Not the Paul that you addressed the question to but I think what Paul is trying to say is that there is a reduction in TVA for renovation work and that receipts from properly registered artisans will allow the cost of the work to be taken into account when calculating any capital gain should the property be sold - neither of which would be the case if the work were done “on the black”.
Not sure how relevant the CG thing is though - I didn’t think there was any CG to pay if selling one’s primary residence and I’m not getting the impression that Brian and his partner are looking to sell up in the near future.
If you don’t use registered tradesmen you can’t offset that portion of work on a major project against capital gains tax.
I think it’s 16 years here now with a major shift in % after 5 years.
Also it’s possible to get a reduction in tva to I believe 5.7%? There were some changes to this a couple of years ago so would need clarification. The Marie should be able to help.
It s quite amazing here in France but unless you are an artisan you cannot negotiate a discount for volume.
We wanted 250 sq m of engineered oak flooring and went to the local saw mill, near Macon and could not get a discount.
We had french oak flooring in our hall in UK and I ran our local supplier near to us in UK to see if he could send it to France, as we had paid half the price we were quoted in France.
They said that was mad and gave us the name of their supplier in France, an englishman.
He gave us a really good price and free carriage from one side of France to the other.
It really pays to investigate.
You will be liable to French capital gains tax whether you are a resident or non-resident of France. … Gains on property are taxed at a fixed rate of 19%. You currently have to pay surtaxes as well, ranging from 2% for gains over €50,000 up to 6% for gains over €250,000
Paul… in the main… any project that hopes to use bills against capital gains… should be owned by a “building company” or whatever the correct designation. That way the bills can, indeed, be set against profit.
The man in the street thinking he can buy something cheap, do it up and offset bona fideTradesmen’s bills against any profit on selling… will possibly/probably have a shock…
That is the rough outline from Notaires (in my area)…
I am not talking about main residence… which is CG tax free… yippee
We will keep you all updated as the project moves forward. We had a fun time at the Notaire’s he was a real scream a proper joker which made it a lot more fun and relaxed than we were expecting. It was tipified when he told the vendor that we were more than happy to move forward with the sale despite the planned High speed train line going right the property. It sent Madame into a complete flap, and he just let her go on and on until he said “ just joking!” Lol he was a real card! Told us about the lead paint and said it’s no problem unless you’re planning to lick the walls. Oh! and the radon gas he said really won’t be an issue as he put it, “ it’s only an issue if your house is air tight, your house is never going to be airtight let’s face it, look at those holes in the roof!” a proper comedian I tell you!
Looks a lovely project, with some gorgeous stonework. We bought the first house we saw (30 years ago), no regrets. Do check the cadastre (a sort of Land Registry), to make sure of your boundaries, and that the house is not divided up between umpteen relatives, or that the owner is including something in the sale which is not theirs (it happens, believe me!). Where will you live, whilst doing it up?
I would have said madness, but at 15,000 you simply can’t go wrong, that is unless there’s some secret nasty little hidden issue that is currently unknown. An English guy in our village did something similar last year but he paid 85,000 for the privilege. I would say get yourself a caravan so there’s always somewhere tidy to sleep, and a JCB/digger to help you, but as your budgeting on 100K you have no doubt already thought of such things.
On the face of it, it will be a great adventure, good luck.
No we have the casestral plans for the two plots we are buying one for the fields one for the house and garden boundary is clearly marked. So all good and the notaire has confirmed the sole ownership. We don’t plan to move in permanently for 4 years. So have some time there is a hotel that’s about €220 for a week just a couple ok KM’s down the road we will stay there initially so we have some comfort, once the roof is watertight on the house we can camp out there hopefully or continue to stay in the hotel until we make a permanent move
Yes, the roof is the most important, followed by the fosse septique and a good heating system. One thing you may not have considered is to start the garden first. One, you will need a big hole for the rubble, and two, gardens take longer than houses to reach maturity. A lot of detailled planning will save you time and money. Best of luck,
The garden is not an issue for me Peter I’m a qualified landscape gardener and designer I used to work for a company that built the show gardens at the Chelsea Flower Show I already have my plan for the garden and hopefully it will be spectacular in time, but thanks for the advice.
I visited this place when it was first bought by the present Owner… and still a wilderness… he loves gardening and this was his dream… it is coming along nicely, some 8 years on…
which made it a lot more fun and relaxed than we were expecting. It was tipified when he told the vendor that we were more than happy to move forward with the sale despite the planned High speed train line going right the property. It sent Madame into a complete flap, and he just let her go on and on until he said “ just joking!” Lol he was a real card! Told us about the lead paint 
and said it’s no problem unless you’re planning to lick 
the walls. Oh! and the radon gas he said really won’t be an issue as he put it, “ it’s only an issue if your house is air tight, your house is never going to be airtight let’s face it, look at those holes in the roof!” 