Summer arrives in Villa Roquette
May 22, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
Unusually, today I have done nothing at home in Villa Roquette – I should be concreting,plumbing, tiling, painting as well as writing blog posts, advertising, marketing, in addition to researching properties and creating new websites – but, I have just sat down, put my feet up and done – nothing – diddly squit – until now as I am obviously writing about doing nothing which is something I suppose.
My excuse is that yesterday I set, mixed and laid a few tons of concrete for the new apartment terrace, I got carried away as it was such a great day and just kept on ’till I ran out of gravel, so today I have done nothing 
It has been a good day for doing nothing, hot, calm, dry and sunny – a perfect day in the South of France – our guests are charming and have also done nothing, jut relaxing by the pool, Miranda and Jack have done nothing as well, just getting a tan – Carole of course has been working hard bringing cups of tea and feeding us all.
So now for the summer – can I manage a few months of this, mix a little concrete, feed the fish, walk the dogs – yes, I think I can.
So now to get ready for the winter – I will be marketing long winter breaks in our apartments, or our B&B at super fantastic special rates. We had a smashing couple for three months last winter and it would be great to share out home again with long-stay guests from October through to April (or longer – whatever) – the (very important) central heating operates fine – and winter barbecues or Carole’s great Table d’Hôte meals are wondrous with the local good red wines.
Join us for baked oysters and Champagne on the terraces this Christmas
Buying a Home in Herault Languedoc France
May 6, 2010 by tony · 2 Comments
When we moved to France 20 years ago my passport said I was a photographer – although I have done many, many things in my life, this is the only thing I actually have paper qualifications to do so it’s what I put on my passport application forms years ago.
I planned to have courses from our home here in Languedoc from Nizas teaching Zone System photography, but we migrated into other rentals and property businesses and I only ever ran two workshops, I ended up as a real estate agent – strange how life moves your paths.
I still hope to return to, what is now very old-fashioned, black and white chemical photography, working with techniques now over 150 years old, but ‘needs must as the devil drives’, and my immediate plan is to offer real-estate services again from June here in the South of France.
Today I replied to an email from one of my newsletter readers, I am publishing it here as it may be useful for others thinking or planning to buy a property in this region, Languedoc – the department of Herault (34) in Languedoc, Southern France…..
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Hi
Your plan to find a home seems sound and clearly you have thought through some of the factors you wish for in a property – I will comment on them here in a sort of “stream of consciousness”.
Renting a place for a while while you look is very sensible – we rented for 4 years when we moved to France and I spent most of that time looking hard at what there was, understanding the life we were moving to and adjusting my plans (and altering my own lifestyle and aims in life) – I do not believe it is possible, unless you are mega-rich, to bring a way of life along with your suitcases when you move to France – Paris and some places on the Riviera are exceptions as it is possible to move and live there for years and cocoon yourself in a bubble of ex-pat lifestyles masquerading as the ‘real France’ – but in Herault, the local culture is strong and you must absorb the values they offer or live in isolation.
To rent a furnished 2 bed home for around 700 euro a month is possible, but will be very difficult to find in Herault – most will be unfurnished and on a minimum one year lease (although you can cancel with three months notice, the landlord cannot) – agents and landlords will usually demand a lot of guarantees and references. There are holiday villas which could be rented for the winter perhaps – but add the cost of heating and services
To buy a property outside a town or village will be much harder to find as there are not many – they were never built – but modern developments on the edge of villages are everywhere – it is a local policy to build new developments around every town and village in Herault and there are a lot of nice properties being constructed aimed at the French market and attracting people to move here from all over France – there is also an increase in business and industry in most places – this is partly to exploit the fantastic road, rail and air network which makes Languedoc, in many ways, the true center of Europe. wherever you rent, make sure there is good central heating, winter here is a misery without it or very expensive if you have electric radiators.
To buy – some properties in the countryside are being renovated from old farm buildings, these are in big demand and can be bought ‘cheaply’ (under 200,000 is possible, under 100,000 is much harder) but the cost of renovation of these stone buildings is astronomical. A contractor will cost from 5,000 euro a square meter to renovate and the cost can easily be as high as 15,000 euro a square meter (compare this to the purchase price which is around 1,800 to 3,000 euro a square meter) – this is more than double the value of the property and you end up with a place worth perhaps 300,000 euro which has cost you 750,000 euro – be very very careful with ‘projects’ in France, casual labor costs up to 50 euro per hour – illegal workers can be brought in for as little as 15 euro per hour, but in nearly every case the tradesman at 50 euro is cheaper in the long run.
