I know it is only the beginning of September and in my experience September is always milder than August in France, especially north of the Loire as August can often bring storms and showers, September is calmer and seeing the autumn creep into the trees is always somewhat comforting knowing that winter is around the corner and long nights by the fire are beckoning!

Preparing your French House for winter.

You've hopefully been making the most of the good weather during the summer and visiting your French property, generally taking it easy where DIY and general odd-jobs are concerned but we thought a few tips on setting your property up for the winter months would be timely.

As the winter draws ever closer, there are a few quick jobs you can do around your home and garden to prepare them for the colder months.

Cle France top ten tips:

1. If you are not at the property during the winter, use your neighbour or friends or even a professional key holder to visit the property on a regular basis to make sure everything is in order.

2. Check dripping taps - fix them to prevent your pipes from freezing or your house from flooding.

3. Bleed radiators - bleeding your radiators releases trapped air which allows the water to fill every part of the radiator.

4. Test smoke alarms - change the battery every year, or when needed after testing each month, and make sure no dust has accumulated in the alarm.

5. Insulation - help keep your house warm by having good loft and wall insulation, if you are in the process of doing this make sure you prioritise for example, lag the water tank and insulate the outside taps etc.

6. Draught excluders - prevent heat from escaping through windows and doors by sealing any gaps with adhesive tape and use draught excluders at doors and windows.

7. Clear your guttering - make sure you get rid of any fallen leaves that could block and weigh down your guttering and pipes and stop the rain water from escaping.

8. Add anti-freeze to you toilet bowl and cistern to prevent it from cracking if the water freezes.

9. Clean your gardening equipment - you won't be using your gardening tools or lawnmower for a few months. Make sure they are clean, dry and stored away securely to prevent rust or theft.

10. Check your boiler - we all strive to turn the heating on as late in the year as possible, but the last thing you want is to turn it on in the winter and find your boiler is not working, test it before you need it.

AND FINALLY....

Make sure your home is properly protected and insured, when looking for a quotation from a French insurance company, in English, that is suited to your specific insurance and investment needs? or just looking for advice / information about the insurance system in France? then...

Franck and his English speaking insurance team are proud to be of service to you.

Special Offer: Quote "Cle France" to get a 10% reduction on your Home insurance policy.

Cle France in partnership with Franck commit ourselves to providing you with excellent service you can rely on.

Franck and his team's main purpose is to establish a friendly, professional rapport with you and help you to decide what sort of insurance you need.

They can also review your current cover to ensure it still meets your needs and those of your family.

Car, House (Building and Contents Insurance), Medical Top-Up (Affordable Top Up insurance for you and your family).  Allianz offer the security of a strong French business with the convenience of an English speaking insurance team, so your quotations can be provided in English.

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Let Franck and his team look after your Insurance requirements.

Often I get asked the question "what is the lowest price the vendor will accept"? and of course there is never an answer for this, would YOU tell your agent or prospective buyer the lowest figure you would accept when selling your house? OF COURSE NOT!

We probably do not highlight properties that often where we know the vendors are "open to offers" so thought I would share this one with you today!

For sale at 188,680 euros FAI (agency fees included) we have this delightful stone built Longere with attached barn for further development in the Limousin region and yes the owner is "open to offers"...

Situated in a small peaceful hamlet, with a nice view over stunning countryside is this beautiful 1860's granite stone 3 bedroom Longere style house and attached barn. There are some good character features in this original building, habitable now but with so much scope for improvement and development, perhaps even some guest accommodation to provide income in the form of Guest Gite rentals in the future.

CXZ00735 - The vendor is open to reasonable offers.

GROUND FLOOR: Entering the house you are immediately greeted by a 32m2 living room with grand feature fireplace and lots of character stone and beams.

Leading from the living room is a 40m2 kitchen and dining room with wooden fitted kitchen with stone features cleverly integrated into the cabinets. There are beautiful french doors leading into the gardens for easy outdoor dining. Next to the kitchen is another room of 40m2 which could be made into anything you require. Maybe another bedroom, living room or very large utility room.

UPSTAIRS: Leading upstairs via a beautiful wooden staircase situated in the living room, there is a 35m2 master bedroom with a beautiful corner bathroom and separate toilet. The bathroom suite in this room is really something special with a quality and unusual bath and matching double sink basins.

Along the landing is another bedroom of 10m2 and a family bathroom with bath, sink and multi-jet shower. There is also a separate toilet.

Another staircase takes you up to another bedroom on a mezzanine measuring 25m2. Most of the upstairs has the original wood floor.

