A Bargain Property in the South of France
October 17, 2009 by tony · Leave a Comment
Would you like your own home in the South of France? It is a dream shared by most of the visitors I meet here and, after a quiet year with most of the world (according to the Daily Mail) hopping from one crisis to another, people are beginning to look for bargains for sale – there are a few still around.
For a while I was selling property in France, I worked with an excellent company which I thoroughly recommend if you are looking along the Riviera. However, I found the local agencies are, generally, a bunch of thieving rascals – there are a couple I would recommend in Languedoc, so if you are looking here then do contact me first. I am happy to give advice, but I cannot charge and get no commission as I am not registered as an agent now. You get my personal opinion from 20 years of experience, preferably over a glass of wine
Most visitors fall in love with old beams and stone houses – many of these homes in this region were built over three hundred years ago – our first home here was first recorded in the 10th century – and has been lived in continuously for over 1,000 years – our present home is a mixture of 17th and 19th century, so is very modern in comparison.
But old houses, although built to last with stone walls sometimes two yards thick, need a lot of work if you need to renovate – I know, I have spent a lot of the last fifteen years with a hammer, shovel and pick.
One very sweet house I sold a couple of years ago is back on the market – here are some photos, it (very rare) comes with a courtyard garden and a fig tree. It need a lot of work, but is not too big and a realistic project. The village is just perfect, a classic Mediterranean village in one of the most beautiful parts of France. Contact me and I will put you directly in touch with the owner, a charming American lady who rides a Ducati (very fast). The price, I understand, is around 50,000 euro.
Building Work in France
August 31, 2009 by tony · 2 Comments
I try to answer all mail I get, a lot is asking me about moving to France or getting work in France – when there is something which may be of interest to others, I publish them in my blog. This came in today.
===
Hello Tony and Family,
I would be grateful if you could tell me what are the possibilities of work for an 53 yr old ‘fit’ carpenter. I have a wide experience of house building gained over the many years of living and working in the UK and Ireland and even a short spell in Brittany. I am very capable at brickwork , block work stonework, I can roof almost any type of house and finish carpentry is my trade anyway. I am very experienced in Groundworks from setting out for excavations to laying all services and pipeworks.
My wife and 11 year old girl(who absolutely adores dogs ,and has 3 little terriers) are probably less enthusiastic than I, but given the right area(we live in the countryside ) the may be for turning.
We have our own house here which we would have to sell or rent, but could look at that down the road.
I would be very much appreciate any advice you have to offer.
Yours sincerely
Michael
Ireland
===
Hello Michael,
The Joule in the Crown
May 27, 2008 by Tony · 8 Comments
I am looking at using solar energy for power and heating, although after three days of heavy rain and dark grey sky this seems a bit remote. But I have a large, south facing, roof which needs replacing so, with grants available this is something to consider.
What interests me is how the specialists I am talking to can quote me over 1,000 euro a square meter for panels which I see for sale in the supermarket for 100 euro a square meter. There is an exhibition of Renewable Energy in Paris on June 19-21 which I plan to visit and learn more, but with all the information that I find on the Internet it surprises me that the local specialists demand, and probably get, such a huge margin for what is a very simple job. I can have a complete roof supplied and fitted for under 300 euro a square meter, with a ten year guarantee.
I welcome comments from anyone with recent experience of any alternative energy installation in the South of France or a similar region with a sun factor of 3 to 3.5 (I understand the UK is around 1.0 so is not so relevant)
A borehole may also be interesting, but I am not thinking of putting up a wind generator, anyone with a percussion rig near Montpellier should write to me.
Come Up and See Me Sometime
April 22, 2008 by Tony · Leave a Comment
I think the biggest pleasure in writing any blog like this , perhaps in writing anything, is getting feedback and comments from readers . A lot of my stuff is about our life and experiences in living in the South of France and the reasons why we moved from the UK nearly 20 years ago. Many of the things I say are replies to questions I get and I often publish these to help others.