Renovating yourself saves on labour costs – the learning curve for the traditional trades is steep – putting a window in an old stone house can mean shifting 15 tons of rock and reinforcing a couple of hundred tons of wall with girders (I know, I have done exactly this which took 2 weeks labour for one window which in the UK would have been an afternoons work) – the end result will usually be a compromise as houses in the countryside of this part of France needing this sort of renovation costing about 200,000 euro were not built as comfortable places suitable for modern living, but mostly as dwellings for farm workers or temporary homes due to the transhumance of the sheep in Summer to higher pastures (hundreds of thousands of sheep were moved to the plateaus every year from this area, wine growing as the dominant industry is relatively (19th century) recent. In fact tourism is the main ‘industry’ of this region.
I understand your preference for the countryside – village houses are always cramped, in narrow streets and with rarely any outside space at all – unless you are paying well over 350,000 euro for a “Maison de Maitre’ which will need as much spending again for renovation, these village homes are very charming to visit for a few weeks as they reinforce the comfort and convenience of your own home with a garden, kitchen with a window and warm bedrooms – anywhere in summer in Southern France is delightful, even an old unconverted barn, winter is something else.
At your budget, in Herault, you are much more likely to find a property with some space and possible a courtyard in a village, although not much outside land or garden, they do exist. They are more likely to be in the higher, more remote parts of the department – many village properties will offer a plot of land for gardening outside the village, although these are getting harder to find now.
As you are not into quaint and historical – think about building new – building costs are from 2,000 euro per square meter and a plot of land with services from 120 euro per square meter – this would typically be on the edge of a village as the land has to be ‘zoned’ for building – all villages are extending these zones and a lot of new land is being offered – but this would be on a new development of similar houses.
Finding a plot in the countryside is difficult, there is a big demand and not much on offer – you can look for an existing run-down habitation and then try for planning to ‘develop’ it (expanding new and keeping the original perhaps as a garage – but this is hard to get. Never think of buying before all agreements and planning permissions are in place
It is possible to find the ‘right’ home within your parameters – it takes a lot of local knowledge, time and luck, so if you are budgeting to rent and look hard, especially over the winter months when things are more ‘dormant’, everything is possible (perhaps).
As for rented accommodation, all I can suggest at present is to rent an apartment in our place, on a 3 month (or longer, up to 6 months) let from October/November we can five a special winter only offer our ‘Rose’ apartment for 900 euro a month all inclusive (heating aircon etc – the central heating is essential from November to March at least). We will also have a smaller apartment ‘Quince’ available then at 650 euro a month.
http://villaroquette.com/apartments/rose-apartment/
I am registering (again) as an Estate agent from June this year and have a number of unlisted properties to offer already – I am not opening yet another ‘shop’ – but offering my local knowledge, experience and Internet services, including some new ‘search and identify’ facilities. I am going back into this business and will be working hard to offer a fair and honest service which brings together my experience of Internet services and 20 years of local knowledge and living in France.
Alas I will not have time to use ‘wet plate’ techniques to photograph the properties and print on platinum papers and I will try to curb the urge to photograph every room with a 14mm lens – but I will discover new places and meet interesting people and, hopefully, earn a living.
Write to me with as much information and your thoughts so I can begin to ‘profile’ your wishes and send you information.
Hope to see you later this year
Tony
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The Cost of Living in France
February 14, 2010 by tony · Leave a Comment
For the fifth year running, France has been voted the best place in the world to live by some magazines and journals. This is the reason why hundreds of thousands of educated and qualified people are moving to France to live or to retire.
Being the best does not mean it is perfect, there is a cost, not only in the cost of buying food and shelter, but adapting to a different culture and values.
Comparing income and expenses is simple, there are many websites offering this service such as the one I mention in this reply to a letter today ( http://www.worldsalaries.org/france.shtml ) – but if you need the adrenalin buzz of wheeling and dealing, building a business or developing new ideas – France may not be the most fertile place for your skills and imagination – in fact it is hard to succeed in business anywhere, but just nigh on impossible in France.
