A Place in the Sun Live at Manchester Central this weekend!

As you may know Cle France and A Place in the Sun have been partners for many years, we feature around 3000 of our properties for sale in France on the APITS website and the 'Live' event this weekend is one of the highlights of the international property calendar.

So if you can make it to Manchester Central tomorrow then you will be in for a treat.

Here is some words of wisdom from the A Place in the Sun team... 

Please make sure you have your ticket printed or on your phone ready to be scanned at the box office - there will be one queue for mobile tickets and another for printed tickets so make sure you join the right queue when you arrive.

Jasmine and Ryan kick off the weekend’s activities at The Hub at 10:45am, followed by plenty more seminars and opportunities to hear from Jonnie, Amanda and Laura over the weekend too.

Remember to arrive early to secure a seat as The Hub gets very busy.

And watch the video below as Jasmine takes us through how you can make the most of your time at the show.

A Place in the Sun Live!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

Maybe you’re buying property in France or maybe you’re just curious about the vocabulary. Whatever it is, it doesn’t hurt to know these French terms.

The first term to come to mind when buying a house is the mortgage. In France, as elsewhere, there are different kinds of mortgages. The standard kind of mortgage is known as un prêt amortissable or un prêt classique. In this mortgage, you finance typically 80% of the home value and pay back the principle plus interest over a set amount of years.An interest-only mortgage is known as un prêt in fine.

There are also different terms of repayment and financing, including un prêt modulable, or a “flexible mortgage” in which your repayment plan changes depending on your financial circumstances.

Un prêt à taux révisable cape is a certain kind of mortgage that offers varied interest rates, typically capped at around 2 or 3%.

In France, the annual percentage rate (APR) of your loan, or the real rate that you have to pay back your principle, is known as le Taux Effectif Global (TEG). 

When you enter into a contact on a property, this is known as the promesse de vente or a compromis de vente. A survey is known as un diagnostic immobilier. Of course, as elsewhere, there are fees that need to be paid when closing on a house that are not related to the mortgage or interest. In France, these fees are known as les frais de notaire, and they can be substantial. These include certain registration taxes, called droits d’enregistrement, and other taxes.

As you can see, in many ways buying a home in France is similar to buying a home in the UK or the United States, for example. But there are also many differences. 

Our "Buying Process" pages go into much more detail and are worth a read but it may be a challenge to read all of them in a month, so any particular questions you have just ask away using our "Ask Alex" service for free or send us an email / Contact Us form.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Some dates for your 2018 diary, the ever popular "A Place in the Sun LIVE" exhibitions happen over four weekends in 2018 and are not only a great day out, they are a fantastic way to find out more about buying property abroad.

You can get answers to many aspects of the buying process from hints and tips about viewings right through to issues such as Mortgages, Currency Exchange, Home Insurance and much more.

And of course, there is always a chance to meet some of the presenters of the TV show!

So here are the four weekends in 2018 for you to make a note of and refer back to.

Of course if you have any questions about buying property in France all you have to do is Ask Alex here.

A Place in the Sun Live takes place four times in 2018:

16th – 18th March at Manchester Central

The increasingly popular north-west exhibition skipped a year in 2017 so get ready for extra demand from this prosperous part of the UK.

11th – 13th May at Olympia London

The longest-running event, first hosted in spring 2005 and delivering a high-quality, adventurous audience ever since.

21st – 23rd September at NEC Birmingham

The best-returning event for many of our exhibitors, an audience drawn from across the UK determined to find property in sunny climes

27th – 28th October at SEC Glasgow

A smaller show now in its third year with more-visitors-per-exhibitor than any other event in 2017.

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

The summer can mean lots of wonderful things, including spending time at the beach, barbecuing with friends and family, and trips to new and exciting locales. This means traveling, which means you might be spending a lot more time in your car.

In French, the word for car is voiture. The word voiture is feminine, so it is la voiture. The verb "to drive" in French is conduire. Conduire can also mean "to conduct or lead" in addition its main definition.

