Almost homeless..... (1 Viewer)

Allanm

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We have just sold our house. We weren't sure when we would be completing and moving out, so we had a couple of weeks in Brittany looking at houses while nothing much seemed to be happening with the sale.
On Saturday, we found out that the new people are exchanging contracts shortly and want to move in on 25th April :rollonfloor: Luckily, while in Brittany, we bought a house, but it needs a lot of work before we move in, which should be around June / July, so we are going to be travelling around then living in the van on the new house driveway for a while till we get the house sorted.

So, now we have to store furniture, register the vehicles and other stuff at another address while we are between houses.

What has everybody else done in this position?

Allan
 

kat_lewis

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Hi, didn't sell the house in UK but we moved to France 20 years ago and lived in MH whilst doing up house and working. There was not a lot of info about then but there are plenty of fb groups and sites on net that will help.
I'm sure others that have done it recently will be able to give further info. Good luck and enjoy :thumb:
 

Forestboy

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We sold our house whilst skiing in France and they wanted us out in 4 weeks :Doh: We rented a brand new 40 ft storage unit for our stuff at £10 a week and lived in the m/home while we built our new house about 9 months I think.

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DBK

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What has everybody else done in this position?

I suspect you have already done it - sat back with a glass of wine.

But I admire your actions, very brave and the best of luck!

John
 

rikfos

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we rented a garage off the council at £9 a week and stored all our belongings in it and then gradually moved our belongings into the new house.

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Hollyberry

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If you have a UK registered vehicle I'd leave it registered where it is or change it temporarily to a friends address while you go through the process of registering it in Grance. This can take from a few weeks to several months. Knew one couple where it took 30 months to get it through.
Some garages will do all the paperwork for you for a fee and if your French isn't almost perfect it might be worth the cost to reduce your stress levels!

Bon chance en France!
 

Minxy

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We have just sold our house. We weren't sure when we would be completing and moving out, so we had a couple of weeks in Brittany looking at houses while nothing much seemed to be happening with the sale.
On Saturday, we found out that the new people are exchanging contracts shortly and want to move in on 25th April :rollonfloor: Luckily, while in Brittany, we bought a house, but it needs a lot of work before we move in, which should be around June / July, so we are going to be travelling around then living in the van on the new house driveway for a while till we get the house sorted.

So, now we have to store furniture, register the vehicles and other stuff at another address while we are between houses.

What has everybody else done in this position?

Allan
You might have to rethink what MH you have if you want to register it in France ... its nothing to do with it being a RHD, but that it has the habitation door on the UK side which is the wrong way for France so you are unlikely to be able to register it there.
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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You might have to rethink what MH you have if you want to register it in France ... its nothing to do with it being a RHD, but that it has the habitation door on the UK side which is the wrong way for France so you are unlikely to be able to register it there.

Is that true? You can register a LHD MH here, so why would France be picky about where the hab door is?
If it's right, anybody want to buy a nice van?

Allan

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Munchie

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Is that true? You can register a LHD MH here, so why would France be picky about where the hab door is?
If it's right, anybody want to buy a nice van?

Allan

No it is abosute bo##cks!!!

Our hab door is t'other side. As long as you have a ct (french mot) and a certificate of conformity (from the m/home maker) tis easy!!! Took us 10 mins at the prefecture had the French No plates 15 mins after walking through prefectures door!!!
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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Thanks Ken, I remembered you saying that, but couldn't remember if yours was RHD. It did sound a bit strange to me that there would be a problem......
I have all the conformity certificates, I guess it's just a change of headlights then.
I'll have to visit some very dark aires with a screwdriver next month.......

Allan
 

Munchie

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Hi, change headlights, get a ct, get a certificate of tax exemption from hotel d'impote (free) take your ct, tax exemption form, v5, proof of address, passports and copies of all the above and bobs your mothers brother he he oh and cert of conformity!

Honest took us 10 minutes. :thumb:

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Minxy

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No it is abosute bo##cks!!!

Our hab door is t'other side. As long as you have a ct (french mot) and a certificate of conformity (from the m/home maker) tis easy!!! Took us 10 mins at the prefecture had the French No plates 15 mins after walking through prefectures door!!!
Just to be clear, I am talking about the habitation door being on the UK nearside which may be a problem ... is that what you have? I didn't know they made the Itineo with doors there, I thought they were all on the UK offside ... !