When we moved to the Languedoc, we adapted a large rambling old ruin in the village of Nizas and to help pay some bills made two apartments for vacation rentals. Over the five years we did this we made a lot of new friends and we now plan do a similar thing with our home in Montblanc and expect this to be sorted out for next year, so book now.
Luckily a lot of readers do come to our area and some ask me for information, often about finding a home or starting a business – I am happy to do this, so if you are in Languedoc drop me a line.
==
Dear Tony,
We were considering coming to your area this coming weekend…not quite decided yet, but if we do, would you be able to meet for a drink or something. Maybe we could pick your brain a bit, or just get to meet the person who has helped us a lot!
Also, if you can suggest a chambre d’hotes or a hotel in the area…
Best regards, Maryvonne
==
Hello Maryvonne,
I would be delighted to meet when you are in the area – I suggest Pezenas on Saturday which is a big open market and if you have not been before you can discover the old medieval city.
Next year we plan to open our own guest house, but there are several excellent places near here to stay – in Pezenas there is..
Hotelde Vigniamont tell Rob and Tracy I recommended them (I may get a free drink)
or a smaller place is La Dordine both are in the old town and charming.
A bit further out, but very special is Le Couvent which is one of the best in France according to the Sunday Times.
My phone numbers are in my signature at the end of this mail – call me when you are nearby, I look forward to a coffee (or glass of wine at sundown) – what is left of my brain is happy to be picked.
Best wishes
Tony
Getting the Goods on You
March 24, 2008 by Tony · 4 Comments
I have been writing recently about some of the frustrations of buying property in France – these frustrations are both for the buyer and myself trying to find the right property for someone.
I work with Coast and Country , a very reputable estate agent based on the Cote d’Azur, I am trying to help with their Internet presence and I also offer for sale some nice properties where I live in Languedoc.
People from all other parts of the world dream of living in France and many contact me, plan a trip and ask me to help find a suitable property. I am happy to do this as I meet a lot of nice people and, if they buy a home, I can share part of the commission from an agency. To be able to do this I have to be correctly registered.
I have mentioned in this blog the big problem of finding what properties are available – there is no central listing system and all agents are competing to sell the same properties – the agents are also competing against the owners of the properties, so if they advertise them properly a buyer, using the Internet (Google Maps and Yellow Pages) will easily find the address and make an offer direct to the owner, cutting out the agent and saving an average of 15,000 euro (the average commission on an average property price).
So when a buyer pops into an agents shop or through their website, the agent will not tell them where the house is, often not even which town or village it is in – the agent often insists on accompanying the buyer and usually demands that they sign a “bon de visite”.
This “bon de visite” (my interpretation is “Getting the goods on you for the visit”) is to protect the agent that in the event of the prospective buyer then going direct to the owner and negotiating a purchase, the agent can sue the owner for the commission they would have had.
I find this insulting both to the buyer and to the owner, I never ask for a bon de visite – sure, there are people who would abuse this trust and on an expensive property this can be the price of a new Jaguar or Mercedes (or more) but it makes it impossible for anyone looking for a home to know what is available in any town at any time. The only way is to visit every single agent (there are three times as many agencies as there are bakers shops) and to read every singe classified advert every day (nearly half the properties sold are not sold through estate agents in France) also to search every Internet portal every day (many websites are advertising portals for a number of agents and I have found over 2,000 of these) plus it is necessary to ask every Notaire in the area if they have any properties for sale.
I have a client at the moment who wishes to buy a home in Pezenas – he is very specific about his requirements and one is that it is within 15 minutes walking distance of the town center. In Pezenas I deal with all the agents (currently 27 with offices in a town of less than 15,000 people) take into account agents in other local towns covering Pezenas and the fact that people may move in France on average once in 7 years (the French homeowners move less frequently than this) this implies that there are in any one year a maximum of 400 properties offered for sale (about 15 per annum per agent) – take out the ones sold direct by the owners and on average an agent in Pezenas with an office is basing their business on ten properties to sell each year.
