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Many of our buyers move to France but they still need to earn an income. Unemployment is very high in France so many consider setting up a business in France. Setting up your business in your own country is difficult enough – but becomes more difficult in a foreign country. France has changed some business laws in 2012, so here is a post about the changes …

A few changes were voted in the Loi de Finance rectificative and will have a direct impact on your French business in 2012. Here is a summary of the key changes including: new turnover threshold for micro entreprise, minimum wage increased, new rules for sub-contractors and simplified public tenders.

1. New turnover threshold for micro entreprise

The maximum turnover threshold for micro entreprise (BIC, BNC, entreprise individuelle micro)  and for businesses not liable to VAT, may be slightly increased. This change still has to be voted as part of the 2012 plan de finance. Once voted, the new turnover threshold would be

• 83 200€ for trade (also called Micro-BIC Benefices Industriels et Commeriaux), against 81 500€ en 2011.
• 33 300€ for our services (also called Micro-Benefices Non Commerciaux BNC), against 32 600€ in 2011.

For now this changed would not be applied to auto-entrepreneurs, since their tunover threshold was frozen for 2012 and 2013.

2. Minimum wages SMIC increased on 1st January 2012

The minimum hourly wage, SMIC, has been increased twice on 1st December 2011 and again on 1st January 2012, increasing from 9€ per hour gross to 9.19€ in December and to 9.22€ on 1st January. The minimum monthly rate has increased to 1.398,37€ gross per month (against 1.365 euros on 1st January 2011).

3. Sub-contractors will have to provide certificates

From 1st January 2012, code du travail requires companies subcontracting work to ensure that their subcontractors are up to date with their social charges payment. This decree voted on 1st November 2011 states that subcontractor will have to provide a certificate dating less than 6 months. This certificate will be issued by URSSAF. More information on cotisations des sous-traitants (in French).

4. Simplified public tenders: marchés publics

From 1 January 2012, for all public tenders in excess of 90,000€, the public purchaser will have to accept applications and offers transmitted electronically. Until now only paper applications were accepted. The threshold for which not public tenders are required has also been incresed from 4000€ to 15000€. This wil save time to many small businesses having to complete complicated tenders for small jobs.

5. 14 days retraction delay for e-commerce

Online customers will now have 14 days retraction delay to cancel their order against 7 days in 2011. This  new rule is the direct implementation of a European decree voted in June 2011. The customer has up to 14 days, upon receipt of the parcel, to cancel the order. The customer then has another 14 days to send the parcel back. The seller has 14 days to refund his customer from the moment he is informed of the cancellation. Alternatively the seller can delay the refund until he has a proof that the parcel is being sent back. Read more on the implementation of art 10 Directive Europeenne ecommerce .

6. Reduced VAT rate of 5.5% increased to 7%

Until 1st January 2012, renovation work within the buidling trade, restaurants and fast food outlets were benefiting from a lower VAT rate of 5.5%. This VAT rate has been increased to 7% in 2012.

Kindly published from Start Business in France

If there’s anywhere I wanted to buy a holiday home, it’s the Auvergne region. Mountainous, verdant, laid back. My place of choice was the super-quaint village of Saint Bonnet de Montauroux in the Chaperoux Valley, about an hour’s drive from Le Puy-en-Velay.

At 8am, at 12pm and at 6pm, the village bells ring out majestically around the tranquil valley, the ebb and flow of the Chaperoux River carves itself a path out of the valley floor, and all is well with the world. I love this place, and that’s where I decided to invest my money in my dream French property.

However, I was foolish in that when I purchased a once derelict hotel in the valley, while I did think to use a travel insurance compare site to get my annual policy, I didn’t look into a home insurance compare site. Very strange – and upon hindsight, an absolutely foolish to have overlooked.

In fact, I didn’t actually look into buildings insurance at all, and found that when I came back to the house on one of my early monthly visits to check on the place and make my restoration plans, part of the roof had, since my last visit only weeks earlier, caved in.

Now it wasn’t a huge hole, but it was Winter, and the rain had penetrated not only the old wood in the roof, but the floorboards and walls below, some of the materials I had stored there – basically, this relatively small hole made an absolute wreck of my already-flagging old property.

And (as I’ve since found) while the people in the village are friendly and really look out for one another and their properties while the absentee owners are out of town, it was Winter, and not a soul could be found, so no one was there to see the disaster unfurl or, more importantly, try and get in touch to alert me.

So my advice, if you’re going to buy property anywhere in France, get yourself a decent buildings insurance policy as soon as the property’s been signed over to you. You’ll save yourself an awful lot of time, money and heartache – it’s just not worth it!

Are you buying property in France? How is your French? Consider this, you are never too old for a French immersion program! At 58 I was the oldest in my class this summer and not for one minute did I feel the age difference. The immersion program to which I refer is in Angers France at the Catholic University of the West (UCO for short).

The first day, everyone took a placement test and then we were taken on a walking tour of Angers. We ended up at the Jean Lurçat Museum where the mayor welcomed all 164 of us with wine and cookies. There were people from all walks of life taking classes while I was there in July. We had the traditional students from various universities world-wide, nuns from a teaching convent in Brittany, CEOs from industry and people like me who wanted to strengthen their command of the language. Our abilities ranged from perfectly fluent in terms of speaking but in need of written improvement all the way down to knowing nothing. We had classes and listening labs every day and then on Saturdays we took grand excursions to the chateaux, D-Day battlefields and cemeteries, Mont St Michel and others.

