I have been an entrepreneur/self employed since the tender age of 22 and worked in the UK and latterly France and throughout that time have had to adhere to the tax regime applied to my activities which has not restricted my successes.
Many people arrive in France with the notion that a gite will provide a handsome reward in retirement and are shocked when they realise that all the income is not going to be theirs. Very few can live solely from gite income as it has to be part of a wider portfolio and if that portfolio is not wide enough then it is not the fault of the system that taxes that specific income.
We owned a gite here for many years and as just part of our activities it was successful however the owners of other gites that we managed always complained that taxes meant that they made an annual loss. I hope that your gite owning experience is a profitable one but as I am sure you have realised, one two or even 3 gites will not make you rich, and this beautiful country we have chose to live in also needs an income to survive.
This Thread goes back to 2014 and relates to an Article the Original Poster wanted to advertise ā¦
Personally, I would like to amend the Title to include the word āsomeā. Itās obvious that not ALL (of any group) will be BAD.
I know many GOOD French Estate Agents, many middle-of-the-road, and some I would call āunhelpfulā.
Just like in any other country, I reckon. 
any chance of amending the Title to include āsomeā - please .
You should be able to do the edit, Stella - I get the option to do so and Iām not even an admin 
Nope - just tried again.
If you can, please do - I canāt see that it would worry the Original Poster as he has not been back in years.
So lets get this right, a US citizen decides to retire to France (and is able to do so very easily) but they have a gripe about the professionalism etc of French estate agents, if thatās their biggest complaint now just wait until theyāre settled and want things done in a hurry. 
I want to retire to California and have the income and funds to do so but I canāt because of the US immigration rules which I have to accept, I would suggest Pam takes the same attitude about how things are done here.
Done.
Odd that it wonāt let you - you should have more abilities in the system than I do.
Maybe my wand is broken or short-circuited the āspannerā kept getting in the wayā¦
Oops, another go and the pencil works - yippee - hey presto 
Why not just get to grips with how France, the French and things in general work, and they do work, just differently. Surely itās far easier if you chose to live somewhere to get used to how everything works there rather than rant at how it should be. By the way, the vast majority of people donāt even know it could be different so are more than happy with the way things are 
Our gite is not essential to our living in France.
But when you have the ridiculous situation here in France that a cabinet maker has to have a separate company to mend the furniture that he made in the first place, that is definitely restricting.
Jane - as you say, that really does sound daft.
Is this a non-French cabinet maker?
I know that there are differences between the individual roles of a Menuisier and that of an Ebeniste.
But I thought it was possible to register as Menuisier-Ebiniste, which would cover the whole kit and caboodle.
I feel you might be misinformed? The situation you describe does not require a separate company. What is required is for the artisan to add each activity to his siret number/ business registration. When first registering it is always wise to include as many activities you think you may undertake as the cost of registration is fixed at that time. If at a later date you want to add another activity then no problem but there is a charge for each activity added.
Actually the restrictive nature of French regulations and workplaces is a reason many French people choose to head for the UK to make their careers. And itās a reason some give for not wanting to āretreatā to France in the event of a no deal Brexit.
I am surprised, though, that no enterprising British agent has got started delivering things like floor plans and in-depth property descriptions - not just to British buyers but to the French. I suspect French buyers would soon acquire the taste for fuller property particulars.
What charge?
Itās been done Andrea. Way back in the '80s when the modern trend of Brits buying in France in great numbers thanks to interesting exchange rates etc. started, the company I worked with revolutionised house buying for Brits offering more details, photos and flight/accommodation packages. Other companies formed to copy us. The āboomā was just about nipped in the bud with the arrival of Black Wednesday in 1992.
I am referring back to the 5 day course I had to attend in 2009 and the advice given then. I am aware that there have been many changes to the system in the intervening 10 + years and stand to be corrected if my comments are out of date.
Yup! Lots of changes in the last ten years!
ā¦and I am called the Time Walker? Crikey!
INcidentally I like the nickname, as I admit I do cover older periods than just ten years.
He is English and found it totally amazing that he was placed in that stupid position.
As a cabinet maker his job is to make and repair fine furniture, but apparently not here.
Jane - aha, - perhaps we have the answer
I suspect he was not fully appreciating that France and UK have more differences than simply the language.
It is possible (and more than likely) that he did not give enough detail/description (whatever) of his proposed activities, when he Registered here in France.
This is perhaps a good reason why the system should not have done away with the obligatory 5 day course? Had it continued then this English cabinet maker would have known the French rules.
I should say however that when I registered I had to produce my completed deed of apprenticeship from way back in 1974 and after photocopies had been taken I had to sign another paper to say that it was not a valid qualification for France!!!
Different country Different rules.