Clé France

Ask any normal Frenchman around here (and I live right on the boarder of southern Normandy in Pays de Loire) if truffles can be found locally and you'll either be regarded as a sad deluded Anlgaise or a joke. The more polite will just give a great Gallic shrug whilst puffing the cheeks out like an aged trumpeter. In general, it should be admitted, the question will just result in guffaws.

However, the question is not as daft as it sounds. In theory wherever there are oak trees you should be able to find truffles. There is nothing to say that the elusive fungi can only be found in warmer climes of the south. In fact, like most fungi they can be found all over Europe. I once listened to an Englishman on the radio telling us how he found truffles as far north as Inverness in Scotland. He went on to explain that the Brits did not appreciate them and that he high tailed it to Paris whenever he had a couple of kilos where he could get a decent price for them.

To do this what you do need, of course, is a means to locate them. This is really where the trouble starts. Listen to your southern French expert and he'll assure you the only way is to have a traditional pig. This puts most northern compatriots out of the picture as they would not be seen dead walking around with a pig on a lead. To the northerners a pig represents jambon, saucisson, charcuterie and rillets. Walking a pig on a lead round here would get you put away.

Hence, no one round here even tries and the elusive truffle remains the domain of the crafty southern French. If only a metal detector type of machine could sniff them out, but then, I suppose, we'd all be at it. However, dogs can be trained to sniff them out and I have a friend whose dog did just that all on his own.

The fist time it happened he had no idea what the animal was bringing him and he threw it thinking the dog was playing a game. The dog brought it back and this happened a few times till he thought it was odd shape and nothing like the normal stick, and brought it home. As it happened I was visiting there at the time and quickly identified it as a truffle.

He didn't really believe me and took it to an expert for confirmation. I put this in as proof that dogs can sniff them out but there is a problem. In general they need training and few people have the patience or the nous because it takes time and you have to have a nice fresh truffle.

So the favourite of gourmets round the world, weighing in at up to 1000€ a kilo, will remain the highly prized luxury it is, whilst kilos go to waste all around us.

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.

Foreign Intrigue Fridays: Languedoc-Roussillon or Bust!

We're baaaack! In France, that is, for another tempting bargain, this time in the southernmost Languedoc-Roussillon region, which borders Provence, Spain and the Mediterranean. We also have it on good authority that this is where a lot of actual French folks prefer to summer, as it's far more affordable and less crowded than some of those neighbouring locations.

Priced at $270K, this fully reno'd 1400 square foot 2 bed/1.5 bath stone home is conveniently located in the tiny village of Moussan, home to 9th century Chapel Saint-Laurent. We're loving the large living room fireplace, beamed ceilings, modern kitchen, small courtyard and two sunny terraces.

And with so much to see and do nearby, you'll never be bored: the sea is less than a half hour's drive and the surrounding towns are chock full of historic churches, castles, even a section of the famed Canal du Midi, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. J'adore!

You will, too—see more here.

From the original Blog Posting on "I Could Be Happy Here" featuring property from around the world.

One of the great traits of the French is their total lack of awe for authority.

If the government says it is going to do something with which the majority disagrees, then the people react. This usually means bringing the country to a juddering halt but they do get listened to and the government of the day knows it has a fight on its hands. Nine times out of ten it is the government that gives way to the overwhelming popular clamour.

The last time this happened in Britain was the tanker driver’s protest a few years ago that nearly brought the country to a standstill. The government was in a flat spin and promised to respond to their grievances in order to get them back to work.

When all had quietened down they brought in legislation banning such a re-occurrence and the great British public, having been almost in a state of euphoria at the driver’s cheek at rattling the government, sat back and did nothing.

This is probably why France does not have intrusive cameras on every street corner, nor a ‘jobsworth’ around every bend telling people what they can and cannot do, and why the numbing culture of political correctness now exists on a widespread basis in the UK today.

In short, France is not the ‘nanny state’ that Britain has become and visitors to France experience and enjoy an almost tangible difference the minute they arrive in the country. 

