French / English Translation Service and Property Sales in the Loire Valley

Angela French: Telephone: 00 33 254 38 86 07 (dialling from UK), 02 54 38 86 07 (within France) or e-mail: angela@derekandangela.com

References received re translation work

We cannot speak too highly of Angela's skills and knowledge. Our best decision in selecting a new home, purchasing it and the subsequent move to France was to engage Angela's services. Despite extensive research and much pre-planning, our task would have been immensely harder but for her support. Added to her considerable language skills, Angela possesses much local and practical knowledge about the French way of doing things which we found invaluable. Her attention to detail and open friendly disposition made her a joy to work with. Now we are most happily settled in the Loire Valley we know that whatever future problems may arise we can call on the support of our friend Angela to guide us through the solution.

It is with great pleasure I have been asked to provide a written reference for Angela French. We have just completed purchase of a property in Chatillon Sur Indre, France and without Angela’s knowledge both of the French language and the legal system in France we would not have achieved this so smoothly.
For us the legal system seemed to be a complete mine field, yet Angela seemed to have the ability to make it seem so simple. From the onset, she took subtle control of our purchase, keeping us informed every step of the way. We also found her ability to highlight additional areas we should be thinking about, not just the purchase but also all those horrors such as bank accounts, utilities, rates and solicitors.
We also had Angela facilitate meetings with builders, plumbers and electricians in order to ensure all parties were aware of the expectation regarding each respective aspect. Upon cost estimate being provided Angela translated these for us to ensure we were in complete agreement prior to signing any documentation.
It is without doubt we will keep in touch with Angela in the foreseeable future both in a professional and personal capacity.

We are sending this letter of thanks to Angela (French) because without her help and understanding we would have found the purchase of our property in France stressful and difficult. She faxed, emailed, telephoned various offices and departments on our behalf. On one occasion she translated on speaker phone while we were at the agent’s office.
Now that our purchase is complete we still have found the need to contact Angela on various issues ie extension to our property.
We would not hesitate to recommend Angela to anyone who requires assistance for property purchase in France.
Thank you Angela.

Thank you, Angela, for your help in the translation of our initial contract, the compromis, prior, we hope, to a successful purchase in France.
We know that most of your work is far more involved, dealing with people who require not only a pure translation service but assistance and advice in many other aspects of their house purchase and move to France. We were so pleased that you were happy to assist with our "small job" alongside the other work you undertake.
Providing the translation at short notice, passing on very useful suggestions of questions to ask our immobilier for clarification and your patience at explaining some of the terms which are not those normally found in English contracts was greatly appreciated.
We would thoroughly recommend you to anyone needing a translation service and particularly if they were considering a property purchase in your area. You are a very useful person to have around!

As a first time purchaser of a property in France, I was unsure and completely confused with the French system. It was so different from ours, not to mention the language problem.
I was getting ‘nowhere fast’ until I met Angela French. Angela provided me with invaluable support on issues ranging from liasing with the French estate agents, dealing with the lawyers, arranging all appointments for the payment of taxes, water and electricity accounts, insurances and the bank manager. Her informed advice and assistance on all matters made my purchase go through far more smoothly than it would have done without her help.
Angela is always on hand to give assistance, including translations and she has my most grateful thanks.

Last year we purchased property in France and Angela was invaluable during the whole process from initially making an offer on a property through to completion and since we moved in.
Immobiliers or estate agents in France sometimes speak English, but more likely not. In our case he did not. Angela helped us navigate the tricky stage of making an offer, once we had fumbled our way through visiting various potential properties.
Angela was able to diplomatically handle the verbal queries of the ‘immobilier’ and the vendor, decipher the forms, help us to complete them correctly in French and keep us feeling comfortably on top of what was happening throughout.
‘Notaires’ or solicitors in France also sometimes speak English but prefer to deal in French. In the lead up to completion, Angela continued to handle the explanation of what we were required to do and advise on the appropriate completion of necessary documentation. We would have been lost without her on the day. What could have been a nerve-wracking final signing was turned, by Angela, into a civilised and convivial event, where everyone was left smiling.
Since moving into our French property, there have been numerous occasions when we have needed assistance with essential services and utilities and help negotiating with professional artisans and dealing with insurance companies, for all of which we have again called on Angela’s help. She has always proved reliable and willing to assist wherever necessary.
We would thoroughly recommend Angela for all verbal and written communication assistance requirements you might have.

My wife and I have recently bought a house in France and we made use of Angela French’s services to guide us through the process.
Angela organised the necessary documentation, meetings, co-ordinated our payment of the deposit and balance and followed everything up in a thoroughly professional and efficient manner. Indeed, since we could not be there for the final signing (over the Xmas period), she organised a ‘power of attorney’ for us so that she could sign on our behalf.
Angela personally attended the two meetings we had with the French Notaire (plus a third meeting for the final signing). At the meetings she acted as our interpreter and helped us to deal with the vagaries of the French legal system so that we had a thorough understanding of and were comfortable with what we were signing. Finally, Angela also organised bank accounts and house insurance for us.
All our questions and concerns were answered and we are very grateful to Angela for her help – with our poor knowledge of French we would not liked to have done this alone.
We have no hesitation in recommending Angela’s services to anyone contemplating buying a property in France.