Most agencies list from 200 to 400 properties as owners will sign non-exclusive agreements with as many agents who ask them – the end result is that no agency can fully promote or advertise the property as a buyer will simply go direct to the owner – but a buyer will never know what is available and cannot quickly eliminate properties in the wrong area or with the wrong services to them as they can in most other countries, so a huge amount of their time is lost and someone on a trip from the USA or Australia to find a home is frustrated.
For my client looking in Pezenas I am asking agents I know to please tell me where the property is – many are refusing to do this, implying I will go behind their backs – what I do in fact is to ignore them completely and as the same property is likely to be listed with many other agents, I keep asking until I can either book an appointment to view for my client, or say with certainty it is unsuitable.
The solution needs changes in the way people work – it means a cut in sales commissions from the current 6 to 10 percent to the more (world-wide) normal 1 to 2 percent – it means sellers working with one agent to rely on them to fully promote, advertise, sell and network their property for them – it also means a lot of agents would go out of business and perhaps do something more useful.
Meanwhile, if you have a three bedroom house 15 minutes from the center of Pezenas or Clermont Herault, with a nice outlook, garden (pool preferred) for under 400,000 euro – please let me know.
French Estate Agents
March 21, 2008 by Tony · 2 Comments
In many countries, including America, the UK and Australia, if I want to buy a house I select a local agent I like and I ask them what properties they can offer in the areas I am interested and at the price I can afford. They check the requirements on a computer and in seconds can show me all the listed properties in those areas and in the price range I ask – not only that they can show me a Google map, satellite picture or possibly a Google drive past of the actual houses.
The estate-agent is confident I will deal with him, although they may be showing many properties listed which are signed to other agents, as the multi-listing-system shares this information throughout a total network and agents (generally) work together.
This open and comprehensive exposure has many advantages, the person selling knows their property is shown to it’s best advantage, photos and maps are freely exposed, prices asked are realistic, an overpriced property will easily be seen as one which compares unfavorably with neighbouring prices and prices will not be set under the fair and realistic market price as this can also be seen quickly by the owner. Agents in these countries earn a sales commission around 2 to 3 percent.
In France, getting information from most agents is like getting blood from a stone – this week, for a client, I have been requesting a very clear specification for a family home which must be within 15 minutes by foot from the center of Pezenas. Two agents I visited for them have point blank refused to tell me even roughly where the properties are – we have to sit in front of them – hear a lecture and then be accompanied on a visit from a prior appointment – seeing five properties a day this way from one agent is very hard and frustrating work. A day later two agents complained that the clients did not go back to them for more “appointments”, I had to tell them that the rubbish they had been showing had discouraged them to the point they did not wish to return to them – had they shown honest photos and told us where the properties were a lot of time would have been saved and they may still have had a chance to sell them a property.
Unlike the USA and UK etc – in France there is no central Multi Listing System – estate agents are concerned that buyers will go behind their backs to other agents – or even worse directly to the owners. In fairness there is some justification – commissions are usually over 6 percent (often double this or more) of the selling price so on an average sale in France the buyer and save from 15,000 euro on the advertised price – add to this the complication of the owner to have many non-exclusive contracts with many agents often all at different offering prices due to commission variations and an estate agent in France is not encouraged to even give a clue to which village a property is in, let alone the address.
It is all going to change – I am telling agents I can use search engines to find the other agents listing their listed properties and with clues and a compound of photos from these sites, use satellite maps combined with the government plans to get the exact address of all the properties in less time that wasted on one visit draws blank looks of total incomprehension from them.
Soon we can all use photosynth – http://www.ted.com/index.php/talks/view/id/129 – to find anything from images we input and all agents depending on mystery, smoke and mirrors, they will have to rethink their function.