I am talking only about the location on the habitation door, not it being RHD which isn't an issue. I've tried to do some 'googling' to clarify this but can't find a lot out there! It may be a problem if the ONLY door is on the UK nearside, as with some a-class MHs, but I cannot say for certain, it seems there may have been a change in the rules in 2008 (?) so I suggest to be certain that you check with someone in authority in France with reference to your specific motorhome.

I am more than happy to be 'wrong' if that is the case, as it will obviously be better for you, but I am NOT talking bollocks :Eeek: ... better to mention something to check out than not say anything at all an then you get a nasty shock! :RollEyes:
 
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Munchie

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Just to be clear, I am talking about the habitation door being on the UK nearside which may be a problem ... is that what you have? I didn't know they made the Itineo with doors there, I thought they were all on the UK offside ... !

I am talking only about the location on the habitation door, not it being RHD which isn't an issue.

The habitation door issue rule was changed years ago it does not matter now! :thumb:
 

Munchie

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From Anglo info website
Having gone through the process twice I am aware of what is required (although probably not so in depth as Sunday Driver). The law ref which side the habitation door is on, was changed some time ago, it is now possible to gain registration with door on wrong side, which side the steering wheel is was never an issue. You will need a C of C for the base vehicle chassis as well as the habitation conversion, if the camper is of the type with an Alko chassis for the camper part you will need one from them as well, you'll need to obtain these from the relevant French source. This will or should be the case no matter where you are in France, the only difference may possibly be in your visit to the DRIRE where it will the what that particular inspector wants to check. The DRIRE check is to confirm that the vehicle you have is to the specification of the paperwork you submit and that the vehicle conforms i.e. correct headlamps, rear high intensity lamp on rear left hand side, my inspector in Laval was very keen to ensure "e" marks on lenses etc. :thumb:

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Hi Allan,

Congratulations on your sale & completion. We've sold, but no exchange yet & completion likely to be end of August.

We don't have the spare cash to buy a property until completion so our situation is different. However,aspects of our plan may be useful so here goes.

We will use my son's UK address as a c/o until we get sorted. This will be useful for income tax & motorhome insurance and registration purposes. We intend to rent in the area we hope to buy & move our stuff there first. We have a Nationwide FlexPlus bank a/c (monthly subscription) so we can draw Euros & pay for stuff with a Select credit card without commission or conversion charge.

Roger
 
Oct 12, 2008
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Is that true? You can register a LHD MH here, so why would France be picky about where the hab door is?
If it's right, anybody want to buy a nice van?

Allan


Hi Allan!


I would not like to be pessimistic but indeed France has nothing to do with the UK!!!!
Redtape can really be a pain.
I have bought my hymer in Germany on the 6th of March. It is a LHD which should be OK for France but since I bought it, I keep doing and waiting for papers!
I don't even know if I will be allowed to drive it on French roads yet! At the moment I have temporary plates and insurance to be able to drive the motorhome to all the places I have to go to for its different fittings and tests! They will last a month. It finishes on the 24th of April for the plates, and already finished for insurance which I was allowed to renew for one more month.
So I will have to send my mum again (can't afford to take a day off just for that! grrrrr!) to ask for another month of temporary plates!
If I can't do everything in time, these second temporary plates will be the last, and I will be stuck and won't have any solution to get my papers!

Having a RHD I fear there will be no chance for you to register.....

When I will have my appointment with the DREAL which is a huge organisation here in France supposed to give agreements to anything which exists in France ( houses, gas or electricity in houses etc...) I will ask about your motorhome. I would be very surprised if anyone on here could say "We have our papers" with a RHD especially since 2006 as the law has changed .....but , you can always hope.

France has many good sides but this is the very bad side of this country


I cross my fingers for you .... (well... when I am through with mine as just now all my fingers are booked up!::bigsmile:



Amicalement

Frankie:winky:


PS: Had not read Ken's posts .... but I am still very surprised , when I see the many problems I have with mine and all the waiting and things to do. Living in Toulouse might make a difference and I know quite a few people having had many problems even with brand new vans having their certificate. Ken was lucky and may be living in smaller towns people might be less strict!I have to find a bloody sticker with 37Mb written on to put in my gas place because here they will refuse my van if it's not stuck there..... it says it all! On the other hand ....I might have more chance if I put a very sexy tee shirt.... well hoping it'll be a man ....LOL
 
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Munchie

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I can't understand it at all.
Mine is RHD And i did not have to go to dreer. Clerk at the prefecture just did it all, no one even saw the m/home! :Doh:

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As I said Ken you might have been very lucky with a very nice person to help you through. Here it is a too big town to have one person to care you. Each time I phone it is a different person, and my mum had to wait 3 hours at the prefecture to have temporary plates!!!
MOT .... pahhhh !! the lady refused me straight away and said , NO you get first a certificate from the DREAL ( ex Dreer and ex Mines)then you will be allowed to apply for MOT!
To have a certificate from DREAL I had to get FIAT certificate and HYMER translated certificate!