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.

We find France’s frivolous side at its seven weirdest festivals

Tragic news: the World Pig Squealing Championships are no more. At the event, in Trie-sur-Baïse, in the Hautes-Pyrénées, competitors were called on to imitate the noises made by pigs at various stages of their lives, right up to slaughter. There’s speculation that the domination of many-times world champ Noël Jamet was discouraging entrants!

France still retains a decent number of other fêtes of heartening eccentricity, however, confirming, against much available evidence, that the French do have a frolicsome sense of fun.

Bed racing, Brittany
At the Fête de l’Insolite (“Festival of the Unlikely”), in Mahalon, beds, stripped down to their essentials, roar along a circuit around the village church. Teams of three — two pushing, one on board — compete to challenge the world record of 1 min 16 sec. The event also includes a race of delivery tricycles; egg-, beret- and pancake-throwing; 
and a contest involving the long-distance spitting of apricot stones. “The fête is intended to be humorous,” says Bernard Le Gall, the mayor, helpfully.
July 14, free; mahalon.fr

Shoe tossing, Aquitaine
For one day in August, the narrow streets of Salies-de-Béarn are devoted to the Hurling of the Espadrille, the rope-soled sandal of these parts. One euro gets you three goes — with espadrilles provided. The record is 108ft 8in, a heck of a distance for a sandal to travel.
August 15, free; piperadere-salies.blogspot.fr

Lying, Gascony
The Gascons of Moncrabeau have been at it for centuries, meeting to exchange gossip and, when real gossip ran out, invent some more. In 1972, they formalised this tradition into the Festival International de Menteries (“lies”). Texts are sent in and Academy members choose eight to be delivered — standing on the allegedly genuine 18th-century Stone of Truth. Last year, one man told of raising domestic ticks for curative uses. You can also visit the birthplace of Fujiyo Lapuce, IT consultant to Louis XIV.
August 3, £4; academiedesmenteurs.fr

Garlic peeling, Midi-Pyrénées
There’s a Laotian lady in Beaumont de Lomagne who can peel 68lb of garlic in 30 minutes. She’s the woman to beat at the 2014 Fête de l’Ail Blanc (“white garlic”). The festival also features maths-inspired games: Pierre de Fermat, of last theorem fame, was born here.
July 20, £1.60; club.quomodo.com/ fetedel-ail

Square boules, Côte d’Azur
How do you play boules on streets so steep that they might roll right into the Mediterranean? The answer: play with square boules. The good people of medieval Cagnes-sur-Mer, high on the hill, hit on the solution 35 years ago. Now the world beats a path to the Championnat du Monde de Boules Carrées. “There is skill involved, but it’s mainly luck,” says Pascal Zaccure, president of the organising outfit. Anyone can join in, and anyone does: it’s one of the Côte’s great social levellers.
August 16 and 17, £5.75; cagnes-tourisme.com, cercleamis.cagnes.free.fr

Trailer lifting, Basque Country
Imagine the Highland games without kilts, whisky and sporrans, but with berets, wine and highly impressive bellies. That’s about the size of the Festival de la Force Basque, in St Palais. Look out for burly fellows lifting a trailer and rotating it on its axis (two turns is OK, but real champs manage five), lifting 220lb bales high into the sky on a pulley — and being rocketed skywards themselves when the bales fall to earth — and straining like hell at the keynote tug-of-war contest.
August 17, £12.50 (under-12s free); saintpalais-tourisme.com

Potato mash-up, Nord-Pas-de-Calais
“It’s essentially nuts,” says Didier Roussel, the deputy mayor of Esquelbecq, where they’ve been tipping unfortunates into pools filled with mash for 18 years. Patate Feest is abundantly potato-themed, with processions and spud-inspired games. One involves picking up a single potato with a building-site crane. Relays and tugs-of-war around that mashed-potato pool invariably ensure participating youths get thoroughly lathered.
August 31, free; esquelbecq.com

This article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 8th June 2014.

