French houses.
Discussion
we bought a house about 45mins form cherbourg something like 6 years ago. its really a great thing if you can afford to do it. my mum uses it mainly as a get-aways place cos she has times when she absolutely hates the world. but you can use it in a number of ways.
if you get the right house in the right place then it would be very easy to cover running and maintenace costs by letting it out to friends for holidays (a family friend does this and it is very succesful).
things to beware of or atleast think about:
the french legal system is different to our own. it is very useful to know someone who has experience with it, or to be fairly fluent in french if things go wrong.
french builders are breed unto themselves. be very careful in this area.
try to find either:
a) a place where there are enough english about so you know you will be accepted (assuming you want to be!)
b) somewhere very secluded where it doesnt matter and hoards of english are not likely to go.
hope this helps.
chris
if you get the right house in the right place then it would be very easy to cover running and maintenace costs by letting it out to friends for holidays (a family friend does this and it is very succesful).
things to beware of or atleast think about:
the french legal system is different to our own. it is very useful to know someone who has experience with it, or to be fairly fluent in french if things go wrong.
french builders are breed unto themselves. be very careful in this area.
try to find either:
a) a place where there are enough english about so you know you will be accepted (assuming you want to be!)
b) somewhere very secluded where it doesnt matter and hoards of english are not likely to go.
hope this helps.
chris
Stamp said:
Has anyone on here bought a small house in France for a holiday home / investment.
I am looking at houses in the 36 district (Around Chaeauroux )for around 30 - 40 000 euros.
Any advice / opinions.
Ta
I lived in the Dordogne for four years and loved it. I will say that if you can find a house in that sort of price bracket these days you will be very lucky indeed. The prices are being pushed up massively because there are too many Brits buying in france as an "investment" which is buggering it up for those who genuinely want a change of lifestyle. It is also pushing house prices beyond the reach of the local populations, much like a lot of villages over here.
Have just bought a place for my Mother in Normandy, so know the routine. Haven't go the time to go into it all now, but obviously the first step is finding the house.
If you find a place through an agency in that price range, they'll have whacked at least 10% on the price as their commission. Best off if possible finding a seller directly cutting out the middle man - have a look at this site for direct sales:
www.pap.fr/
Best of luck - if you find a place and want to go further I can tell you a bit about the legal processes involved.
If you find a place through an agency in that price range, they'll have whacked at least 10% on the price as their commission. Best off if possible finding a seller directly cutting out the middle man - have a look at this site for direct sales:
www.pap.fr/
Best of luck - if you find a place and want to go further I can tell you a bit about the legal processes involved.
Great.. more illegal immigrants ghetto-izing the area and isolating themselves with no intent to integrate with the locals. More packs of locust-like foreigners with their "fish'n'chip" and full english breakfasts served in pubs . Thanks to these foreigners, the locals are being priced out of their own villages and create divisions between themselves and the locals.
Go home anglais-rosbif!!
Sounds familiar?... but then again nobody is forcing the french seller to to sell at an absurdly high price so somewhat are the cause of their own problem.
Go home anglais-rosbif!!
Sounds familiar?... but then again nobody is forcing the french seller to to sell at an absurdly high price so somewhat are the cause of their own problem.
LRdriver II said:
Great.. more illegal immigrants ghetto-izing the area and isolating themselves with no intent to integrate with the locals. More packs of locust-like foreigners with their "fish'n'chip" and full english breakfasts served in pubs . Thanks to these foreigners, the locals are being priced out of their own villages and create divisions between themselves and the locals.
Go home anglais-rosbif!!
Sounds familiar?... but then again nobody is forcing the french seller to to sell at an absurdly high price so somewhat are the cause of their own problem.
Blimey! - glad you're not bitter about it tho'.
juk said:
We're looking at a house in the 3 valleys ski area at the moment.
I've resigned myself to getting screwed by the agent & notaire fees.
Any details of any other potential pitfalls would be very welcome!
It is usual in France for a proportion (can be up to 20%) of the purchase price to be "sous la table", i.e. nice, clean, untraceable cash. This helps you to reduce your stamp duty (notaire fees effectively) and gives the froggy seller a wad to put under his mattress. Les frais de notaire can vary depending on what you're buying, but expect to pay of the order of 6% of the on-paper purchase price. When you sign la promesse de vente (the agreement to buy) you'll be expected to pay a 10% deposit that is forfeit if you then pull out of the deal.
There are no survey requirements in France, so check the property out carefully for cracks, state of repair of the roof, etc. Seller will be obliged to give you the results of surveys on lead (depending on age of property) & asbestos contents.
There's much more to say, but I must get some work done....
nel said:
We're looking at a house in the 3 valleys ski area at the moment.
I've resigned myself to getting screwed by the agent & notaire fees.
Any details of any other potential pitfalls would be very welcome!
