The Search. Ray and Jennie Smith, in their second installment, give us an insight into how they went about looking for their “house”
How did we find the property?
As I’m sure you are aware there are many publications adorning the shelves of bookshops and newsagents offering a glossy alternative lifestyle and to be fair some offer sound advice and may even advertise affordable properties to buy but I think what they do offer is a starting point from which to decide where in France you might wish to look for a house, unless, like us, you have visited and travelled the country a few times.
The internet is of course a very obvious and valuable window into what might be available and how to go about acquiring it, definitely a must for researching the legalities and pitfalls. The internet also gives you access to many estate agents in your chosen area, saving a lot of valuable legwork when you’re on a time pressured fact finding visit. In my experience though you will see a lot more properties on the various sites than are actually available and also the prices quoted can initially give an unrealistic view of what you will inevitably find you have to pay for the same type of property, basically this is because many property sites are not updated very often and some properties remain ‘active’ for years long after they have been sold but it gets you on the site, doesn’t it! Anyway enough of my cynicism!
France is a big place!
So where do you start? Based on our experience of travelling through France and our personal desires, we initially focused our search area to southwest France and as we became more informed about locations, availability and price expectations we began to narrow the search further, well, within a hundred or so miles radius!
We did find the ‘net’ invaluable, many a late night hour was spent trawling the sites (English and French) looking for that elusive bargain dream that might have slipped by everyone else. We would compile a short list, contact the sites/agents and get further details (the bits you really want to know but the ad’s never tell you) and then compile another short list and so on. Inevitably some properties would stay the distance, the ones that did not have historical rights of way through your living room etc. and a few outsiders would be added for interest. These possible’ were then grouped into areas and a reconnaisance visit duly arranged.
The trip.
Armchair house hunting has its benefits but there comes a time when there is no other course than to put your coat on and go and have a look. Armed with a suitably sized shortlist and a realistic time scale I arranged various viewing dates and set off for the Charentes, camped out in various strategically places hotels or Chambres d’ Hotes and began the weeding.
A car (and good GPS) is a must, although viewing days are arranged with agents who drive you around to viewings you may want to revisit or survey the wider location. I would invariably spend the day viewing around say Rochechouart and then drive to Chateauroux (approx. 150km) ready for the next day’s onslaught. Although it would have been more desirable for both my wife and myself to be on the trip she had work commitments and so I was entrusted with the task of searching and I was quite happy to trawl around all day and undertake long drives.
Some may consider it a bit of a risk carrying the responsibility of potentially choosing the family dream home alone but we had developed a good idea of what we both wanted and could afford from all our research. Also with the powers of mobile communication and internet (wi-fi) it was possible to relay images etc. quite easily.
They never look the same in ‘real life’.
Coming from a creative background it is all too easy to see just what you want to see in a photograph while sitting at your PC (or is it working as a Stained Glass Artist that makes you view the world through rose tinted windows!!!!). With the desire, you can create an almost idyllic view of a potential property but after a twenty minute drive and just two minutes out of the car it soon becomes apparent that there is just no point in going inside. How quickly the shortlist shortens! What must the agents think of us? too big, too small, poor outlook, too exposed, “I know it’s a rural property but that smelly, scruffy farm is just too close”! etc. etc. There are of course some surprises, the property that you think doesn’t look that appealing in the photograph but you thought you may as well check out while in the area, doesn’t look so bad in the light of day, speaking of which, we chose to undertake our viewing trip off season, when it would be quieter but also we considered, if the properties looked appealing under a grey sky then they could only improve in the sunshine and it was bucketing it down when I viewed our chosen property!
Nearing the end of my viewing trip the short list was down to two main possibilities and only a few left to view. Having found many options unsuitable and having one or two snapped away before I was prepared to commit (this was pre-Credit Crunch and plummeting exchange rate (though it was bad enough!) after all). I had a long drive to meet an agent I had been in contact with regarding a property that had been on the market, then withdrawn and now back on again. The property was towards the northern end of my viewing area but although the images showed a rundown place I was interested as the property was detached and had some land and the price was competitive.
Timing is everything.
What made me curious about this property was that when it came back on the market the vendors had decided to include an extra 3000m2 of land as they did not need it and the price remained the same. It transpired that the gentleman owner and his wife were selling up (three properties) and moving to the town due to ill health hence the initial sale, unfortunately he passed away and so the properties were withdrawn until the inheritance issues were resolved and now the sale was back on again while I was out in France. An additional benefit for us was the fact that this property was only offered for sale through a ‘sole agent’ who mainly advertised via the internet.
I was to be the first of a number of viewings that week and so arranged to visit early in the week. I met the agent on a very wet and grey afternoon. She took me to view the property, which was tucked away from any signs of civilisation apart from the few remaining properties (three) in the little hamlet. The property was barely visible from the lane, set well back but also heavily overgrown. The agent, wisely, chose to stay down the chemin as the grass was long and very wet but I endeavoured to fight my way onwards. After a return visit, in sunshine, in spite of ALL the obvious faults with the buildings it just felt right and ticked many of our boxes. I remember telephoning my wife and saying, ‘there’s no water (mains), no electricity, no sewage and the roof is falling in…. ….I love it’. One of my wife’s requirements was a little vegetable garden, the ‘potager’ was approx. 1,500m2!!!! The agent advised me to return another time with my wife but after some consultation it was decided that we would make an offer, as we were sure the property would not be available much longer. We later found out that someone (English) had approached the vendor directly and tried to make an increased offer but fortunately the vendor honoured our (as was at that time) verbal agreement. But for the legal process we now had our own little piece of France.
Occasionally We get asked, ‘are there still bargains to be had’, well if you talk to the expat’s that moved out to France 10 to 15 years ago or more, who all bought a farm, 50 acres and a small housing estate of outbuildings for 10 grand! Compared to that I have to say no but comparing with current prices if you are prepared to invest your time, money and skills then there are still plenty of opportunities available if you wish to renovate. The property we purchased requires extensive work but compared to comparable properties we were considering it was significantly cheaper.
Well that was the easy bit, once the legalities of the purchase were out of the way (which inevitably take longer than everyone says they will) the real work would have to begin.