Good morning David and Sharon,

I cannot thank you two enough for your help and support during the whole process from initial enquires to arranging viewings and the continual and personal support you give during the lengthy and bureaucratic buying processes (in France). Even though we had done it all before, each purchase is different and legislation is constantly changing and to have you two as back-up to ease us through the procedure and answer queries was just so very comforting.

Also your relationship with your Agent here was of obvious and mutual benefit to all parties and a further source of information and reassurance.

If I can single out your star quality it is that you always reply by return to questions and queries - even when it is to just say that you will find out and get back - which you always do. 

Many thanks and best wishes,

Linda.

Buying a renovation project in France can be exiting and Linda is enjoying owning a house in deepest Lower Normandy, it is nice when clients like Linda take advantage of all the services we offer, no query is too small and by everyone keeping each other infomred the process runs smoothly.

Ceri, bon apres-midi.

Thank you so very much for putting our minds at rest regarding the monthly and annual charges.

Your service has been absolutely first class and I will make sure I let people know that.

Be assured, when... note I say when and not if !... we emigrate you will be the person we contact for insurance and not only health but vehicle and home.

Sincere thanks for all of your help.

June and Jeremy.

There is a lot of information on the Cle France website on House Insurance, Health Insurance, Auto & even Holiday Insurance and along with our partners Allainz Assurance we make sure we give good and timly advice, so together we make sure you have the right cover and the best possible service.

Dear David & Sharon,

Sorry for the delay in writing, the month since returning from our new abode has been hectic.

Anyhow, first we must say many thanks for your sterling help in the purchase of our Plemet, Cotes d'Armor house; you were vital as the liaison with the folk on the ground & without you I sense we could still be in limbo!

Having said that, your agents were very good and fine in face to face situations. He was at the house when we arrived & arranged for SAUR to come the following day. Incredibly we had a knock on the door later the same day & a SAUR engineer who happened to be in the area saved us from the indignity of having to rely on the public loos. Who says the French don't work!

It's taken two & a half years of looking to find the right house for us, both visiting the area, perusing probably 500 agent's offerings and viewing over 30. Admittedly our meagre budget limited our choice though it also gave an insight into other Brits' lost dreams & grandiose schemes: 'An exciting renovation project' etc.

Maggie had her heart set on a village house (we are both dedicated townies) in stone with a French double front door & wooden shuttered windows. Well we ended up with a shop front but with a very attractive old stone rear overlooking our garden. Compromise. We can always change the front later.

Being in the town centre we have the advantage of mains drainage, a short walk to the shops, bank, PO, bars, 1st class restaurant and importantly we have friendly neighbours & thus few worries about security. Already we've made a friend of the old chap across the road who was born & raised in our house & has lived in Plemet, let alone just Brittany, all his life. Although he speaks no English & our minimal French doesn't translate to his Breton ear we get along fine & he is now keeper of our keys & garden tender. It's amazing what a bottle of Scotch will do!

We also have a friend in our account manager at Credit Mutuel de Bretagne for whom nothing seems to be too much trouble bank related or not. No need to waste time & money trying to get through to Britline.

Incidentally if you recall there was a bit of a problem with setting up an EDF account. We found that there was absolutely no point in doing it over the phone (I ran up a bill on our land line for £14 to no avail) but the website is fairly idiot proof & allows you to add information over a long period so you can save & return on another day if you don't have all the information you need. There is also a leisurely period of explanatory & help emails after set up.

Well, what have we learned about holiday home owning so far? First unless you have the furniture & fittings already, buy the house with everything in it because hunting the overpriced brocantes & vente depots will take forever & the alternative is an IKEA job lot!

Good French furniture & sundries are available online in GB at a fraction of the French prices.

This brings me to observation two. If a 4x4 has always been on your (secret) wish list holiday home owning is the ideal excuse. Carting furniture, rugs, tools, materials etc. is just what they're designed for.  Equally for taking unwanted stuff to the decheterie (recycling site). We've found ours to be a very friendly place & very civilised.

Well thanks again, I will give you a call if I may because I would like your advice on getting a translation of the works we need to have done for our builder's devis. 

Best wishes, Martin & Maggie.

Well that has got to be the most comprehensive feedback of all time eh! We wish Martin & Maggie many many years of happy times at their delightful house in Plemet, Cotes d'Armor in Brittany. Martin offers some great advice and some very good insights, thanks you Martin & Maggie and best of luck for the future, keep in touch.

Hello to you,

Sorry but we could not make contact before now as the gite internet server was 'down', just to update on our property search, your agent showed us around the properties in Langonnet and we were very pleased with the sympathetic renovation of the gite but the position of the main house in relation to the road (we have a dog and two cats) was such that we would not have been able to secure our dog around the main house. Please give the agent our thanks, she was most professional and helpful, we only wish we could have proceeded with a sale. 

The second agent was very charming and helpful, we were running late and she accommodated our lateness.

Sharon, we must say we have been most impressed by your level of contact, most helpful at all times and we are sorry that on this occasion we have not been able to proceed through to a purchase. Sharon, we feel that you have gone above and beyond our expectations for which we thank you most sincerely.

Everyone has done their utmost to provide information and help us.

Please give both agents our thanks for their assistance and also, if possible pass on our thanks to the vendors for allowing us to have the viewings. 

Finally, we found a property which suits our requirements and have made an offer which has been accepted.

Regards,  

Tom and Margaret.

There is certainly a lot to choose from in rural Brittany espeically in Morbihan and Cotes d'Armor, making sure your veiewing trip is productive is one of the many things we do for you.

Hi David,

Just looking at some of the links to see my house advertised with Cle France and your partner property portals such as Right Move Overseas, A Place in the Sun, Prime Location and Zoopla). They are so much better than what was shown with the other agents I used.

Thank you for the way you have arranged the display of photos & description for my property. If this doesn't sell it then nothing will I reckon.

Thank you again & cdlt, Jill.

Cle France does not just help buyers, we help sellers to sell their French Property as well, after all, bringing buyers and sellers together is what we do best!

Jill has taken up a 'marketing your property for sale' option with Cle France and we hope to get her a buyer very soon.