We have just completed a long and complicated sale and purchase of property in France. Given that the Notaries role is not the same as a solicitors in the UK, the process is a proverbial minefield. It is absolutely essential to have a bilingual, independent, professional advisor to ensure your interests are protected.
We would have no hesitation in recommending Rachel Thomas-Bonnet. A friendly, efficient and very professional service. Great value for money.
We were introduced to Rachel through mutual friends and thank goodness we were. I am not quite sure how we would have managed doing all that we have without her. She helped us register our little french car, talked to the Mairie when footprints appeared up the side of our house and helped us negotiate with our French builder when we needed a new roof and made sure he was doing a good job when we were out of the country!! She is always at the end of the phone and deals with issues immediately in the most professional manner.
Thank you so much for making our life in France so much easier. We could not have done all of this without you.
Rachel, I want to thank you for the latest help you’ve given to us. In the last few years since we moved to France you’ve been a rock – always there to help me through even the smallest thing.
The list is endless – from the villa purchase, to medical insurance, tax matters, villa repairs and insurance, everything to do with the car and driving, dealing with the local authorities, organising telecoms and internet, legal matters, dealing with the doctor, etc etc.
It’s great to know that I can just forward letters to you and that you deal with them for me. Likewise all the calls you’ve made on my behalf. You truly are our ‘Comfort Blanket’!
My husband and I arrived in France some 3 years ago, having already been in touch with Rachel prior to moving here. We received excellent advice regards setting up our Auto-enterprises, and Rachel helped us with the required paperwork once we were ready to proceed.
Since this time we have relied on her for just about everything tax related. Our French is good enough for most things, but the French tax system is far from straightforward, and Rachel’s help and advice has been invaluable. From filing out our annual income tax returns to making calls to verify our rate of tax foncieres, we have received excellent and timely service.
For those of you who think you can go it alone because you speak good French, unless you know the tax system inside out, you may well be better of getting Rachel to help from the outset. It is much harder to untangle a mess than it is to make the mess in the first place!
I have worked with Rachel over the past 3 years . This has often been on a remote basis as my business often takes me to the Middle East and Asia /Pacific. I have always found Rachel to be responsive and reliable, often providing extra time and availability beyond normal Legal matters
Rachel’s assistance over the past 3 years has extended over a range of my activities relating to Property acquisition/management in France and Italy . Services are often out of the immediate gambit of legal matters and Rachel is always accessible with follow up that is immediate and professional
I am often in the South Pacific or the Far East , and having Rachel accessible at short notice has facilitated my business dealings in France and Italy .
Rachel has helped me in a range of situations from straightforward administration tasks (such as pension queries and French tax returns) all the way through to a complex insurance claim (negotiating with the Insurance Expert and insurance company, liaising with the letting agent and co-proprietere, obtaining quotes and overseeing the work through to completion). She handled some very challenging aspects of the case calmly and professionally and gained the respect of all involved. I have no hesitation in recommending Rachel for her legal knowledge as well as for her people and management skills. She is straightforward and pleasant to deal with.
In all my dealings with Rachel, I have found her vast knowledge of French law and taxation (and the French language) of huge importance to me. She is always upbeat and positive and is completely reliable. I would heartily recommend her to anyone – particularly expats.
Dear Rachel
I want to thank you very much for all the advice and support you have given me over the last year. It was a difficult time and you helped enormously at a stressful period in my life. You gave freely of your time and experience, not only to me but when things became difficult with the other party whom you also advised.
Making yourself so available at any time was a great comfort. Think you went the extra mile for me. I would recommend your services to anyone.
With immense gratitude,
Dave
We have owned an apartment in the French Alps for some years.
When it came to selling it and buying another there was an enormous amount of trepidation – the gentleman that had assisted us on the original purchase had retired and we knew we were going to need help. Having tried a UK based company who charged us good money for no results and lots of aggravation we started looking elsewhere for help.
Rachel to the rescue! The sale and purchase were both completed last December and went as smoothly as you could expect from the French legal system, oiled by Rachel and her expertise.
Since then we have had issues with phone lines & plumbers, ‘not quite sure we understand this’ situations with the syndic – all made easier by Rachel.
The only hesitation we would have in recommending Rachel’s friendly, value for money services is that we don’t want her to get so busy she won’t be available to help us!
My partner and I recently completed our purchase of our beautiful home in France and would like to highly recommend Rachel Thomas-Bonnet LLB Hons, who helped us through the whole process.
When we initially embarked on our road to purchasing we carried out some research, and were intending to deal directly with our notaire. It quickly became apparent, however, that the combination of the French legal system and the French language required somebody who was expert in both areas and who would help ‘navigate’ our way through these tricky waters.
Rachel was the person who helped steer us through the whole process, listening, advising, and generally being available for us, answering queries and explaining details. She acted as our personal ‘guide’, and was our legal expert and translator, and without whom we probably would not have achieved our aim to purchase in France. She inspired confidence, was friendly and approachable, and never failed in her ability to reassure and calmly move the process along.
I would advise anyone thinking of purchasing a home in France to speak with Rachel Thomas-Bonnet sooner rather than later.
Hurrah, at long last, a (wo)man who can!!
Rachel is someone who offers accurate, understandable and timely advice in a wide variety of areas relating to legal, fiscal administration and translation/interpretation issues to name but a few. All with a smile and never managing to show any irritation even when dealing with less knowledgable people than herself.
During the past year Rachel has provided reliable and prompt support and advice to us in ‘sorting out’ financial business complications which have dogged us since we opened our Chambres D’Hotes a few years ago. We now seem to be able to see the way forward.
In relation to other issues, particularly concerned with noise/neighbour nuisance and legal issues with building work, Rachel has again provided timely and accurate help and advice. If Rachel doesn’t know the answer you can bet your life she knows somebody who does!
We are not being insulting when we say she reminds us of a dog with a bone – she won’t leave a problem alone until it’s dealt with.
We would have no hesitation in seeking her professional opinion and advice in the future and would recommend her services without reservation.