Clé France

Dear David & Sharon,

Sorry for the delay in writing, the month since returning from our new abode has been hectic.

Anyhow, first we must say many thanks for your sterling help in the purchase of our Plemet, Cotes d'Armor house; you were vital as the liaison with the folk on the ground & without you I sense we could still be in limbo!

Having said that, your agents were very good and fine in face to face situations. He was at the house when we arrived & arranged for SAUR to come the following day. Incredibly we had a knock on the door later the same day & a SAUR engineer who happened to be in the area saved us from the indignity of having to rely on the public loos. Who says the French don't work!

It's taken two & a half years of looking to find the right house for us, both visiting the area, perusing probably 500 agent's offerings and viewing over 30. Admittedly our meagre budget limited our choice though it also gave an insight into other Brits' lost dreams & grandiose schemes: 'An exciting renovation project' etc.

Maggie had her heart set on a village house (we are both dedicated townies) in stone with a French double front door & wooden shuttered windows. Well we ended up with a shop front but with a very attractive old stone rear overlooking our garden. Compromise. We can always change the front later.

Being in the town centre we have the advantage of mains drainage, a short walk to the shops, bank, PO, bars, 1st class restaurant and importantly we have friendly neighbours & thus few worries about security. Already we've made a friend of the old chap across the road who was born & raised in our house & has lived in Plemet, let alone just Brittany, all his life. Although he speaks no English & our minimal French doesn't translate to his Breton ear we get along fine & he is now keeper of our keys & garden tender. It's amazing what a bottle of Scotch will do!

We also have a friend in our account manager at Credit Mutuel de Bretagne for whom nothing seems to be too much trouble bank related or not. No need to waste time & money trying to get through to Britline.

Incidentally if you recall there was a bit of a problem with setting up an EDF account. We found that there was absolutely no point in doing it over the phone (I ran up a bill on our land line for £14 to no avail) but the website is fairly idiot proof & allows you to add information over a long period so you can save & return on another day if you don't have all the information you need. There is also a leisurely period of explanatory & help emails after set up.

Well, what have we learned about holiday home owning so far? First unless you have the furniture & fittings already, buy the house with everything in it because hunting the overpriced brocantes & vente depots will take forever & the alternative is an IKEA job lot!

Good French furniture & sundries are available online in GB at a fraction of the French prices.

This brings me to observation two. If a 4x4 has always been on your (secret) wish list holiday home owning is the ideal excuse. Carting furniture, rugs, tools, materials etc. is just what they're designed for.  Equally for taking unwanted stuff to the decheterie (recycling site). We've found ours to be a very friendly place & very civilised.

Well thanks again, I will give you a call if I may because I would like your advice on getting a translation of the works we need to have done for our builder's devis. 

Best wishes, Martin & Maggie.

Well that has got to be the most comprehensive feedback of all time eh! We wish Martin & Maggie many many years of happy times at their delightful house in Plemet, Cotes d'Armor in Brittany. Martin offers some great advice and some very good insights, thanks you Martin & Maggie and best of luck for the future, keep in touch.