Hymer takes about 4 weeks usually and I got them in a bit more than 2 weeks but , by the time I get the DREAL certificate I will have to ask for other temporary plates , otherwise I can't put the van on the road to drive it to the MOT! THEN .... it takes 3 weeks to get an appointment with the DREAL !!! I just hope the second temporary plates will last long enough. I will have to calculate when to ask for them in order to ba able to finish the job!

Let me tell you when you are working it is just HELL !

Anyway , in spite of a few angers/depression times/waiting .... I try to stay confident!
But indeed what a stress...:Sad:
 

Munchie

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Could it be due to year of manufacture?
Our cert of conformity covered both the hab area and the fiat chassis.
Ours is 2008 took it to get headlights changed and garage rang the ct station to book it in.
When we went it went in and came out with ct.
So we had all paperwork when we went to prefecture0. :thumb:
 
Oct 12, 2008
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Could it be due to year of manufacture?
Our cert of conformity covered both the hab area and the fiat chassis.
Ours is 2008 took it to get headlights changed and garage rang the ct station to book it in.
When we went it went in and came out with ct.
So we had all paperwork when we went to prefecture0. :thumb:


Yes ! As I said the law changed in 2006! All the European vehicles are supposed to be sold with their full certificate of conformity!
Mine is 1991.... no papers , no certificate , unless you ask (and hope they have yours in their archives) to both engine maker and habitation maker).
Still I had a few examples given either by people I know and from the man who had fitted my gas (from 50 Mb to 30Mb) of owners of brand new vans with full certificate who where asked to go the DREAL . I really think it is a matter of people and of place. In a big town they fear the thieves who try to get new plates for robbed vehicles. The prefecture has about 10 lanes of people waiting and it is always full. There are 2 people checking your papers. One goes through the lane and checks if people have all the required papers (if not , sent back home!) and the second one does the job . Then you have to wait in another lane to pay! Providing your folder doesn't get lost in the meantime....which happened to my mum!!!!! She only told me once she was at home , so I was not worried!

I don't think I'll do this a second time indeed!

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Popeye

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Hi Broken Link Removed, could I suggest that you move to Cleethorpes, Southend or Swanage
..........where the problem simply does not exist, or even the Dover-Folkestone area so that you could be across in France in minutes without all this certificate of conformity stuff.......:shout:
 
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Allanm

Allanm

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As the van is only 9 months old, it has all the certificates of conformity and being a Peugeot base, the vehicles certificate is in French. No mot required, yet. I am hoping that my experience will be similar to Kens.
We have to move out on 24th of this month. Daughter has just got her flat sorted so she will be moving out shortly, we are looking to rent somewhere here for Mother in Law and will probably use her address for mail, d / licences, ins etc, and home while we are here.
New (old) house in France should be ours in June and we need to do work on it to get it up to scratch.
The plan is to spend a couple of months at a time there working on it then pop back here for a few weeks.
We'll probably move in properly early next year when it's finished, so we have a bit of time to research everything fully.
Allan
 
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As the van is only 9 months old, it has all the certificates of conformity and being a Peugeot base, the vehicles certificate is in French. No mot required, yet. I am hoping that my experience will be similar to Kens.
We have to move out on 24th of this month. Daughter has just got her flat sorted so she will be moving out shortly, we are looking to rent somewhere here for Mother in Law and will probably use her address for mail, d / licences, ins etc, and home while we are here.
New (old) house in France should be ours in June and we need to do work on it to get it up to scratch.
The plan is to spend a couple of months at a time there working on it then pop back here for a few weeks.
We'll probably move in properly early next year when it's finished, so we have a bit of time to research everything fully.
Allan

I'm sure you'll be luckier than I was.

Even with all the different stages I've had to go through up to now, I'm still very lucky as all the papers came quicker than thought, and quite a few worries vanished as things were going on ! So all stays possible. :Cool:

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Minxy

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Allan, don't forget to look into the inheritance situation in case one of you pops your clogs as a property in France doesn't go straight to the living spouse so it is very different to the UK - it can be got round (can't remember how exactly now but I did put a posting on before about it not that long ago I think) but I would suggest you get this sorted whilst you are buying it so your notaire can sort it out for you, rather than try to do it later at extra expense/hassle. :thumb:
 

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