It all comes down to the unmeasurable “quality of life” – (if you know parameters I can use to quantify the quality of life I would like to learn)
Her is the mail I replied to a few minutes ago……
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Hi Tony,
I really enjoyed your post, I can’t remember the link, but you had written “Wisely, Paris built their Disneyland outside the city & they plan to keep it there.”. You articulated in that article exactly what my wife and I experienced in France at different times and exactly why we want to move there- in France life is not always judged in terms of money value.
I have one question in particular I’m trying to answer to help assuage some anxiety I have about this move:
I get the impressive that the French generally save a lot of their paycheck, I think I read somewhere that they saved 10%, which is about 11% more than what the average American saves. I also have the impression that food costs are rather high compared to the US, and rent seems a bit higher too (in Grenoble I’ve found 800 Euro seems to be the going rate for a one bedroom place). I have contradictory impressions; a lower salary, a higher cost of living, and yet higher savings rates than in the US.
The approximate salary I have found for my work is about 50K euro in Paris, and less in the provinces, although I’m not sure yet how much less.
Would this be enough to provide for myself and my wife, own a car, and still save money?
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Hi,
Income in France is low – average is about 22,000 euro a year – you can get a better idea about income from this site – http://www.worldsalaries.org/france.shtml
However a salary has a lot of social charges paid by the employer – it virtually doubles the cost of employing someone – for this you get the best health care in the world and excellent social services, education etc.
Housing is,expensive, the rent for Grenoble sounds about right, 800 euro a month for an apartment.
Cars are comparatively expensive, as is fuel, about 5 euro a gallon
Food I am told is more expensive than the USA, quality is good and the French are very careful shoppers.
The French are traditionally savers and the 10 percent or so of earnings does not surprise me.
You hit the nail on the head – it is impossible to put a value on the quality of life. With the sort of salary you have been offered you would be considered a wealthy person in France and could live comfortably, nut never luxuriously.
Hope this helps
Best wishes
Tony
Mad March Days
February 7, 2010 by tony · 3 Comments
Our VillaRoquette January sale has ended, many guests took our special early bird offer and have booked our apartments or BandB for later this year – we still have most of March and April free so we are starting our March Sale for any booking made from now until the end of April at half price, subject to availability. Book with a deposit now and pay the balance on arrival.
Since writing this headline I have had the poem I remember from my first school buzzing in my head – I always recall the last verse as we said it loud in class – chanting it in a quick, staccato and finishing loudly with “Cheap Tin Trays”
Cargoes by John Masefield –
Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amethysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.
Dirty British Coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rail, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.
I can’t promise Apes or Peacocks, but Sweet White Wine is on the menu.
A Guide to Renting in France
Although home ownership in France is increasing, most people live in rented accommodation. In major cities apartment living is the usual way of life.
The Internet is changing the way we do many things, until recently nearly all property rentals were arranged through an an agent immobilier – estate agent – this was their main business, but increasingly home rentals are advertised and sought online. Sales of private properties have increased, as has the number of agencies and the rental service has changed, although there are usually some specialist agencies offering rentals in large towns.
In France the tenant has very strong rights and is protected in many ways from exploitation by landlords. But this protection has caused problems for property owners. There are many cases where an owner has not received any rent for years yet cannot gain access to their own property. This has discouraged owners from renting and there are changes now planned to some laws which give fair rights to both owners and tenants.
At present an unfurnished property will be offered normally on a standard three year agreement, renewable for a further two three year periods with fixed maximums to the increase of rent to be paid. Furnished accommodation is often offered on a one year agreement and a registered student can obtain a nine month agreement.
Unless there are restrictions (as there are in central Paris) a furnished property can be rented as a seasonal or vacation property for any period less than six months. In central Paris only one year tenancy agreements can be offered, vacation rentals are not allowed, unless the proeprty is correctly registered and rated as a commercial property (very few are).
The tenant can cancel the rental agreement with three month notice. The owner can only request vacant possession at the end of the period of the lease if they require if for their own use or intend to sell the property. If the property is offered for sale the tenant has the first right of refusal to purchase. An owner cannot artificially inflate the selling price or use other devices to inconvenience the tenant without risking expensive penalties.
If you are looking for rented accommodation and use estate agents, you need to know that there is no central listing service so it is necessary to get information from all agencies in a region to find the available properties.
