone without the phone. That means you'll get Android 2.1, a decent 3.2-inch screen, a 2 megapixel camera, built-in WiFi and GPS, 8 or 16GB of storage, and a microSD card slot for expansion. Head on past the break for the video, and look for the phone to officially hit other retailers in Europe later this month (still no word on a release over here, unfortunately).