Meanwhile – if you know of a good family home, walking distance from the center of Pezenas, with a pool and under 400,000 euro – please contact me , I have a customer.
Building Costs in France
March 21, 2008 by Tony · 3 Comments
A useful site I have written about before is Batitel – unfortunately they charge a fixed subscription of 90 euro a year for their online service, while this is excellent value if you are a builder, it is pricey for someone wanting to check on building and material prices for building work in France.
If the is a big enough demand I could try to give you a service for specific pricing and estimates – any interest?
Cost of Buying a House in France
March 21, 2008 by Tony · Leave a Comment
If you buy a house in France, the sale must be completed through a Notaire.
I am not sure exactly how to describe a Notaire in comparison to the legal or official equivalent in other countries – not a; lawyer, solicitor, civil-servant or barrister – the Notaire is in fact the biggest tax collector in France and every property transaction will have a fixed tax and non-negotiable fee for a Notaire.
These fees are paid by the buyer and are rarely shown in the selling price of a property, so when you have found you dream home you have to allow another lump of cash to stomp up when you complete the sale.
The amount you will pay depends on the price and the age of the property – under five years and the taxes are signicantly lower.
I found this useful calculator which shows how much you will have to pay the Notaire in fees and taxes on the completion day.
The calculator also has provision for the fee which will be added if you are taking out a loan on the property.
Plan Cadastrale is on line
March 10, 2008 by Tony · Leave a Comment
Two thousand years ago the Romans made careful maps of their Empire to be able to collect taxes from all landowners – so nothing has changed there. In the museum in Beziers there are some old drawings of the plots of land, probably given to retired Roman soldiers to make into farms (and pay taxes) these Plans Cadastrale look very similar to the ones we use today for every property transaction, many of the plots and boubaries are exactly the same as they were in the year dot.
Getting a copy of the Plans Cadastrale of a property used to mean a visit to the local Mairie, waiting for everyone to come out of the pub/cafe/bar/bordello and get back into the office, then to be told their computer/Microfiche reader/printer/pencil/clay-tablet was out of order.
Now you can get these plans online at …
www.cadastre.gouv.fr
I can zoom in on my neighbours or anywhere in France and see exactly what area their plot of land is and where the boundaries are – so with Google maps and http://www.geoportail.fr/ you can get a very clear idea of a property offered for sale.
Building Costs in France
Where do you find good people to do work, supervise and how much should they charge.
===
Good Evening Tony,
I have just visited your web site and read some of the issues etc. I wonder if you could assist with some advice?
My wife and I have been looking at buying a property in France. We have seen a partially renovated property (New Roof and Septic Tank) and are very intrerested in buying. The work has been carried out by French trades to a very good standard.
The property is in the south of Normandy
I wish to employ an architect/project manager to finish the rest of the renovation using French trades.
What is the best way to select this person?
What are the average rates for renovation work?
Are there any price guides available?
Many Thanks
John
==
Hello John,
Thank you for using my sites and for writing to me.
By having work done by registered French craftsmen you will benefit from their full insurance and indemnity – when you buy a property be sure to get the original invoices for any work done in the preceding ten years.
Finding good workers, architects or a “maitre d’ouvrage” is likely to be a very localised thing and best done by personal recommendation – ask at the local Mairie – they will know all registered artizans and are likely to be “cautious” in only recommending people they know. You can also look at local newspapers and local Internet magazines – be sure to only to consider a correctly registered company or person – ask for their “numero Siret” or even their “kbis” which allows you to see any local judgements or problems they have had registered against them.
To find the “going rate for the job” you can buy and access information from this blog post I wrote
http://www.twiku.com/2008/01/12/building-and-construction-costs-in-france/
These are “official” rates – the sort of costing the government will pay – in most cases a local builder will be much more competitive, but it gives you a bench-mark.
I have written about this a few times in my blog including
http://www.twiku.com/2007/09/05/cost-of-renovations-in-france/
Let me know how you get on
Best wishes
Tony
