What a holiday home in France actually costs you in tax
Taxe foncière, the second-home surcharge, tax on rental income, the social charge that changed in January, and what happens when you sell.
Shooting and hunting in France: the licence, the exam and the gun
How to pass the permis de chasser, what it costs each year, what you need before an armourer will sell you a gun, and where hunters stand on your land.
Why the cheap plot is not the cheap plot
A buildable plot is not a serviced one. What it costs to bring water, power, drainage and telecoms to bare land, and the free document that tells you.
Swapping an American driving licence for a French one
Only 18 states can swap. The clock runs a year from your first residence permit, and missing it is an offence. The list, the paperwork, the deadlines.
Finding someone to cut the grass: how to get small jobs done in France
Where to find someone for the grass, the cleaning or the car, what to expect to pay an hour, and why declaring the work costs less than paying cash.
Putting a shed in a French garden: the rules, the tax and the trap
Why a shed over 5 square metres needs permission and gets taxed, the exemption your commune may already have voted, and the form with a 90-day deadline.
Adding a veranda in France: what you may build, and what it will cost you afterwards
The thresholds that decide whether you need a déclaration or a full permit, when an architect becomes compulsory, and the two taxes a veranda brings.
Why Brittany works, whether you come for six weeks a year or for good
Why Brittany suits both a holiday home and a full-time move: the climate, the coast, getting there, winter, and the two tax rules owners miss.
Buying a car in France: the process, the paperwork and the guarantee
Where to buy, what the seller must hand you, how long you have to register it, what the carte grise costs and the one difference between a garage and a private sale that decides everything if it goes wrong.
Putting a pool in at a French house: permission, safety and what it costs
What size pool needs a déclaration préalable and what needs a full permit, the safety device the law makes compulsory, the two taxes, and the running costs nobody mentions.
Which ferry port, and how far to the house?
Crossing times from Portsmouth, Poole, Plymouth, Rosslare and Cork, and the honest drive from each French port to the towns where we build. The question that decides how often you actually come.
Fences and hedges in France: what you are allowed to do
Before you order a single fence panel in France, read your commune's PLU. Here is how to find it, when you need permission, how high you can go, and the hedge distances that catch almost everybody out.
Solar panels on a French house: are they still worth it?
France cut the solar subsidies in June 2026 — the self-consumption grant is gone and surplus now sells for 1.1 cents. Here is what that means, the different types of panel, and when they still make sense.
Septic tanks in France: the bill nobody mentions at the viewing
Buy an old house in rural France and you may have a year to replace the septic tank. Here is how the inspection works, the five types of system, what each costs and what help exists.
Letting your French house when you are not using it
Registering at the mairie, the SIRET nobody mentions, the micro-BIC allowances after the Le Meur law, and the 7.5% social charge rate British and Irish owners can claim. A straight guide.
Signing to keys: what really happens while your house is built
The permit, the two-month objection window nobody mentions, the seven stage payments set by law, and what réception day involves. Signing to keys.
Buying property in France from Ireland: what your Dublin money actually buys
The median Dublin house sold for €500,000 this year. Here is what that buys brand new in Brittany or the Vendée, and the four advantages Irish buyers have that British ones no longer do.
What it really costs to own a French house each year
Taxe foncière, the second-home taxe d'habitation, water, insurance and the electricity bill on a new RE2020 house in Brittany, Normandy or the Vendée — the real figures and the exemptions.
Does owning a French house let you stay longer? The 90/180 rule explained
No — owning property gives you no extra days. Here is how the rolling 180-day window is actually counted, what the new biometric border system changed, and the visa that legally gets you six months at a time.
The cheapest places in France to build a house
Where a new house costs least, what drives the difference between one department and the next, and why the very cheapest corner of France is usually the wrong answer.
Can I get a French mortgage as a non-resident?
Yes, and French rates are often lower than British ones. Here is the deposit you need, the one affordability rule that decides everything, and how a mortgage works on a new build paid in stages.
Healthcare in France for British and Irish retirees
How the S1 form works, what happens if you are too young for one, how long a carte vitale really takes, what a mutuelle costs and what you pay at the doctor. Plain English, no jargon.
Brittany, Normandy or the Vendée? An honest comparison
The three regions where most British and Irish buyers end up, compared honestly on weather, travel, price, pace and resale. Written by people who build in all three.
Moving to France from the USA: shipping your home and flying your dog
How Americans actually move to France — the customs relief that brings your household goods in free of duty and tax, what not to ship, and the microchip mistake that strands more dogs at the airport than anything else.
Moving to France from Ireland: your furniture, your pets and the ferry
Ireland is still in the EU, so moving to France is far simpler than it is for British buyers — no customs, no duty, no visa. Here is what you genuinely have to do, including the one trap that catches people who route through Britain.
Moving to France from the UK: how to bring your furniture and your pets
What it actually takes to move your belongings and your dog or cat from the UK to France in 2026 — the customs relief on household goods, the animal health certificate, and the seven-day rule almost nobody mentions.
Cheap property in France: a brand new home for under €150,000
How to buy cheap property in Brittany, Normandy and the Vendée: cheap building land from around €5,000, a brand new bungalow with a loft ready to convert, and the whole thing under €150,000.
The American dream in France: a step-by-step guide to building a new home
A practical, step-by-step guide for Americans buying a new-build home in France — the visa, the money, the contract, the timeline, and what the sale of a US house actually buys you in Brittany.
Buying property on the Presqu'île de Rhuys: an insider's guide to the Gulf of Morbihan's most coveted peninsula
Thinking of buying property on the Presqu'île de Rhuys in the Gulf of Morbihan? What is actually there, what building land costs, and why a supply-capped coastline holds its value.
New build or old house in France: which is really the better buy?
Charm or comfort, character or running costs. An honest comparison of buying an older French property against building new, including the energy rules that now decide what you can let out.
RE2020 explained: what France's energy standard means for your new home
RE2020 is the building standard every new French home must now meet. Here is what it actually changes, what it costs to run a house built to it, and how it compares with buying an older property.
What a Notaire does when you buy property in France
The Notaire is a neutral public official, not your solicitor. Here is what they actually do in a French property purchase, what they do not do, and what the fees cover.
The CCMI contract explained: how a fixed price protects you when you build in France
The CCMI is the French building contract that fixes your price and guarantees your completion date. Here is what it covers, what it does not, and why it matters.