This lovely house has double glazed windows throughout and excellent quality wooden shutters keeping in character with the style of the property. There is electric heating throughout.

OUTBUILDING: Attached to the house is a 50m2 barn with single door to the front and double doors to the rear. There is sufficient land at the rear of the property to drive in vehicles if the barn was to be used to house cars or other vehicles. This barn could easily be converted into additional accommodation or separate attached cottage.

OUTSIDE: to the left of the house is an attached stone out-house with 2 rooms, one currently housing wood for the fire and the other gardening equipment.

This house sits within 2650m2 of exquisite gardens with beautiful trees and well-tended lawns.

This property is situated in a hamlet 2km from the town of Peyrelevade, which has all amenities such as shops, doctors, pharmacy and school, to name just a few.  For leisure there are lakes, walking and cycling routes, a golf course, horse riding nearby and the ski slopes of Mont Dore just 1 hour away.

This house offers you the 1860's character french features built in local granite stone and situated in a stunning area of rural France.  A real french dream!

The department of Corrèze is located in south central France, Corrèze belongs to the Limousin region. Correze is the name river running through the department. The population is around 240,000 inhabitants and is split into three arrondissements (Tulle, Brive and Ussel), 38 cantons and 285 towns and villages. Lanscapes in this department are mountains, plateaus and valleys. The highest mountain is the Mont Bessou at 978m.

Correze has many pretty villages or towns. It has six villages belonging to the ’Prettiest villages of France’ category, so watch out for Collonges-la-Rouge, Curemonte, Saint-Robert, Ségur-le-Chateau, Treignac and Turenne.

Limousin is often described as one of the cheapest French regions in terms of property. It will depend of course on the location and your personal expectations but in general you get a lot for your money.

Less than 12% of the properties in Correze are second homes but the number is climbing as it is really sought after for quality holiday homes and setting up a B&B style business.

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

What method / device do you use to stay up to date on current events? A couple decades ago, reading the newspaper, listening to the news on the radio or watching current events unfold on television were the only options. I remember watching les infos de 20 hrs sur TF1 (the 8 o’clock news on TF1) and la météo (the weather) at many of my homes during different times when I was living in France, and I still do via Sky.

I guess you read French Property News, Living France, A Place in the Sun magazines etc. I hope you even enjoy reading the Cle France Newsletters! but to really learn more about life and living in France a French newspaper can not be beaten.

Times have changed though and today we are bombarded with news in every conceivable form. From apps on our smartphones to the browsers on our computer to satellite radio and more, we have access to the latest news within seconds on a variety of devices.

Image by Pluriformity on Flickr

We can still read our local paper journal (newspaper) but thanks to the Internet, we now have access to the most recent news from different parts of the world and in a variety of languages. You don't have to visit France just to buy the paper anymore!

France has no shortage of journaux (newspapers), one of which began circulating nearly two centuries ago. Like many of our largest newspapers, the major French publications have made the leap into the digital era and offer virtual newspapers viewable on all your electronic devices.

If you’re looking to practice your French reading comprehension skills and would like to keep up on what’s going on in France and around the world, any of the major French newspapers can provide you with a good dose of les actualités (the news). Keep in mind, some are quotidiens (daily) while others are hebdomadaires (weekly).

Let’s run through some of the sections you might find in French newspapers and/or their websites to help you navigate their content.

Actualités (News) – This will give you the latest news and is not topic-specific.

À la une (Front page) – This refers to the front page of a newspaper so it is deemed the most important piece of content. This will usually be the homepage of a news website.

Politique (Politics) – Anything having to do with the political world, both foreign and domestic.

Société (Society) – Topics may vary, but you would want to visit this section to read up on currents events in France.

International or Monde (International or World) – As the section title implies, you will read about events beyond the domestic sphere.

Culture (Culture) – This section will include the latest news in the world of cinéma (film), musique (music), les arts (the arts), livres (books), etc.

Économie (Economy) – Read up on financial news in this section, including details about la Bourse de Paris (the Paris Stock Exchange).

Sciences/Tech (Science/Tech) – These sections may be separate but they are sometimes combined. Learn about new discoveries in science and read about groundbreaking innovations in the tech/web sphere.

Although they are found in most French newspapers, the sections listed above might differ slightly from publication to publication. Larger publications may have additional sections such as Sports, Style, Santé (Health), Fait Divers (Various Facts) and Auto (Cars) but the sections above are shared among most of them.

In the next posts, we’ll look in greater detail at some of these French newspapers that have informed and entertained readers for decades.