It is usual in France for a proportion (can be up to 20%) of the purchase price to be "sous la table", i.e. nice, clean, untraceable cash. This helps you to reduce your stamp duty (notaire fees effectively) and gives the froggy seller a wad to put under his mattress. Les frais de notaire can vary depending on what you're buying, but expect to pay of the order of 6% of the on-paper purchase price. When you sign la promesse de vente (the agreement to buy) you'll be expected to pay a 10% deposit that is forfeit if you then pull out of the deal.
There are no survey requirements in France, so check the property out carefully for cracks, state of repair of the roof, etc. Seller will be obliged to give you the results of surveys on lead (depending on age of property) & asbestos contents.
There's much more to say, but I must get some work done....
Thanks for that - no-ones mentioned 'sous la table' ....yet.
We'll probably get a UK Surveyor with experience looking at French property to do a thorough survey.
Great. Keep it comming.
I don't know much, but looking into the market, and where I am looking, I should find a nice place for reasonable money. Just not sure about the whole process.
I know about jonny moving in and how they hate it, but where I was, it isnt the case. They love the brits, and it is the Brits that are doing up the run down property causing the area to look dowdy
I don't know much, but looking into the market, and where I am looking, I should find a nice place for reasonable money. Just not sure about the whole process.
I know about jonny moving in and how they hate it, but where I was, it isnt the case. They love the brits, and it is the Brits that are doing up the run down property causing the area to look dowdy
LRdriver II said:
Great.. more illegal immigrants ghetto-izing the area and isolating themselves with no intent to integrate with the locals. More packs of locust-like foreigners with their "fish'n'chip" and full english breakfasts served in pubs . Thanks to these foreigners, the locals are being priced out of their own villages and create divisions between themselves and the locals.
Go home anglais-rosbif!!
In parts of Brittany there is already a backlash against Brits buying holiday homes.
LRdriver II said:
Great.. more illegal immigrants ghetto-izing the area and isolating themselves with no intent to integrate with the locals.
Partly true but of course the English are not illegal immigrants and bring wealth with them to spend in the French economy: they're not moving to live on the French state and scrounge benefits like our illegals do. Also we don't then swear holy war and plot to blow up French cities.
LRdriver II said:
Sounds familiar?... but then again nobody is forcing the french seller to to sell at an absurdly high price so somewhat are the cause of their own problem.
Yep! Like villagers here who moan that ex-City types are buying their houses at silly prices - but then they take the money very happily!
The French must be laughing all the way to the bank - Brits buying up derelict wrecks for crazy money, then speneing the same again to make them habitable.
>> Edited by simpo two on Saturday 27th August 10:04
The less xenophobic french people, i.e. a minority, do recognise that the british are often buying things that the french won't buy, ruins in need of a complete rebuild. They then restore them trying to maximise authenticity - the overall effect is positive in terms of maintaining the architectural heritage and injecting money into the area.
However, once the work is finished, you've got a load of ros-bifs for neighbours! Let's hope that this relationship never goes the way of those with the Welsh as per the old joke, "Come home to a real fire - buy a holiday cottage in Wales".
However, once the work is finished, you've got a load of ros-bifs for neighbours! Let's hope that this relationship never goes the way of those with the Welsh as per the old joke, "Come home to a real fire - buy a holiday cottage in Wales".
When you are looking for property, visit the Notaire as well, they often have places on the books as a result of probate, which can be cheaper.
You also may want to look into the inheritance laws, as they are a little different to ours.
A couple of good books are; Living and Working in France and Buying a Home in France www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/202-4668286-0223018
>> Edited by wedge girl on Saturday 27th August 14:22
You also may want to look into the inheritance laws, as they are a little different to ours.
A couple of good books are; Living and Working in France and Buying a Home in France www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/202-4668286-0223018
>> Edited by wedge girl on Saturday 27th August 14:22
I've been in France permanently for a year now, and have seen precisely zero resentment towards the Brits. In fact last weekend I had a French friend over for dinner, during thr course of the meal my wife asked him about French feelings towards the Brits, specifically if they resented us for coming over in the 1000's. His answer was not what I expected.
He said the French really didn't care about all the Brits coming into France, as we were the same, both european. He said French people were far more concerned about people from other parts of the world living in France.
Being in the Dordogne, which has a fairly large British (and dutch) population this was reassuring to hear
He said the French really didn't care about all the Brits coming into France, as we were the same, both european. He said French people were far more concerned about people from other parts of the world living in France.
Being in the Dordogne, which has a fairly large British (and dutch) population this was reassuring to hear
penryar said:
He said the French really didn't care about all the Brits coming into France, as we were the same, both european. He said French people were far more concerned about people from other parts of the world living in France.
Sounds good to me. Although of course if we apply PC rules (ie nit-pick until you find fault, even if imagined) he's being racist and discriminating against non-Caucasians.
But so what? That's life, that's reality.
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff