This concerns some friends of mine who are renovating an old French farmhouse. It’s a “longere” to be precise, which roughly translated means “long house”. Way back [...]]]> Here’s a true story about renovating in France and how learning to speak a few French phrases can save you thousands and thousands of dollars.

This concerns some friends of mine who are renovating an old French farmhouse. It’s a “longere” to be precise, which roughly translated means “long house”. Way back when it was first built, several hundred years ago, what farmers would do was to build themselves a house and then just add bits on the end when they had a need. Frequently that was more space for goats, sheep, pigs or cows. An extra room would be added to suit whatever animals were going in. If it was for a growing family the room was made a bit better quality – but not much!

It is all on one level. Upstairs was for hay or grain – which also did a fair job of insulating. Walls were built from local stone – a couple of feet or more thick. No foundations of course, just built on the ground. With walls that thick they hardly move in centuries, and as long as the roof is in good condition these are prime French renovation material.

These old French farmhouses usually don’t have much in the way of sanitation. Often just a soak-away – which is basically a hole in the ground. If you want to renovate you need to put in a modern system or you don’t get planning permission. Only sensible really.

Mains drainage is usually out of the question because these old French farmhouses are usually in the middle of a field. What you have to get is a septic tank system called a “fosse septique“. A three or four thousand liter tank (around a thousand gallons US) takes all the household water and there’s also a sand and gravel filtration that handles run-off. This is eventually pumped into the nearest ditch. It’s not drinking water quality but it’s fairly clean.

Anyway, back to the story. As is recommended with any renovating in France, my friends got three quotes. The first guy wanted 16,500 Euros which was thought a bit high, but they waited for the remainder of the prices. The second came in at 9,000 Euros. The third, a comparatively low 6,500 Euros – a ten thousand Euro difference. That’s a lot of money in any currency!

Now my friends had gone to the trouble of talking to several French people, including the son of an acquaintance who worked for the water board (and who helped with the plans). Each company was given exactly the same full specification. What might have happened if they had not spoken some French? They were not fluent at the time but they took on the challenge. I know people in that situation who would have just taken the first quote because it was easiest – and would have been ten grand out of pocket!

The strangest thing happened on the day of the installation. The builder who had given the cheaper quote turned up to start work, bringing an expert with him to help. The “expert” was the guy who had given the first quote of 16,500 Euros – but apparently was more than prepared to do the work for the builder for 6,500 – or in fact less if you consider that the builder would probably have made something.

Top tip if you are considering renovating in France? Well it has to be to learn some French. If it cost you a hundred dollars to save 10,000 I would say it was money well spent!

By the way, my friends are Bob Beacham and Xandra Veal. They’re in the process of renovating their longere and turning it into a comfortable home plus a three bedroom holiday gite. If you want to keep an eye on how they are getting along (and maybe get a discount if you want to stay in the Loire valley) visit La-Fermette.

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Jeff has allowed me to take some extracts from his book so I thought I would do posts every so often giving you [...]]]> 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

Perhaps a French farmhouse is your dream?

Plenty of people look at property for sale in France through rose-tinted glasses. It’s easily done – especially if you’re mixing a French property hunting trip with a vacation. A bit of warm sun, the chance to relax, a nice lunch with a glass or two of wine… [...]]]>

Perhaps a French farmhouse is your dream?

Plenty of people look at property for sale in France through rose-tinted glasses. It’s easily done – especially if you’re mixing a French property hunting trip with a vacation. A bit of warm sun, the chance to relax, a nice lunch with a glass or two of wine… common sense can go straight out the window!

I’ve done it myself. Fortunately most of the time we get the chance to correct our errors but for those new to the French property market I thought I would do a quick run through of the French house buying process…

So you book your appointments with your French property agents, go along and see the house, fall in love with it and decide it’s your dream. Nothing else will do. Like I say, we’ve all done it.

First thing you have to do is sign an agreement to purchase called a Compromis De Vente. This is a legal document and sets out a number of things, amongst them is that the owner has the right to sell, it says where the property is, and what price is agreed to be payed.

At the same time as signing the compromis de vente you must also pay a 10% deposit. You then have a 7 day cooling off period. After that, in almost all cases, if you try to pull out of the deal you will lose your money.

So you can see that when you’re buying French property it’s kind of important to understand the compromis de vente!

If you don’t, I would suggest you get it translated before you sign anything.

One useful thing you can have added to this document is clauses suspentives – provisions that must be satisfied in order for the sale to proceed. There is a tremendous variation in property for sale in France so clauses suspentives can take almost any form. Could be planning permission, could be that you will buy provided you can get a certain extra piece of land, could be that you want a survey done, could be that you want the heating or electric checked out.

You can try to add anything. Try being the operative word. The vendor of your French property has the right to allow or refuse any clause so a period of negotiation might happen.

One good thing about the French property buying process is that once both parties sign the compromise de vente the property is pretty much yours. It is taken off the market and no further offers can be made.

I should perhaps make a note here about prices. If the price of a French property is set at 200,000 Euros then it cannot be sold for more than that. It’s actually illegal for someone to accept an offer of, for example, 210,000 Euros. So when you are searching for French property bear in mind that while nearly everybody does negotiate, an offer at the asking price usually secures it.

OK, let’s assume the compromis de vente is to your satisfaction. You and the vendor sign it and a copy is mailed to you. You may or may not meet the vendor, you probably won’t both be at the signing at the same time. Frequently the signing is done at the agent’s office, sometimes at a notaire (notaires are a bit like solicitors – they do all the official paperwork).

A date is usually set for completion when you will sign the Act de Vente – the official paperwork to transfer the property to you. This will usually be about three months into the future but can be less. In the meantime all kinds of checks are done.

When we bought our French house there were tests for the presence of lead (plomb), asbestos (amiante) and termites (termites). Rules have changed – and are continuing to change – so it’s important that you check and understand the process.

Assuming all goes smoothly – and if you’ve done your homework it should – then on the appointed day you and the vendor meet at the notaire. You need to have arranged for all monies to be at the notaires by this date. He or she is acting for the government, not you or the vendor, so you should have no fears on that count. The notaire will explain a few things, you sign the paperwork and the place is yours.

If your French isn’t very good you might want to arrange for a translator to be there so you understand everything. There are lots of foreign buyers of French property so notaires are quite used to this.

That’s it, congratulations, you are now the proud owner of your French home!

There are no “deeds” as such to a French house but you will receive plenty of paperwork  – mostly copies of what you signed – from the notaire eventually. Some months later you might also receive a small check – usually under 100 Euros. This rather bizarre event happens because part of what you pay on the day you sign the act de vente are taxes to the French government and they almost invariably slightly over-estimate the amount. Don’t ask me why.

What then happens is people forget all about it until a check arrives in the mail. It’s usually enough for a decent meal for two so why not just celebrate it!

In a nutshell, that’s your process for buying almost any kind of property for sale in France. There is an oddity that is rare but can happen. If the local Mayor thinks a property in his or her local area (commune) is of particular importance he can purchase it. In that case you’re just going to have to look for something else because there is no right of appeal and no negotiation.

As I say, it’s quite rare and usually happens before the compromis de vente stage anyway.

This isn’t a detailed explanation, it’s just an overview. you really must check for yourself.

Rules change. When we bought, getting a survey of a French house was practically unheard of. In the last few years there have been many new regulations and there are more in the pipeline. Make sure you understand. If you aren’t confident in your command of the French language, get things translated. Don’t just trust an English speaker who might say “Oh don’t worry about that, nobody bothers” or “that will be OK”. You are about to spend a lot of money. You wouldn’t take risks in your own country, why do so here?

Never forget an agent is working for the vendor – not you. Ask as many awkward questions as you can. If you’re not sure, walk away. I guarantee there is another French dream house out there for you somewhere. Try and keep your rose-tinted glasses in your pocket!

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I won’t go into detail but this person was having a real rant. Not content with attacking my knowledge of the French property market they [...]]]> After my last post about cheap French property I had a comment from an English real estate agent working in France. Always nice to get comments, I thought. Not this time!

I won’t go into detail but this person was having a real rant. Not content with attacking my knowledge of the French property market they also attacked the blog in general and me personally. All a bit childish really…

Particularly as they really missed a trick. Had they put forward a reasoned argument I would have included it in the blog.  Their comment could have attracted people to their own website. Might have done them some good.

I don’t pretend to know everything, this blog is just my personal view, if an expert comes along with better info I’ll share it with you folks. No skin of my nose (nez)!

But let’s get to the point shall we. I like to think the info I give is fairly accurate – particulalry about something as important as buying a house in France. This person said that my claims of 8% to 12% fees were nonsense and that you couldn’t get property cheaper at notaires, certainly not five or six per cent cheaper.

So I decided to check. After all, it’s a while since I bought a house here and markets change. There are also fluctuations in French property from region to region – not surprisingly.

It turns out I was not as accurate as I might have been – or at least didn’t put it as clearly as I could have.

Hey, I don’t mind admitting if I’m wrong so let’s clarify.

If you buy property in France you will pay between 5% and 10% to the agent. Often this isn’t publicized. Mostly all you see is that the price includes agents fees – they won’t tell you the actual percentage unless you ask. Dishonest? I couldn’t possibly comment. After all, property agents are normally known for their honesty aren’t they?

Out of interest I went to the site of the person who attacked me to see if I could find how much they charged. After all, they were saying my figures were inaccurate. Guess what. Nothing. Perhaps it’s there somewhere and I just didn’t look hard enough. They’re happy to tell you how wonderful they are but where are their fees?

Anyway, I digress.

Whether its included or not you can find out easily enough if you ask. It won’t make any difference to what they charge, but you can find out if you want to. You might want to negotiate the price a bit depending on the result.

On top of the agents fees, when you buy a house in France you must also pay the notaires fees for doing the paperwork. There are various taxes and things which add up to about 3% of the purchase price – although this varies depending on whether you buy an old house, new or are buying land. Although you pay all this money to the notaire it is strictly controlled by the government. The actual notaires fees for doing the paperwork are around 1%. Our friend the English estate agent in France claimed this was wrong. They should check their facts.

Anyway, let’s not get into an argument about it. Perhaps I could have phrased it better.

The overall point here is whether you are looking for cheap French property or a chateau for millions you should allow around 10% of the purchase price for agent and notaire fees. Pretty much anyone will tell you the same.

This last bit is one of those “in my experience”…

You can often find property for sale at notaires – fact. In my experience notaires charge a lot less for their agency services than regular real estate agents in France. This may not be the case everywhere but it is true in an awful lot of France. A notaire may not give you the comprehensive service a real estate agent will – but if you have a reasonable command of French, what do you lose by trying?

When we bought our French home we did buy through an agent. A French one. They were very professional and efficient. I have no hesitation in recommending it as a course of action. We also dealt with many English agents in France but it is not something we found a pleasure. I’m sure they are not all preying on the fact that a lot of buyers can’t speak French but I’m convinced some are. Furthermore we have heard of fees being charged for getting water or electricity connected when a French agent will usually help you with this for nothing.

I’ll probably get another rant now from the English person but it’s my blog so I’ll say things how I see them. Always check everything. If you don’t understand something, find out. When you are buying a French home never forget that the agent is working for the seller, not you. If you have doubts, walk away. There are an awful lot of French properties out there and there’s always another one that’s “just right” for you.

The last thing I want to do is give you the idea that it’s a hassle. It shouldn’t be, it should be exciting and great fun. When we bought our French farmhouse it went like clockwork and we love living here!

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Not so any more. The Brits in particular bought a lot of the cheap French properties near the channel ports, [...]]]> Not so long ago people were falling over themselves to take advantage of cheap French property. Places like Paris and Cannes have always been high priced but almost everywhere else in France was packed with bargains.

Not so any more. The Brits in particular bought a lot of the cheap French properties near the channel ports, for obvious reasons. Other places became hot-spots for people from the UK – the Dordogne in particular. If you’re looking for cheap property in France you won’t want to be wasting your time down there. Lovely area but so anglicized that they even have a cricket league!

It’s not only the Brits of course. Plenty of Dutch, Germans and Americans have vacation homes in France (maison secondaire) or live here permanently. Anything within a couple of hours of Paris is also premium territory for wealthy Parisians for the weekend.

So has cheap French property all gone?

Depends what you’re looking for. If you’re expecting to find a habitable place near the coast you’ll need to spend proper money. Likewise any vacation area of France – like the Alps or Pyrenees – anywhere near a big city or anywhere close to an airport. Cheap flights have made these kind of French properties very sought-after and prices have shot up.

On the other hand, the Centre region remains very affordable. It’s a quiet farming area and although one of the largest in France in terms of square miles it is one of the least populated. There are few big cities and not a great deal of employment. You can fly from Tours to Stanstead in the UK or from Limoges to several destinations but they’re small airports with infrequent flights so it’s an area that has avoided the “incomers” boom. There are plenty of Brits around – and quit a few Dutch – but this is still proper French France and you’ll need to be prepared to learn the language if you want to have an easy life here (which is how we like it!).

Elsewhere, if you’re looking for cheap property in France you’ll probably need to be looking at modest places or at renovation. There’s plenty of French renovation property around but there are pitfalls. Having renovated an old French farmhouse myself I know it’s easy to under-estimate costs. I’ll get into this in more detail in another post but for now let’s just say you need to be very careful, do your homework and get plenty of building quotes.

I wouldn’t want to put anybody off. There’s a great sense of satisfaction and you can end up with a beautiful building. It just isn’t necessarily easy – unless you’ve got deep pockets and then you probably wouldn’t be looking for cheap French property in the first place!

So there’s a lot less cheap French property than there was, and the market has leveled out so you’re not going to make a fast buck by buying and selling. If you’re prepared to be patient you can still find bargain French houses, but it isn’t as easy as it was. My best advice would be to learn the market a bit and find out what to look for. My friend Jeff’s book The French Property Buyers Guide would be a few dollars well invested. Spend time trawling through plenty of online real estate sites too (agence immobilier). Check back regularly so you get a feel for what’s going on and a sensible view of the kind of property in a particular area.

Before I go, there’s a nifty way of saving yourself a good chunk of cash on French property if you have half-decent French language skills – get yourself round to as many Notaires as you can find.

Notaires are the officials who do French property conveyancing. They don’t work for the government but their fees for carrying out your house purchase paperwork are strictly controlled. What a lot of people don’t know is that Notaires can offer property for sale as well as doing the paperwork. Imagine it like your solicitor also being your real estate agent!

The important point here is that an ordinary agence immobilier will charge you anything between 8% and 12% to sell you your dream French home – and the buyer pays this fee, not the seller. A notaire will usually charge you just 1%.

That’s a biiiiiiig difference!

For ease of doing the math let’s say it’s 10% on a 100,000 Euro home (which in itself is a cheap French property). That’s 10,000 you might save! Worth learning a bit of the French language for?

The reason I say learning a bit of French is that most notaires do the estate agency as a bit of a sideline. Their fees are less because it’s not how they make most of their money. Accordingly they quite often don’t speak English and their services may not be as comprehensive as a real estate agent.

The point is that if you speak even just a little French you’ll be confident enough to go in and ask. Often the offices can be quite well hidden so it’s worth searching off the main street. They won’t have big signs, probably just a small brass plaque with their name and the word Notaire.

They might not have quite the range of houses either, but if you can find what you want and save yourself 10% it’s worth a bit of digging around wouldn’t you say?

For a good place to browse the French property market try here. For some free French lessons click either of those two ads on the top right.