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

Our 5th Cle France Cheese course, pass the port!

This is the 5th and last instalment in our series on French cheese. We hoped you have learned a few facts you may not have known before and, most of all, I hope you will take the time to seek out some of these cheeses and experience them for yourself. You should be able to find them in specialty stores around your area.

Go back in time on the blog pages and check out the first and second instalments if you’re just joining us.

Image by jenny downing on Flickr

Let’s turn the cheese tray to sink our teeth into two more cheeses, one of which you may already be eating.

Boursin :

Boursin is the newest member in the family of cheeses we’ve discovered so far. Created by François Boursin in 1963 in the Normandy region of France, Boursin has become one of the most popular French cheeses across the world. Go into any grocery store in the United States and you are likely to find some variation of Boursin. And that is one of the virtues of Boursin. It comes in many different flavors that appeal to a wide audience.

Made with cow’s milk, Boursin is unique in that it contains herbs, de l’ail, du persil et du poivre (garlic, parsley and pepper). It may also contains shallots, chives and even red chilli pepper depending on the variety. As a testament to its versatility, besides its usual pairing with bread, Boursin can be added to dishes made with meat, soup, légumes et fruits de mer (vegetables and seafood).

Unlike many other French cheeses, Boursin isn’t strong and has a very creamy texture that makes it easy to spread on bread or crackers. Boursin’s mild flavour explains its popularity among American audiences who may be averse to the much stronger French cheeses. Boursin has even earned its very own website where you can learn about the different varieties and try recipes containing the cheese.

The original slogan 'Du pain, du vin, et du Boursin' (Bread, wine and Boursin) really says it all.

Pont-l’Évêque :

Hailing from Normandy, just like Boursin, Pont-l’Évêque was created dans une abbaye (in an abbey) in Normandie somewhere around the 12th or 13th century. Originally named d’Angelot, the cheese took on the name of the village of Pont l’Évêque where it was produced around the 16th or 17th century.

A rich and creamy cheese made from either pasteurised or unpasteurised cow’s milk, Pont-l’Évêque has a light orange rind and is always shaped into un carré (a square). A full-bodied red wine can be paired with Pont-l’Évêque and the cheese is often melted to create a delicious, albeit rich, fondue.

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

Our 4th Cle France Cheese course, Yum!

We hope you’ve been enjoying our little excursion through the world of French cheese. If you dislike the taste of cheese or have never tried a sampling of French cheeses, a basic knowledge of some of the most famous varieties may prove useful someday if you decide to visit France for the first time. Should you find yourself devant un plateau de fromage (before a cheese tray), gazing in wonder at the different shapes and colours laid out in front of you, I hope you remember a few details from these posts.

Go back in time on the blog pages and check out the first and second instalments if you’re just joining us.

Image by jmvnoos on Flickr

You might not wish to become a cheese expert, but you will no doubt begin to cultivate une appréciation pour l’histoire et la tradition (an appreciation for the history and tradition) of centuries of French cheese. After all, who can call themselves a Francophile without at least acknowledging France’s mastery of all things fromage?

On that note, let us continue our foray into the cheese universe by exploring two of my favourites.

Cantal :

Un fromage ancien (an ancient cheese) whose origins stretch back nearly two millennia, Cantal comes from the Auvergne region in central France, more precisely from the Cantal department, home to a beautiful range of montagnes vertes (green mountains) called the Cantal Mountains. The volcanoes in the area are surrounded by de la terre fertile (fertile land) with pastures perfect for grazing.

A heavy and dense cheese, Cantal is made from cow’s milk and shaped into cylinders with a light brown rind. Cantal has un gout distinct (a distinct flavour) reminiscent of nuts. Paired with fruit or melted into soups or fondue, Cantal is sure to entice even the most incredulous cheese critic.

Reblochon :

Reblochon may not have the rich history or cachet of Cantal, but it has a fascinating history nonetheless. Reblochon est un fromage très crémeux (is a very creamy cheese) from the Savoie region, similar to Brie in consistency. Du lait cru de vache (raw cow’s milk) produces Reblochon and in fact the name Reblochon comes from the verb reblocher, a technique used by farmers in centuries past whereby a cow was not fully milked so as to withhold the full supply of milk to be paid as tax to landowners. The remaining milk produced by the second milking was richer and used to produce cheese.

Reblochon must be turned every two days and washed with whey. You will notice un arome d’herbes (an herbal aroma) that is quite pleasing. Because of its soft consistency, Reblochon is excellent when spread on a baguette and paired with a bold red wine or even a light white wine from the Savoie region.

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