The above words, uttered by Benjamin Franklin, may have started out as a satirical look at life but have proved to be painfully true, particularly of late. Every news item in the media covers reports of doom and gloom in the financial and criminal sectors of society today and people are full of uncertainty about so many things.



Quite tellingly, one young woman has recently one 7 pounds million on the lottery and is undecided about where she can safely put it, given that all the banks are collapsing and people are losing their savings left, right and centre. So, saving our money and investing our money are all issues that are on shaky ground. No such problem with our taxes - for some reason these are all still taken religiously.

Of course, there are the necessities of life that our tax money pays for such as the emergency services and the services of the council but when you get news reports of 'bin police' it certainly can feel like they are wasting our tax money! So, our tax money is taken and used to less positive effects, people are losing their savings and homes are being repossessed due to extortionate bank charges and interest rate hikes.

Of course, not so long ago, many people could be pretty sure of a relatively nice next egg when their family passed on. There would either be a family home or some money to be inherited but with the massive charges in inheritance tax and the fact that many are selling their homes to pay for care in their old age, these things are no longer certain either.

However, there is light at the end of the tunnel. You can find a wise place to invest your money that, later on, will leave you with either a home to live in that is safely paid for or a decent amount of money to retire on. The answer is leaseback property.

Buying up French property that can be used for rented accommodation to students, the elderly or business people, is an investment that is subject to a great tax saving which the French government have implemented to help restore the balance between property available and tenants looking for a home. This is the leaseback scheme.

The tax savings that accompany leaseback properties are enormous. Tax paid on the price of a property can be claimed back and virtually every penny that is made whilst renting out leaseback accommodation can have the tax paid back to you.

You do not have to be a resident of France to take advantage of this scheme either. Anybody can do it and if you do not wish to live in France, you can employ a management service to oversee the running of the property. The only stipulations are that you need to have a reception and laundry service on site. If these are in place and you are renting to the needy, such as students, then you can claim the property to be under the leaseback scheme.

When you are ready or when the mortgage is paid, you then have a property that you can take over and live in, paid for without forking out for the painful taxes and retire in peace and security.