The ADIL

 So on Friday we were meant to be visiting Venice. That still awaits us. Instead we went to visit the ADIL.

The ADIL is a government backed advisory service that helps people with issues about housing. You can go there if your landlord is treating you unfairly, or if your accommodation is insalubrious, or to get advice on insulating your home or whatever. We went to get impartial advice on what we should do.

The advisor was someone who used to be an advocate but who decided to come and work for the ADIL instead. Some of her colleagues used to be notaries. Most have some legal training. She began by of course telling us that she could advise us of the options available to us, but that she could not tell us what we ought to do. I of course said that we were depending on her to do exactly that, and we laughed.

We showed her our situation and by the time we left we knew what we ought to do, namely to take out a mortgage over three years for the shortfall in purchasing the house, plus a little more. That way we pay it all off shortly after retiring. Interest rates are low, and in France you can take out a home loan over a short period. She suggested five years, but we chose to reduce the term.

So on Monday we need to contact everyone involved and get the whole thing sorted out.

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