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

BORROWERS will find it easier to fund a property purchase on the Continent as the falling cost of mortgages and strong pound boost their buying power but buyers must beware of the threat of deflation.

The European Central Bank (ECB) last week cut its main interest rate to a record low of 0.15% from 0.25% in an effort to stimulate the eurozone economy. This will push down borrowing costs and make mortgages in the eurozone more affordable.

 Chez nous: France offers top deals (Sipa Press/REX) - read more on the Cle Mortgages page - click here.

The cheapest 20-year fixed-rate mortgage in France has already dropped from 3.75% to 3.45% since the start of the year, according to International Private Finance (IPF), an overseas mortgage specialist. Over the same time, sterling has strengthened from €1.20 to €1.23, cutting the monthly cost of a €250,000 repayment mortgage from £1,249 to £1,186.

As a result, the number of British buyers looking for a European bolt hole has been growing. IPF said it had seen a 24% increase in inquiries for French mortgages in the first three months of the year, compared with the same period in 2013.

Simon Conn, a broker specialising in overseas mortgages, said: “Over the past 12 to 18 months I have seen a steady increase in demand for the most popular countries, such as Spain, France, Portugal and Italy. Lenders have been lowering rates and also accepting smaller deposits.”

Of all the eurozone countries, France offers the best borrowing rates and accepts the smallest deposits — the cheapest being 2.3% for a 10-year fix with a 20% deposit. In Italy, the lowest rate available is 3.4% for a 20-year term and a 20% deposit, according to IPF. In Spain, the cheapest rate is higher at 4% over 20 years and the minimum deposit is 50%, while Portugal is even tougher for borrowers as the lowest rate is 5.28% spread over 30 years with a deposit of at least 60%.

Simon Smallwood of IPF said: “Mortgage rates for international borrowers are becoming more competitive. Expectations for interest rates in the eurozone are now lower than they were and this makes it likely that mortgage rates are going to stay lower for longer.”

Capital Economics, the consultancy, expects the ECB rate to remain at 0.15% until at least 2016.

However, Danny Cox of the adviser Hargreaves Lansdown urged potential buyers to be cautious. He said: “The eurozone economy is stagnating and heading towards deflation, when prices are continually falling. This could cause house prices to fall further and potentially extend the financial problems across the Continent.” Germany’s inflation rate almost halved last month to 0.6% from 1.1% in April.

Buyers should research their target country’s tax system, as there is a variety of property-based levies across Europe. Smallwood said: “Annual wealth tax in France and inheritance tax in Spain are calculated on the net value of the assets you hold in the country.”

This means buyers would be taxed less on a French property if they bought it using a mortgage, rather than by remortgaging their home in Britain and paying in cash. “It can therefore be beneficial to buy with a mortgage as this reduces its net value,” said Smallwood.

However, borrowers considering a foreign currency mortgage need to be aware of the exchange-rate risk. The pound may be getting stronger against the euro, but any reverse in this trend could leave buyers struggling to cover higher repayments.

The investment bank UBS has forecast the pound will strengthen against the euro to €1.33 in three months but drop to €1.25 in a year.

Buyers nervous about currency fluctuations may want to consider arranging a “forward contract” through an exchange specialist, to lock in a rate.

Kathleen Mackinnon-Helm is our specialist Overseas Mortgage Broker, she says between April 2013 and April 2014 borrowers in France have seen a drop of around 10% in the cost of their loan. Rates on ten and fifteen year terms dropped last month but currently rates are stable.

If market observers agree that an increase in rates is to be expected in the months to come – namely because of the FED’s monetary policy which will certainly have an impact on the European money markets - for the moment the mortgage market in France remains very attractive, even if the banks are very cautious and go through loan applications with a fine tooth comb.

In conclusion, given the historically low rates, borrowers now have a window of opportunity which will very likely not last.

Save time and money when sending or receiving international payments with Cle France. Go to our dedicated Currency page here.

Part of this article originally appeared in The Sunday Times 'Drive' section Sunday 8th June 2014.

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