Many commercial owners do prefer to use agencies to assist in protecting them from “troublesome” tenants. Agents will charge normally at least one months rent commission for finding a suitable tenant and about the same each year for managing the rental. Howeern renting diret from an owner does not often reduce the rental demanded, although you mayb able to negotiate the deposit required.
Agencies will normally demand a further two months, sometimes three months, rent as a security deposit. This is only repaid at the end of the tenancy after a full inspection of the property has been completed.
When a tenancy has been agreed, a detailed inspection (an ̩tat des lieux) is made Рther are standard foms for this and it is usually ery detailed. The tenant should check carefully all entries, note any prior defects or damage to the property and take photographs where possible. Make an note of every hole, scratch, mark or stain. For a landlord to claim a property had to be completely repainted and to charge a huge professional rate for this to the departing tenant does happen.
Unfurnished property can be very basic, a kitchen may only have a basic sink, I have seen properties where the light bulbs are removed and not offered with the property. If you are taking over a property and view it when it is occupied, do not expect any of the fittings and fixtures to remain, or insist that those items which are with the property are listed and agreed.
Be sure you are aware of any other costs in renting. You will be liable for the taxe d’habitation each year. Interestingly it is the person who occupies the property on January the first of a year who is liable, so if you move in on January the 2nd you get 364 day free of this tax for your first year. The owner of the property is liable for the other local tax the taxe fonciere. Check what this is at the local Mairie.
There are other charges on a property, especially apartments. Management, maintenance and concierge charges may apply, be sure to get these confirmed and explained in writing before you sign an agreement. These charges do change annually, rarely downwards.
Services are usually paid by the tenant, most usually water gas and electricity, but also waste collection and other services may be added charges. Check carefully what is included in the rental.
Once you have found a place to rent and are comfortable with the agreement, you will have to prove your income. This is usually proof of at least the previous three months income, a contract of employment, bank statement details. Your disposable income should be at least three times the rent demanded. If there is any problem, you may also be asked to supply one or more guarantors who have assets or proven income to support your charges. Guarantors are almost certain to be demanded if you are self employed or an “artist”. Now you know why many famous artists lived in squalid garrets, they could not get a proper apartment.
In most cases you will need a French bank account as payment will usually be demanded by autonomic monthly payment.
However, first you have to find your property – this is anther article.
Consumer Protection
December 29, 2009 by tony · Leave a Comment
I am writing about problems with apartment rentals in Paris on my blog at http://2337.com – the aim was originally to give information to owners about problems ahead from laws affecting vacation retals.
Interestingly this site has generated mail from renters telling me some horrific stories about owners. Clearly there is a lot to be cleared up and the Government of France and the City of Paris are taking steps to put things in order.
If you have had problems with any service, most countries have an official department you can complain to and report the supplier. A good website listing these offices is http://oecg.org/ – for France the official consumer protection bureau is The DGCCRF – it is an official French government authority for Consumer Protection, they have a website in English at http://www.dgccrf.bercy.gouv.fr/anglais.htm – they have produced a leaflet, in English, which gives some information and other contacts. You can download this at Welcome to France
As most apartments in Paris rented for vacations are rented illegally, you should ensure that the owner, or the owners agent, has correctly registered the apartment as a commercial property to rent, is correctly declared for taxation on the revenue in France and therefore they are able to show you valid and adequate insurance.
Interestingly from the websites above I found that most of the disclaimers for loss or damage on rented premises are not legally valid, this applies to hotels as well – you cannot “sign away” your rights on any rental contract.
France the Flip Side
I am a fan of Jeremy Clarkson, his column in the Sunday Times may be the only floppy copy I read each week, apart from his motoring section which rates the Lada higher than the Audi (so do I and I love the Dacia)
He got a column ‘pulled’ recently for suggesting the tying of some chap called Mandelson to the front of a van and parading him around the UK in an attempt to cheer up the increasingly fed-up population of Britain. It seems that this chap Mandy is an unelected lord of all things and responsible for supporting rich people and generally being important. There is also a Mr Brown somewhere and another chap called Darling – it all sounds like the cast of a Blackadder farce, but it isn’t.
Basically the censored article said how fed-up lot of people are with Britain and would love to live somewhere else, France for example, but JC pointed out that there is a teensy problem with paperwork and bureaucracy in France which an Englishman would not get on with.
