A Last Minute Hiccup in Normandy

Introduction

This week, we introduce you to Henry Howard-Vyse, who, along with his wife Tessa, made the move to Mortain in Normandy earlier this year. Although familiar with the area after many holidays, the process of moving to France presented some unexpected challenges. Fortunately, French Connections HCB was there to support them every step of the way.

“We had been coming here on holiday off and on for the last 10 years or so and decided that this was the place we wanted to be, an area we knew and liked, with lots of interesting things for people to do when they come to see us.”

A decade of planning: why France?

The couple’s decision to move to France was influenced by personal events back in the UK and their long-standing connection with Normandy. Henry shares:

“The catalyst was a combination of events back home in the UK, with both my parents passing away, Tessa’s father dying, us reaching a certain stage in our jobs, and our children setting out on their own paths.”

After ten years of visiting the area and knowing they wanted to retire abroad, Henry and Tessa began their property search in early spring last year and found their dream home quickly.

“We had always planned to retire abroad, outside the UK, and about 18 months ago we decided that France was the preferred option. We started looking for a property to buy in early Spring last year and were lucky enough to find this house relatively quickly.”

However, they soon realised that while moving to France offers an exciting new chapter, it’s not without its complexities, particularly when navigating French property transactions.

The challenges of purchasing a home in France

Like many movers, Henry and Tessa encountered their first major challenge when it came time to complete the purchase. Despite initial agreements, unforeseen issues arose on the day they were due to sign the acte de vente (completion of the purchase).

“We had a bit of a hiccup with the house purchase in that when we came over to France after signing the ‘compromis’, which is a commitment to purchase, we met the sellers and agreed that they would clean out the barn and the workshop of all their detritus.”

However, on the morning of the acte de vente, they discovered:

“When we arrived at the house in the morning of Completion, which we were due to sign in the afternoon, we encountered two issues. First of all, the sellers hadn’t cleaned out the barn and the workshop as agreed. They were both still full of all sorts of empty light bulb boxes, bits of carpet, old number plates and general rubbish! But there was also a bigger issue; the sellers had left hand-written instructions in the kitchen as to how to turn the heating on and make sure the hot water was working. We followed their instructions to the letter and suddenly had a flood, so we weren’t quite sure what was going on.”

At this point, language barriers and legal complexities could easily have delayed the purchase. For many buyers, situations like this become stressful precisely because they have to be resolved quickly, in a foreign language.

French Connections HCB to the rescue

Fortunately, Henry and Tessa had wisely opted for the full Moving to France package, which proved invaluable. Richard, our founder, along with their notary, Maître Françoise Calmels, stepped in to negotiate a solution.

“The heating was flooding the house so we shut everything down and got straight on the phone to Richard at FCHCB, who was brilliant. He phoned our notary straight away and said, right, we’ve got a problem that needs to be resolved.”

In Henry and Tessa’s case, French Connections HCB helped secure a €15,000 retention to ensure the problems with the property were promptly addressed.

“When we went through to do the signing, [our notary] Françoise told the sellers’ notary that we would agree to complete the sale but with a retention until these issues are resolved. The sellers were not happy, but they realised it was either that or we were going to pull out. From our point of view, the situation was extremely well handled.”

Getting settled: bureaucracy and services

After the purchase completed, Henry and Tessa faced further challenges setting up essential services, from finding contractors to sorting out the heating in the depths of winter.

“Juliette and Françoise were excellent in getting contractors to come and have a look at the problem and getting it solved. It was 2-3 weeks until we were able to use the heating in the main house and it was February, so it wasn’t ideal but the log burners in the house were working and our neighbour was very kind in helping us find a log supplier. Luckily, the house that we bought also has a gite and the heating was working in there, so we were able to trot across and have hot showers.”

When they decided to import and register their Land Rover, they turned to us again. As Henry explains:

“The HCB team have been brilliant in helping me import and register my old Land Rover. They made an appointment for me with a local contrôle technique (MOT) centre, which identified a few minor things that needed to be done, basically swapping over the fog light and reversing light. When the work was complete, I went back to the contrôle technique centre and the FCHCB team sent off all the forms for me for the French registration. The entire process took just 7 weeks so now I have French number plates and a French carte grise. It was very quick.”

If a vehicle is part of your own move, our guide to importing your car to France covers the process Henry describes.

Visas and healthcare: the next steps

Like many retirees, Henry and Tessa’s move included healthcare and visa considerations. French Connections HCB is now organising their Carte Vitale and helping with the renewal of their retirement visa, which will allow them to legally run their gite in the future.

“At the moment, the gite is just sitting empty and is used as and when friends and relations come to stay, but the intention is very much to run it as a lettable property, so we need to be part of a visa system that allows us to do that.”

Learning the language and building relationships

One of the biggest challenges for newcomers, especially in rural areas, is the language. Although Henry and Tessa had basic French, they quickly realised that learning more would be essential to their integration.

“Our French is basic, but we started proper French lessons last week and we are going right back to schoolboy/schoolgirl level. We both understand much more than we can speak and Google Translate is our friend!”

Invaluable support

Henry sums up his appreciation for the team’s support during the purchase and beyond:

“When you combine that last-minute hiccup with all the other help we’ve had from FCHCB in arranging not just our visas but health insurance, vehicle insurance, getting the vehicle imported and registered, as well as the knowledge that we’ve got backup support if our neighbour goes for a planning application, finding doctors, that sort of thing… French Connections HCB are a very friendly, approachable team at the other end of an email or a phone whenever we say ‘Help!’ Initially we thought the full service package looked expensive, but having bitten the bullet we are very glad we did.”

Start your French journey with confidence

Whether you’re planning a move to France or already wrestling with some of the challenges Henry and Tessa describe, our team provides tailored support across property purchases, visa applications, healthcare registration and vehicle imports. If you’re ready to begin, book an initial consultation, and visit our YouTube channel for more client stories and practical videos.

We look forward to helping you, whichever way you choose.