Buying property in France - First steps

My partner (soon to be wife) and me are trying to buy a property in France as a holiday home and possibly a business. We intend to start looking in Brittany as the climate is quite hospitable and it is not too far to travel from Enland for us, family or friends.

We are looking for a farm with outbuildings and some land so that there is a possibility of developing some holiday cottages (gites) at a future date. There is a great demand for these Gites in the Brittany area.

We have seen several possibilities and are going over to view during the summer. Hopefully (fingers crossed) we will find somewher that fulfils our needs. We also have to negotiate the French property buying system which is very different from ours here in England. I will keep the negotiations and system written up here from a beginners viewpoint and it may be of some use to others who are thinking along the same lines.