Conduire is also an irregular verb. Here is the conjugation of conduire in the present tense:

je conduis

tu condius

il/elle/on conduit

nous conduisons

vous conduisez

ils/elles conduisent

But there are many others words that you just might need to use when you’re driving a car. In fact, if you happen to be driving a car in a French-speaking country, learning vocabulary related to cars and driving might be important for safety reasons. Here are some words that might be useful to you:

La ceinture de sécurité - Seat belt

Le klaxon - horn

Le volant - the steering wheel

Le tableau de bord - the dashboard

Le clignotant - the turn signal/indicator

Le phare - the headlight

Le rétroviseur - the rearview mirror

Le frein - the brake

Le capot - the hood

Le coffre - the trunk

Le pneu - the tire

Le pare-brise - the windshield

L’essuie glace (m) - the windshield wiper

Le permis de conduire - driver’s license

La plaque d’immatriculation - license plate

Démarrer - To start (the ignition)

There are also certain phrases that might be useful if you fall into any problems while driving in France. Hopefully, you’ll never need to use some of the following phrases!

L’autoroute est payante - The highway charges tolls.

Je suis en panne d’essence - I ran out of gas.

Il faut que je fasse le plein - I need to fill up the tank.

J’ai un pneu crevé - I have a flat tire.

C’est un feu vert/rouge - It’s a green/red light.

Il faut gonfler les pneus - The tires need to be inflated.

Il y a un problème de freins - There’s a problem with the brakes.

Le pare-brise est cassé - The windshield is broken.

Ma voiture est en panne - My car broke down.

If you are traveling this summer, amusez-vous bien et bon voyage!

Blog submitted by: Alex at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted on The French Language Blog pages.

Some Tips for Driving in France this Summer!

Just like any other year a lot of you may be preparing to take a trip to France. Thousands of holiday makers and visitors will be heading to France to soak up the sun, sights and sounds - but do you know the rules of the road when you get there?

According to a recent uSwitch survey, one in three UK and Irish drivers are unaware you have to drive on the right-hand side of the road in France, while three quarters are unaware the drink-drive limit is stricter in France.

These findings prompted Admiral Insurance to take a look at what their own customers get up to when driving abroad and where they're most likely to get into a spot of bother.

The research revealed the majority of customer claims abroad in 2015 happened in France, so here are some tips on what to expect when driving abroad.

1. Check you are covered - call your insurer to find out and make sure to take your certificate of insurance with you. If you've not been driving long or are under the age of 25 you'll need to check with the DVLA if you are unsure whether you can drive abroad

2. They drive on the right over there - as close as we are to France they do things differently when it comes to which side of the road to drive on. Don't get caught out!

3. Stay clear of alcohol - obviously lots of fans will be keen to indulge in a drink or two while supporting their country however, for those driving to their destination it's best to avoid the booze altogether. At 0.5mg per ml the French drink drive limit is lower than the UK limit of 0.8mg per ml so be extra careful when driving the day after a drink

4. Take a breather - according to the uSwitch survey, only 17% of respondents were aware they need to have a working breathalyser in the car with them at all times. Don't worry you can pick these up quite cheaply from Halfords or online

5. Warning signs - you'll need to make sure you have a warning triangle to put up just in case you breakdown or get into a bump

6. Dress accordingly - in addition to the breathalyser and warning triangle you'll also need a reflective jacket or waistcoat.

What about claiming abroad?

Accidents happen no matter where you go; in fact, during 2015, Admiral customers reported 716 of them. Out of those, 476 involved male customers and 240 involved female drivers.

France was the most likely spot for an accident to occur when one of our customers was abroad and there were 346 claims made there during 2015. Claiming while you're abroad isn't too different to being in the UK and you'll need to let your insurance caompany know as soon as the incident occurs.

One big difference when claiming in Europe is the fact you'll need to fill out the Agreed Statement of Facts on Motor Vehicle Accident form, you'll need to print a copy before you go.

The form is known as the Constat Amiable in France and the version you fill in will be in French - the version you print off can be used as a guide to help you fill out the form given to you by the third party.

Filling this in allows you to get your version of events across but beware, signing anywhere on the form without ticking any of the boxes in section 12 means you're agreeing with the third party's version of events.

Just like in the UK be sure to get the name and insurance details of the other driver and any passengers, photos of the incident and damage if you are able and the registration of the other vehicle. If the accident involves a lorry you'll need the registration of both the trailer and cab.

Blog submitted by: David at The French Property Network - Cle France.

This blog was originally posted by Admiral Insurance.