Clé France

Hello, we are very happy with our house in Normandy and wish to thank you for your help and contacts.

Regards, June.

June bought a delightful house with Cle France and we wish her many happy years there. We make sure that every part of the process is stress free for our clients throughout the buying process.

Hi Sharon, 

We had quite a whistle-stop tour of the area and probably viewed more than a dozen properties. We liked the house at Montsurvent and the size of the plot, but we were rather daunted by the number and size of the outbuildings.   

Having looked around the area we are drawn toward the coastal region of the Cherbourg peninsula, however we are struggling to work out the true worth of properties when the pricing against the condition of the houses seems quite variable. Our short term plan is to make a further visit in the next few weeks just to try and narrow down our choice of area before looking at any other properties.

The Cle France agent was really a helpful and knowledgeable guide, thankyou for arranging the viewing and for the other information you have provided regarding foreign exchange etc. this has been really useful as we are such novices.

No doubt we will be in touch again when we have had a chance to think things over.

Regards, Helene & Stuart.

Sometimes a viewing trip does not result in a sale for Cle France but it always rpresents the start of an excitring journey for our clients as they narrow down what type of property and in which region of France they want to buy. We hope to help Helene & Stuart on thier journey to owning a House in France very soon.

Hello David and Sharon,

We have been in our beautiful cottage in St Aignan de Couptrain for three weeks now and would like to thank Cle France for your invaluable help both in arranging the viewing with a very professional agent, thanks you for your continued assistance in completing our purchase.

We had been looking, off and on in Brittany and Normandy for ten years and this property really ticks all the boxes!

A new adventure in your early seventies is very rewarding!

Best wishes, Mel and Carole.

We are so pleased to have helped Mel and Carole find the perfect property fit for them and in the process we helped our vendor sell the house and move back to the UK, so happy vendors and happy new buyers completes the circle for us at Cle France.

Mel and Carole bought a house with Cle France in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire Region of France and moved in at the start of September 2015. We wish them many happy years at the property.

Do you want anothe reason to visit France apart from buying a property in France?

How about this; a Humpback Whale caught on video off the coast of Arcachon on the Atlantic coast of France.

FISHERMEN off the coast of the Bassin d'Arcachon captured on video a humpback whale leaping, twisting and jumping into the air from the depths of the Atlantic ocean, magnificent.

We hope you enjoy browsing through these pages of blogs. Please feel free to contact us to discuss your search, or indeed for any further information you may require.

NO HIDDEN FEES: The price you pay is the same as anyone walking through the door of the agency, same as the price paid by the French buyer.

All quoted prices are INCLUSIVE OF AGENCY FEES (FAI): with Notaire’s fees (around 7/8%) to be added.

OUR AGENTS: are all registered and insured in France, or they are holders of the 'carte professionnelle' as required by French law.

So when you buy through Clé France: you have the benefit of a bi-lingual support team & can be confident that you are paying no more than the standard commission rates you would pay anyway.

CONTACT US: to discuss your search for property in France, or indeed for any further information you may require on French property sales.

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

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

Only 24 Hours in a Day – French Time

Getting the time right from the basics of France being 1 hour ahead of the UK, let alone thinking about all the other time zones where Cle France clients travel from! Organising all the viewings with our 150+ agents at various times of the day can be a challenge but it is what we do everyday, day in and day out so we are pretty good at telling the time in French, are you?

Before moving to France I had never said seventeen o’clock. In France, that’s the normal way to say five o’clock PM.

France uses a 24 hour clock rather than an AM/PM system. This extends into the spoken language, and while you can say huit heures du soir (eight o’clock in the evening) or huit heures du matin (eight o’clock in the morning), it’s common to just say vingt heures (twenty o’clock) or huit heures (eight o’clock).

Image by Kyle Steed on Flickr.

It’s not too hard to get used to the system, but it can lead to strange mixups. Aujourd’hui (today) I still occasionally get mixed up with the time and show up at the wrong time because mon cerveau (my brain) tried too hard to convert the 24 hour time.

One time I showed up to a meeting deux heures en avant (two hours early). I had checked l’horloge (the clock) about cinquante fois (fifty times) before leaving the house and I was just as surprised as the person I was meeting.

Ce n’est pas la bonne heure ? 

On a dit 17 heures et il est 15 heures !

It’s not the right time? 

We said 5 PM and it’s 3 PM!

I started to rougir (turn red) once I realised my mistake. I told myself that dix-sept heures is 5 o’clock so many times that once I saw a 5 sur l’horloge (on the clock) mon cerveau jumped ahead!

Once I was used to le nouveau système (the new system), I quite enjoyed the clarity that comes from never wondering if it’s 12 AM or PM, even if I still show up deux heures en avant sometimes.

We at Cle France have to be good with time planning as we send hundreds of people every week visiting properties in France and one other chap who is very good with timing is Ben, our Cle France dedicated currency expert, he makes sure your money is where it needs to be and on time.

Ben Amrany from FC Exchange follow this link or phone and ask for myself and quote "Cle France" on 020 7989 0000.

You may contact me directly using this form (click here) with your requirement and I will explain the options that are available to you in getting the best exchange rate.  

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

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

For everything you need to know about French property visit www.clefrance.co.uk