We contacted Angela in February 2004, prior to a visit to France as we were specifically looking for somewhere to buy. We made a couple of phone calls to her and asked if she would be willing to assist us with translations if we found somewhere we liked. We arrived in France and after seeing a property we wished to purchase we contacted Angela who agreed to meet us the following day at the estate agent’s office (immobilier) to discuss a number of issues which we needed clarifying.
Angela met with us at the estate agent’s office and translated all of our questions for the immobilier and advised us of a number of issues that we would need to look into before proceeding. Having got that far, and agreeing the purchase in principle, Angela then helped us to open a bank account. This was not without its difficulties as the first bank we went to refused to have anything to do with “foreigners” but Angela stood no nonsense, and even with our limited French we understood Angela had a fight on her hands. However, with great dignity Angela suggested we leave the bank as they obviously didn’t want our business, and suggested that on our behalf she would contact the bank manager in her local town to open an account. We were fast running out of time as we had to return to the UK, so we gave Angela copies of passports, birth certificates and signed a power of attorney so that she could sign on our behalf and left the business in her hands.
Within days we had a new bank account, details of insurance policies and Angela continued to deal with the estate agent regarding the purchase of the property. Angela arranged appointments with the notaire to deal with the initial documentation and then arranged further appointments with the estate agent to attend herself for the signing of the compromis de vente.
At the final signing, Angela was there to read through the documents word for word and as we had overlooked the need for a will Angela assisted us in getting this drawn up there and then with the notaire.
Angela has been invaluable to us, and I would thoroughly recommend her services. We consider Angela a valued and trusted friend and cannot put too high a price on what she has done for us.

Having bought a property in France, we wished to make changes to the exterior of the property and without Angela's help we could have caused ourselves all sorts of problems with the local town councils, but Angela has smoothed the way at every step.
Angela has been invaluable to us as we hadn't realised we needed planning permission for practically everything we wanted to do. Planning permission was needed for several projects which would never have required planning permission in the UK, but she has continually had to visit the planning offices to put forward numerous copies of plans, drawings and photographs of the alterations we wished to make.
Angela has worked tirelessly on our behalf attending meetings, submitting plans and generally being a liaison between us and the local/regional authorities.
We would recommend Angela wholeheartedly to anyone who has purchased in France and who now wishes to change the status quo of their property.

Angela worked for my family and I as a translator whilst we were purchasing a property in France. She translated the entire process and gave us invaluable advice at every stage of the purchase, liaising with all involved parties including the Notary. She even accompanied us to the final signing. We found her to be very understanding and extremely helpful and the service she provides is excellent.
We can thoroughly recommend Angela and the service she provides to anyone. She surpassed our expectations and ensured the purchase of our property went though very smoothly.

We have known Angela French since April, 2003, at which time we started searching for a house in the south Loire/Indre area of France. Our fluency in the French language is limited to securing accommodation and finding food. Also, our knowledge of French culture and statutory requirements is small and only gained during our occasional holiday visits.
Angela French has given us invaluable help with the purchase of the property. She provided translation and advice at all stages of the purchase process, liaising on our behalf with the vendor, the selling agent and the Notary.
Angela also accompanied us to the Notary for the final signing. She translated the entire process and asked questions for us and advised us of all the issues raised. She also helped us with inheritance issues, as this is an area in which France and the U.K. differ greatly. During all the stages of the purchase, Angela acted on our behalf and brought all relevant matters to our notice.
She has also arranged the opening of the bank accounts, setting up direct debits and negotiating the provision of utilities, insurances and services.
During the time we spend in the UK, Angela visits the house and checks on any urgent mail items and advises action. She has also been easily available for any other matters which either needed translation help or local attention.
As we require some renovation and modification to the house, Angela has sourced builders and architects and requested quotations, and arranged for the gardens and outside of the property to be tended in our absence.
It would have been very much more difficult for us to complete the house purchase without the translation skills and general assistance provided by Angela and we believe that her modest fees are worth every penny.

We really want to say a huge Thank You for all the help and kindness you gave us in the process of buying our lovely home in France. Without your expert help, it would have been such a difficult battle, coping with all the paperwork and services to the house that had to be sorted out. At the notaire's office, it was excellent having you there translating so that we knew exactly what was happening.
The insurance quote for the house you organised was so much lower than we had been given in England, and also arranging for us to meet the bank manager to receive our cheque book and cards on the same day as our signing for the house.
Even after we had returned home to England, you arranged for the delivery of oil needed for our heating boiler and also met with the EDF (electricity) man to ensure that we were on the correct tariff.
You have always answered our e-mails in super quick time and calmed us with our many queries, always finding time to answer our telephone calls as well.
To say we are grateful to you is an understatement, you really are a treasure to us!

We can thoroughly recommend Angela as a translator. She is 100% professional, efficient and ensures that you fully understand everything. She is very dedicated and conscientious. She made it feel as if it was she who was buying the house when doing our translation, by asking questions we would never have thought of, which if she had not asked could have been disastrous for us. We bought an old farmhouse with 11 acres and Angela raised the question of local farmers paying rent for grazing animals on owner's land. The notaire confirmed that under no circumstances to allow this to happen, as once the animals are on the land, the farmer has more rights than us as owners. We are indebted to Angela for assisting us in buying our home. Nothing was too much trouble for her. She was very kind and patient in what can be a long and worrying process. Her care and attention to detail is something very rare to find.

Having someone locally who can make things happen is very comforting. Angela and Derek were both stars in our hour of need (in fact on several occasions now!). We could write pages of glowing comments - just give Angela a ring and you will quickly find out for yourself how helpful she is. So if you need someone to translate, or deal with the local practical issues that arise, we would recommend her to anyone.