Renewal of Lease

8 June 2017

Hi Everyone, All has been quiet for a while regarding Les Fermes! Barrie and I renewed the lease with no personal use, as we have been away sailing for the past three years. We plan to sell the boat soon and will have more time for skiing so intend to end the lease using the three year break clause. we would appreciate an update from anyone who did not renew the lease, on what has gone well and what has caused difficulties. 

Hi Kath,

 

We were one of the few that ended the lease the first time around, and all went very smoothly.. absolutely no hiccups at all! We have had complete ownership since December 2014 and have been successfully renting it out ourselves and also using it when it suits us. We paid the VAT back which again was very simple and was just done as part of our AUDREX tax return. The Sogire bills just come directly to us and obviously the full amount is payable on those. We also are now liable for tax d'habitation.. something to be honest we have only just found out about!!! I have now registered with the tax office in Bonneville and they are backdating my account.. would rather keep everything above board than to be a resident of Some french prison for unpaid local taxes!!!! We are infact, looking at buying a second property now in FDS, something bigger than we already have, but it will be on a leaseback resale. we then intend to terminate the lease on the next possible turn (August 2021...giving notice in January 2021). We will either keep both properties long term with the intention of living in the larger one during ski season, and renting the existing one, or renting both out (holiday lets). My only concerns are regarding the pool etc... as the end of the existing lease nears (2024) and the properties will then be exempt from VAt repayment, I wonder how many prople will want to renew their leases and would rather own outright... If this is the case, a new management company would need to be appointed by the residents to run all the facilities. The only thing that I didnt quite understand is that, according to P&V when we took the lease back, the pool area and spa is actually owned by P&V and not proportionately owned by the owners as a spilt share (I assumed all common areas were split share owned by us alland P&V leased them back with the properties). P&V said that if they didnt want non P&V apartments using the pool, the sogire would be altered to reflect this but they were perfectly within their rights to enforce this..We have had no issues to date and obviously pay the full SOGIRE to cover the cost, but worrying as to who actually owns it and what does happen in the future. I am guessing by the date on your posting, that you are just about to take posession of your apartment again as the leases terminate in August.. do let me know how the process has been and if there is anything I should know as we will be faced with all this again at the next turn....Kind regards Nicola

Hi Kath,

 

 

We were one of the few that ended the lease the first time around, and all went very smoothly.. absolutely no hiccups at all! We have had complete ownership since December 2014 and have been successfully renting it out ourselves and also using it when it suits us. We paid the VAT back which again was very simple and was just done as part of our AUDREX tax return. The Sogire bills just come directly to us and obviously the full amount is payable on those. We also are now liable for tax d'habitation.. something to be honest we have only just found out about!!! I have now registered with the tax office in Bonneville and they are backdating my account.. would rather keep everything above board than to be a resident of Some french prison for unpaid local taxes!!!! We are infact, looking at buying a second property now in FDS, something bigger than we already have, but it will be on a leaseback resale. we then intend to terminate the lease on the next possible turn (August 2021...giving notice in January 2021). We will either keep both properties long term with the intention of living in the larger one during ski season, and renting the existing one, or renting both out (holiday lets). My only concerns are regarding the pool etc... as the end of the existing lease nears (2024) and the properties will then be exempt from VAt repayment, I wonder how many prople will want to renew their leases and would rather own outright... If this is the case, a new management company would need to be appointed by the residents to run all the facilities. The only thing that I didnt quite understand is that, according to P&V when we took the lease back, the pool area and spa is actually owned by P&V and not proportionately owned by the owners as a spilt share (I assumed all common areas were split share owned by us alland P&V leased them back with the properties). P&V said that if they didnt want non P&V apartments using the pool, the sogire would be altered to reflect this but they were perfectly within their rights to enforce this..We have had no issues to date and obviously pay the full SOGIRE to cover the cost, but worrying as to who actually owns it and what does happen in the future. I am guessing by the date on your posting, that you are just about to take posession of your apartment again as the leases terminate in August.. do let me know how the process has been and if there is anything I should know as we will be faced with all this again at the next turn....Kind regards Nicola

 

Seamus's picture
Submitted by Seamus on

There is no need to repay the pro-rata TVA so long as you continue to offer at least 3 leaseback services.

Seamus

Seamus's picture
Submitted by Seamus on

Most people who end their lease, to avoid repaying the TVA they offer 3 services (e.g. laundry, cleaning and key holding) using a local company whose main business is property management. You advertise it yourself on all the main portals.

Hi Seamus

we use a local company for the services that you mention but there was no option that this was possible when we terminated our original lease, and this was done with the advice and assistance of a leaseback lawyer. I have googled but can find no information on this at all.. could you please direct me to your source of information.

kind regards

Hi All,

 

and especially Nicola- sorry I didn’t reply at the time. We pulled out of the Lease in August using thé three year break clause. It was remarkably easy. The manager met us and checked everything over, all was fine, with even a fresh coat of paint. We spent three months there over winter, and made some improvements, including fitting a small hand basin in the toilet. We did the noisy work early December before the Residence opened. We had to agree to change the locks to remove any doubt over the master key being used. We were only given one garage fob but it was easy to order two spares on line. We let the apartment out for 4 peak weeks in Feb which will help cover running costs. One thing I should have done with hindsight was claim the cost of our brief trip in August for the handover as an expense on my UK tax return. I have had some small quarterly bills from Sogire but expect these to go up as soon as P&V let them know they will not be paying for us. I know about tax d’habitation but didn’t know I had to register- thanks Nicola, I’ll sort this! The staff in reception have continued to be friendly and accept our mail. There is no way for us to have our own mailbox. We do not get billed for water and electric. We have explained to our paying guests that the apartment is not managed by P&V and they should not expect any help from the staff. We have used Home Partner for concierge services- new owners and a few teething problems. Our payingguests have had full use of pool and spa and have been very happy. 

 

 

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