Pic courtesy TheMoveChannel

It’s an attractive idea. It should cost you a lot less and you can design and build exactly what you want (within the local planning regs, of course).

It [...]]]> French building land (terrain à bâtir) is readily available and quite affordable in a lot of places so why not build your own French home?

Pic courtesy TheMoveChannel

It’s an attractive idea. It should cost you a lot less and you can design and build exactly what you want (within the local planning regs, of course).

It is something we looked at way back when we bought our French house. At the time we decided against it but if we were to look again today? We might well give it more consideration. We have way more knowledge of the French property market now and we speak much better French!

But what if you are just thinking about buying French property for the first time and you’ve found a nice piece of land and you’re wondering if, maybe…

If you have the cash and you can afford an architect and a team to build it for you, I would say that building your own home in France was an excellent idea. Of course you won’t actually be doing any of the building but that’s the best way!

What if you are already “in the trade”?

The challenge here is that you don’t know the rules, regulations and building standards (it’s a bit slang, but les norms is the usual term used). You don’t know how to get planning permission (permis de construire) either. A few years ago the situation was more relaxed but now there are rules concerning electrics, plumbing, insulations, drainage, etc which will make your head spin. It’s complex enough dealing with a renovation but building from scratch?

It’s dangerous to think that you can get around things. That complying with the rules doesn’t matter because it’s your home. For one thing you might well invalidate your home insurance if you are unfortunate enough to have a fire, for another you will never be able to sell it. People want to see certificates and have inspections done these days…

OK, it’s not insurmountable but it ain’t going to be easy.

Even if you are a builder, plumber or electrician already I would probably advise against doing it yourself unless you want to spend time going through the French system and getting yourself certified. Actually, if you want to live and work here you’re going to have to do something like that anyway so it might be a very good idea.

You’ll find it tough to get work in the building trade in France unless you are employed by a French builder or you have registered a French business. You might pick up some work from the ex-pat community – and that can be useful income – but it’s not the way to integrate into French life or establish a stable business.In most cases, trading without registration is illegal.

I know I’m digressing a bit here but while I do I’ll just mention working for “cash in hand” over here. It’s called working on the black (travail au noir) and I would strongly advise against it. If you get found out you’ll be fined and so will the person you are doing the work for. Big fines. Think that’s unlikely? Let’s not forget you’re an ex-pat in France so they’ll look very poorly on you if you are not paying into the French taxation system and at the same time taking work away from the local French builder, plumber or whatever. How would you feel if you were back at home and a Frenchman took your job!?!

Anyway, back to the building your own French property thing.

Before you buy your piece of French land, check that you can actually build on it (constructible). If it’s advertised as terrain à bâtir you are probably OK but check anyway. If it’s farmland, leave it – unless you want sheep . It’s very tough to get planning permission on land not designated as such.

You might also find land that already has outline planning permission. If that’s the case you want to get detail about precisely what is allowed. If your French language skills aren’t up to it get an interpreter – don’t rely on the agent. There’s too much of your money at stake here and whilst 99% of them are honest…

Like you would anywhere else, get plenty of quotes and ask questions. Ask lots of questions. There are architects who will handle the whole process for you and oversee the works. There are also French building companies who will perform exactly the same role. These firms have a range of pre-set patterns that can be modified to some extent. It’s not the same as having something architect-designed but it’s a lot cheaper.

Reputable French builders (masons) are very good and will be able to give you a ten year guarantee (decinale) for any work. Modern French building methods are quite fast but it’s best to assume a twelve month average for building from scratch – once you have all the permissions. If you try to speak French to French people they are eager and willing to help even if you don’t yet speak it well and need to use someone else for clarification. It’s worth making the effort.

Just because it’s France don’t get all romantic and silly about what you are doing. It’s all very exciting but there’s too much at risk to make mistakes because you rush in or because you don’t quite understand. If in doubt, walk away. France is a big country and there will always be another “perfect” plot of building land to put your dream French home on.

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