Clé France

There is nothing nicer than arriving at you own holiday home rather than a rented Gite and this is the perfect time of year for viewing and buying your own holiday home in France, imagine planning your first of many happy holiday visits for this summer.

I would choose this one in the Cotes d'Armor department of Brittany as it is in a great location, quiet and peaceful but not isolated, lovely rural environment and a tourist type town nearby plus everything Brittany has to offer. AND a very reasonable price too...

This is PLM02998 for sale in Brittany with Cle France for only 69,600 euros FAI.

Just a perfect setting in the heart of Brittany, in a rural hamlet, we have this lovely stone built Cottage on around 500 sqm of garden.

Stone cottage in rural location with nice views yet on the outskirts of the thriving market village of Mael Carhaix. Much improved by the current owners, including a new septic tank fitted last year, a new shower room, new box room ideal as a home office/study. The property also has a telephone/internet connection and satellite TV.

Ground floor: Entrance hall, fitted kitchen, lounge with fireplace, box/office/study room, shower room, utility/toilet.

First floor: Landing and two double bedrooms.

Outside: 2 Garden sheds / box room attached to the property.

NOTE: New septic tank fitted in 2013 and electrics were re-wired in 2006.

Mael Carhaix is a thriving market village that boasts an array of shops, banks, bars, hairdressers, bakeries and a restaurant. It also has a lovely lake with a beach and Japanese water garden, horse riding and cycle paths; so lots to see and do in the area.

The department of Cotes d’Armor is the northern most department in the Region of Brittany, with the English Channel to the north, Ille-et-Vilaine to the east, Morbihan to the south and Finistère to the west it is a sunshine gem.

The picturesque Émeraude Coast looks north to the English Channel and is packed with charming seaside resorts and old fishing villages. Most of the towns of the interior were founded in the Middle Ages. The department’s southern half is crossed by the Noires Mountains that run west to east with rivers emptying to the south into the Bay of Biscay and to the north into the Channel.

Along the coast, fishing was once important but is now secondary to the cultivation of fruit, oats, potatoes and wheat and of course tourism.

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

A further consideration when buying a house in France is planning permission. What you do inside your own house is your own business and does not need planning permission. If the living area is being increased, for instance, as in a loft conversion, the authorities want to know so they may increase the rates but they do not always do this.

Here you fill in a relatively simple form and submit it to the Mairie, but they do not stop you doing it. Altering the exterior in any way requires full planning permission. If this is a fairly simple change then the applicant can complete the whole process himself, and since the forms and other requirements are fairly simple, it is easy to do and no cost is involved.

Once submitted it may be returned  with some changes requested or suggested, but if you have been sensible and in advance asked the local mayor for advice, then it will go through smoothly. Even if it does come back, when the amendments are made it will be quickly passed.

When it returns finally with the stamp of approval, usually within a few weeks, there is no cost involved. In contrast, obtaining planning permission in Britain is seen often as a nightmare by the average person who usually has to call in experts who are expensive.

It seems as though the planning departments are there in order to harass and harry applicants in every way and, finally, when permission is granted also to lumber the applicant with a big bill that adds to the cost of the project.

Fraser Blake, 70, author of 'Dear Chips' and 'A Rant Too Far?' grew up in Africa, was at school in Scotland, and worked for the British South Africa Police in Southern Rhodesia. He has taught English in Saudi Arabia and sold and renovated hundreds of properties in Northern France.

In 1998 Fraser was selling houses in the Mayenne department of the Pays de la Loire region and so was the obvious choice, when Cle France was started, to be their first agent on the ground in France. In retirement he writes, blogs, cooks, drinks wine, and hosts to dinner unlimited numbers of ex-pats.

Always on hand with a viewpoint, Fraser is going to share his views on France, the French and the British, and other people who buy in France. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, painfully true, outrageously opinionated but always entertaining so we hope it adds a slightly different dimension to the usual normality of searching through the fantastic properties for sale on the Cle France website.

If you want more? then follow the links above where you can buy Fraser's published books.

Wow, you don't often get good news like that ! Thank you Sharon...

Regards, Lawrence.

Lawrence and his family have been enjoying their holiday home in La Manche in the region of Lower Normandy for almost 18 months now, having bought with Cle France. We are still helping him, we do that!, after all this time to understand about when to pay his local 'Tax Fonciere', he seems to like the fact he has nothing to pay until September this year.

If you really want to learn French, you need to know a few French expressions...

Si tu veux vraiment apprendre le Français, il faut connaître quelques expressions Françaises!

You aren’t going to find these in formal language books but equipping yourself with some of these idioms, colloquialisms and tournures de phrases (turns of phrase) will endear you to the French even if your accent betrays you.

Below are a few of the more popular French expressions along with their literal translations (or close to it) and what they mean in English.

1. Ca gaz? (Is it gassing?) – How’s it going?

2. C’est pas terrible (It’s not terrible) – It isn’t that great.

3. Et patati et patata (And blah, blah, blah,) – When someone won’t stop talking.

4. Un froid de canard (A duck’s cold) – It’s extremely cold outside.

5. Faire la grasse matinée (Doing the fat morning) – Sleeping in.

6. Avoir une araignée au plafond (Having a spider on the ceiling) – The ceiling refers to a person’s head and means that he/she is a little odd but that it doesn’t bother anyone.

7. Rentrer bredouille (Returning bredouille) – There’s no real translation for the word bredouille but it means returning empty-handed.

8. Tomber à pic (Falling at the peak) – To arrive at just the right time.

9. Avoir les yeux plus gros que le ventre (Having eyes bigger than the stomach) – This refers to a person whose desire for food was larger than their stomach and they end up overeating or not being able to finish the food on their plate.

10. Mettre la charrue avant les bœufs (Placing the plow before the oxen) – This is similar to the phrase “Putting the cart before the horse” and has the same meaning.

11. Bête comme un chou (Dumb like a cabbage) – Refers to a person who is dumb, similar to the expression “Dumber than a sack of hammers/rocks.”

12. Avoir le feu au derrière (Having fire on your behind) – To be in a hurry.

13. Donner sa langue au chat (To give one’s tongue to the cat) – To give up or to stop guessing.

14. Avoir d’autres chat à fouetter (Having other cats to whip) – Similar to “Having bigger fish to fry” meaning having other things to do.

15. Boire un coup/Prendre un verre (Drink a blow/Take a glass) – To have a drink.

16. Avoir le cafard (Having the cockroach) – Feeling down or depressed.

17. Être dans de beaux draps (Being in nice sheets) – Being in a mess.

18. Dormir sur les deux oreilles (Sleeping on both ears) – Sleeping well, having restful sleep.

19. Vieux/Vieille comme Hérode (Old like Herod) – Referring to King Herod in the Bible, this simply refers to a very elderly person.

20. À fond la caisse (At full throttle) – To go real fast, especially in a vehicle.

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

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

Hi Sharon, You have been great and thank you in advance for understanding plus being patient. 

I'll wait to hear from you with any guidance etc... If you could arrange a viewing for the Corlay property that would be great.

Thank you. Melissa.

Like many other Melissa is working with us to build up a little portfolio of properties to view in Cotes d'Armor and Morbihan in the region of Brittany, we can use a clients property criteria to narrow down the search saving them time and making sure that their viewing trip is the best use of their time and that no time is wasted viewing property in France that is not suitable.