My friend Jeff has written a book about buying a house in France – or a French farmhouse – or whatever. It’s appropriate if you are looking for a French renovation project too.
Jeff has allowed me to take some extracts from his book so I thought I would do posts every so often giving you a rough outline of some of France’s regions. A short, sharp sample if you like, rather than an exhaustive exploration.
If you’re looking at buying a house in France I would recommend you get a copy of The French Property Buyer’s Guide for yourself. Two reasons. First, I promised Jeff I would recommend it 
well I would, wouldn’t I! But actually it is a good overview of what you can expect, what you should do and what you should watch out for.
It’s only $14.95 and it’s an ebook so you can download it to your computer and be reading it in five minutes. What’s more, Jeff will give you your money back if you don’t find it useful. Can’t say fairer than that! Get your copy here.
Here’s that first extract. If you’re looking at buying a house in France in the north:
The North Coast: Nord Pas De Calais, Picardie, Normandy and Brittany
Not surprisingly, given it’s proximity, this area is very popular with the British. There are many ferry services to and from England and also the channel tunnel with it’s fast rail link. It’s so popular in fact that it’s not unusual to find an English pub, a fish and chip shop or a cricket team.
For some this is ideal and helps cushion the culture shock of a different country. Others perhaps are looking for a more French experience and so may wish to look in other departments.
If you’re looking for little fishing villages hugging a rugged shoreline, there are plenty of them. Nord Pas De Calais borders Belgium and has immaculate beaches and the famous resort of Le Touquet. Picardy (Picardie in French) has a short coastline and is less well known generally although it too has well kept beaches. Not the best area of France for sunbathing perhaps, with weather like the south of England, but a nice area if you like the countryside. Conversely there are areas inland which were at the centre of the French industrial revolution and much of the manufacturing heritage is still evident.
The coast around Normandy and Brittany (the French call it Bretagne) offers the more attractive areas in my opinion – although you may feel differently. The important ports of Dieppe, Caen, Cherbourg, Le Havre and St. Malo are all in this area making it popular and very busy. Parts of Le Havre are heavily industrialized but the harbour itself on a misty Spring morning is stunning. Dieppe feels a bit more personal, a bit more friendly and has an olde worlde sort of charm. To be fair, each port has it’s own character and all are worth a visit though these towns themselves aren’t places I would choose to live.
In lower Normandy (Basse Normandie) you’ll find Deauville and Trouville which were made popular by the Victorians and still retain a great deal of the feel of a wealthy yesteryear although going a bit threadbare round the edges perhaps. Still very popular however, with the French as well as expats, they provide some of the most expensive property in the whole region. This is also the area of the famous beaches of the D-Day invasions.
Brittany has Dinan and Dinard which are both lovely places to visit with enticing narrow streets in the older parts of town and lots of restaurants and cafes. Bretons, as the locals are known, are as fierce as any about their heritage and don’t need much of an excuse for a party to celebrate some aspect of it. The coast here is a bit wilder, particularly in the west. It’s very much to my taste but not perhaps to everyone’s. When it gets a bit windy you’ll definitely need a good coat. Invigorating though!
Inland these departments provide a range of different environments. There are forests, farmland and, in the main, gently rolling countryside. It’s littered with half-timbered houses for which the region is famous, abbeys, chateaux and a good number of more recent tourist attractions. There are plenty of orchards as well in Normandy – producing the delicious brandy-styled Calvados. The region also makes Benedictine, a herbal liqueur usually taken as a digestif after dinner.
The popularity with foreign buyers has, as you would expect, resulted in big rises in property prices over recent years. Coastal areas, particularly if there’s a view of the sea, are expensive by French standards and not always cheap by English ones! Things are generally more stable now than a couple of years back – as they are across the French property market – but this is still a sought after area for many and most of the real bargains are long gone.
If you’re looking for a renovation project for €20,000 you’re not going to find it here. You will however find good value property away from the coast and renovation opportunities still exist, you just have to be more realistic about it than ten years ago.
Extract from: The French Property Buyer’s Guide
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