I am an Englishman and I do not get on well with French paperwork – actually I do not get on well with any paperwork, but I get it in spades in France and really do very badly.
But this is the point – it seems a universal truth that the ‘quality of life’ in France is recognised as being among the best in the world – millions of people leave their own countries and come to live in France. More people come to France to experience the French lifestyle and culture than to any other country in the world.
Yes France does have a horrid number of civil servants, a low income level, privacy and secrecy laws to stun a goldfish and a reputation of being cheese eating surrender monkeys – I refute all of these (well not all, there are a lot of civil servants and a lot of cheese).
On another blog I started at http://2337.com I am presenting facts and opening discussions relating to some legislation affecting short term rentals in Paris. I am doing it because for over a year I have been anticipating some public announcements which will affect anyone who is involved in renting private apartments in Paris, owners, agents and tenants, many of whom read my newsletter or write to me.
Sadly this will inevitably affect some good agencies, some owners who have invested their savings in rental properties and many years of hard work. By my publishing this now and by trying to present the true facts, the good guys could adapt their services and do well – the bad guys who have robbed and tricked people will, I hope, be made to pay.
But what I found interesting in the debates underway on that blog is the assumption that the City of Paris is shooting itself in the foot and that this is ‘bad for tourism’ and will ‘lose Paris income from tourists’.
My belief is that the people of Paris do not give a fig or a tuppenny damn for tourist income and this is the point I am trying to make in this post.
The quality of life in France is good exactly because the French national character values a human lifestyle with values expressed in conversation, food, local shops, affordable homes and which respects a philosopher above transient celebrity. Whereas many other societies establish the value of everything in money.
This explains to me why there is so much control, why I have to do everything in quadruplet and in black ink yet also why health care and education are brilliant. It is because people care about their cities, villages, homes and family life and prefer to have local shops and Parisians living in Paris than chase the quick shilling/dollar/yen/whatever.
The people of Venice are protesting in the streets about the circus their city has become, the city of London is a derelict wasteland in the evenings (I lived in the Barbican for a while).
Wisely, Paris built their Disneyland outside the city – they plan to keep it there.
Now I must get back to filling in another form to wind up a company I have never wanted, never used and which has cost me a fortune but is still there because I missed a dozen pink forms which I only returned in triplicate when everyone knows they have to be in quintuplet.
Post Script…
I am delighted to see that the censored article is back on the Times online site at Tie Mandy to a van Perhaps there is hope – Yogi Blair is not president of Europe and Oz the Rupe did not tug his whatnot for Mandiavelli
Living in Paris
November 8, 2009 by tony · Leave a Comment
Prices charged for vacation and holiday rentals for private lets in Paris are a minimum of four times the rental charged for a regular tenant, it is often many times more than this and the acute shortage of rental accommodation in the city, partly caused by these apartments not being available to Parisians pushes prices up.
Interestingly, as in the city of London, it is actually illegal for the owner of a private apartment in Paris to offer this for rent as a vacation property, or for any form of short-term furnished letting. There are a few exceptions, registered commercial properties for example, or for rentals to students, but these represent a small number of those properties advertised on the hundreds of websites offering Paris apartments.
The laws are clear, but, like many things in France, these laws have not been applied – until now…..
To read the full posing and follow the comments on this important subject please see the full article here.
Now I have Stopped Working – Not
October 17, 2009 by tony · Leave a Comment
Now that I have stopped working (well almost) on the house, I am back to marketing and getting guests for our apartments and BandB. We first started this in our old home in Nizas 12 years ago and did all our marketing through the Internet – hopefully I can get back into the same flow as before, there is a lot more actiity on the internet now and the days of getting to the top of Alta Vista in a couple of hours are long gone – the tricks I used then would get me banned from Google for life. I am looking at what is on offer for help in Internet marketing, the rules and ruses seem top be the same, just follow the Google motto of ‘Do No Evil’ – a good website I found is http://www.nikkipilkington.com/about-us/ – Nikki looks good too! (plus she’s a biker)
Hopefully my 20 years experience of Internet marketing will get me started, but I will always look for good skills and help. I don’t have the strong websites I used to own, which got to the top of all French accommodation listings, but I will – Start All Over Again –
If you are thinking of coming to France – stay with us – I will try to make you an offer you cannot refuse.
Villa Roquette
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.
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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
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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