I opted to live with a family so that I would have daily practice “at home” with my French family and absolutely loved my “French mere”. Besides helping me with my homework she and I also got to talk about French recipes and I came home with a wonderful little collection.

I enjoyed this program so much and feel like I learned so much that I am planning to return this summer. UCO is not the only immersion program in France so I highly encourage you to check out everything that is available out there. You won’t regret taking this step to improving your French if you plan on living in France.

When planning a vacation to another country, people typically want to maximize the time they will have there. It helps to have a good idea of what activities are available and of those, which are suitable for individual circumstances. No matter what the reason is for their visit, most travelers quickly discover a wide array of things to do in France. If you’re out of passport pages, you will need to look into adding passport pages.

Take A Tour

A good way to educate oneself about a place is by taking a guided tour. Tour guides are usually very informed about their subjects of interest and are generally prepared to share such wisdom with visitors. Tourists can opt to enjoy the sights by walking, which is how many choose to go. Other methods include tours that are held on boats, trains and buses. If your passport is expired, you will need to look into passport renewals.

See A Museum

Museums are the subject of countless tours and they are a favorite for a great number of travelers. Historical museums provide visitors with a wealth of useful information and are ideal places to bring children. For those who are more intrigued by art, there are numerous art museums where people can browse a variety of artwork.

Sample The Food

Tasting the food that is unique to a country is a major attraction for a large number of travelers. The natives of a land are often the ones who can best prepare its dishes. Grateful guests can explore recipes to try at home after sampling a wide assortment of foods that may be new to them. A good way to remember a culture is to share its cuisine with friends and family.

Sample The Wine

Those who enjoy wine frequently choose to experience the assorted methods for sampling the beverage. Although restaurants and hotels offer access to numerous fine wines, there are various other ways to try them. Touring the wineries of wine country enables guests to see firsthand where and how countless vintages are produced.

Take Up A Sport

Sometimes, people feel the need to go outdoors, especially after they have indulged in much food and beverages. There are many opportunities to breathe in fresh air, while seeing the local sights. There are also numerous ways to get plenty of exercise, which is an important aspect of a trip for some travelers. Hiking, bicycling and skiing are all athletic activities that appeal to a lot of vacationers. Others prefer to stroll through the countryside or the city,taking time to look at all there is to see.

The Nightlife

Many travelers eagerly await the opportunity to celebrate after the sun goes down. There are several appealing choices for those who desire evening entertainment. People can meet other visitors in a wide array of places and discos are frequently favorite options. Other individuals prefer to hear live music and a huge assortment of musicians play in nightclubs.

In conclusion, after deciding where and when to plan a vacation, the next steps frequently involve scheduling an itinerary. Remember, you may need to find out about adding United States passport pages. Whether one is traveling alone or with a group, it is usually wise to learn of the activities offered at the chosen destination. Because there are so many fun and tempting things to do in France, countless visitors are inspired to return, as soon as they can. Don’t forget, you may need to find out about adding passport renewals.

Check out: Properties in Gruissan

Our Guest Author offers some advice on holiday homes in France ….

Research by Savills has shown that an increasing number of Britons have chosen to buy a property in France. If you are thinking of buying a holiday home yourself you may have to consider a number of factors. This information will help advise you on the best method that you can take when buying a holiday home in France.

Buying a holiday home in France could be the best choice you make, but it can be a very expensive one. House prices in France have increased due to previously low interest rates, however be sure you are making the best choice before signing any contracts or paying any fees.

Try before you buy. This can be attained very easily by renting a cottage or villa out through the large variety of companies across the Internet – in many cases you can talk directly to the owners, giving you a head start.

Then, think about the location that you take in comparison to the airports or borders – when moving large items overseas it may be your finances that have the largest implications to your move, and the transport you take has a large bearing on this.

Check out properties yourself, photographs on a computer screen can be very deceptive. Try and see the properties more than once if you can; ensuring you are in the best frame of mind, stopping any hesitation in its path. Think about the surroundings when you visit the property, even down to the finest details such as the wine they produce in the region.

If you don’t speak French, it is best if you go with someone that does and is impartial to the advice you are receiving. It is also advisory to take an architect if you are planning to renovate a property in the future. If you choose to bring an architect make sure you look at any previous projects they have undertaken, as it will ensure you are going to attain the correct style, as French style can differ greatly from English.

If you find a property that you are interested in, be sure that you proceed with the vendors’ notaire (solicitor) and they will send you a compromise de vente (sales agreement). Get this checked if you do not understand any of the information covered in the agreement. Your personal notaire will help you modify any information in the agreement if you are unsure.

Simon Stone, an investor in holiday homes in France, had viewed over 30 properties in the area before purchasing in Bedarieux:

“It’s been fun and relatively lucrative, I was going to buy in London, but decided that this was a more interesting opportunity.”

Guest Author: Alex Corcoran – travel addict and online blogger, with a passion for finding cheap holiday breaks and holiday deals online