Thanks, that's helpful and congratulations

Have just requested an appointment with my bank to discuss, so will start there. This site is so helpful - will try to get an idea of the options re having several mortgages etc from the forums here before I go (I have until Friday!) -seems very different from UK and French mortgages. Not quite getting my head around the fact that you never seem to own the place yourself either, but am sure it will all become clear - eventually!

LMG