high.rise

Apolgies if this has been asked a million times before, but can anyone give me a few of the best sites for buying property in france.
Myself and my partner are looking to relocate next year some time.
We're not shy in doing some work to the place, but ideally don't want to have to totally rebuild!

We're currently looking around the Franch-compte and champagne regions and are looking to spend in up to @100k is this totally unrealistic? we'd like a house as opposed to an apartment, and a little bit of land would be great.

Any pointers would be appreciated

Thanks.

Lydia_700

Try www.vefuk.co.uk - I found them very helpful and the price you see on their website is the price you pay (no hidden extras). One area where property is very affordable is the Indre (36). It's a beautiful area south of the Loire Valley.

Good luck

high.rise

good website thanks for that. Did you use them?

Lydia_700

Yes we did and were very happy with the service they provided us. It was good to deal with people who spoke English as it took a lot of the anxiety away - they translated all the legal stuff and were there at the signing too. We can speak a bit of French, but not enough to feel at ease dealing with the complexities of house buying in France. You pay a fee for their services of course (which is included in the house price), but for peace of mind it was worth it in our opinion.

Happy house hunting

Krazey

Once you have decided on an area check out the Notaries offices. Most of them have web sites now. They are now allowed to advertise the fact that they sell houses and the bonus is that there is no Agents Fees.
If you do decide on using an agent through the Web beware of certain Agents who work by themselves and are registered in England. We and several of our friends have had very bad experiences with this type of agent.

Happy House Hunting
Jannie

knitwit

Lucky you to be going to France! We are forever looking at French estate agents sites - but we have not yet sold our house here. We are looking at properties around the 100k mark - we mean £££s not Euros - what did you mean? We are looking for something ' ready to move in' and there's plenty in that range - we are looking at the Charente area. Why not log into the website of a city closest to where you want to live and look for 'immobilliers' (estate agents) Some of the larger estate agents cover the whole of France and some others specific regions. I'll give out some of the agents' names that we have found if required - also buy French property News and go to the shows - we think the next one is at Edgbaston - well worth a visit! Good luck

chezshells.com

I was told to stay away from UK based companies seeling foreign property, in France you pay the price for the house, then french agent fees plus notaires (solicitors) fees, and if you go through them - UK agent fees, french fees normally total about 12%, ive heard some UK agents adding 15% thus paying over the odds for your property.

So instead of going the all these agents, look at the property solicitors are selling at www.immonot.com

Not sure on your area for agents but if you search a location with immobilier that may get you on your way

Or try another area, how about www.chezshells.com

Good luck

Michael E

I think you will always pay more if you buy via a British site -
the easy way is to select a town - area you like then put -immobilier (and the name of the town area) into google or whatever. immobilier = estate agent -

Most immobilier now have web sites and are really keen to sell to brits - cos we have more money to put into houses than our French equivelents..... And speak a bit of English... We made the move 3 years ago by deciding on what area first - selling our UK house and then renting a flat in the area and house hunting via local agents - worked well and we had the time to compare prices etc. (the french storage system is cheaper than the UK)

Anne W

Why don't you try the granny network www.grannynetwork.info they are a hand holding service and there is a granny in the charente

Krazey

I would still go to the Notaire of the area you want to move to. See what he has on his books. This saves a lot in Eatate Agent fees. If you still want to go through an Immobilier (spelling) the Notaire will tell you which one(s) are handling the sale of the property. I would check the difference between the Notaires price and the Estate Agents price to find out what percentage they are marking up then you can haggle for their fee.

Krazey

Michael E

I have found that immobliers seem to have far more properties on their books than notairs - get the feeling times are changing - for sure the immoblier add their penctage to the price required by the vendor but we have always found that is negotiable - in most cases up to half - so you can still offer low on a property and the vendor and the immoblier will come down -

Krazey

From what I understand from French friends who have sold properties a Notaire has the property on his books for 10 days before informing Immobliers that it is for sale. The reason Immobliers have more on their books is because they register with several Notaires within a region so are not stuck with just the one towns properties.
You will find that several Immobliers within a region are often selling the same property at an assortment of prices. We know of one house being sold by 3 different Immobliers
Krazey

Michael E

Perhaps things happen differently in different parts of France - here in Charante Maritime - La Rochelle if you want to sell you just put the house with an immoblier(s) just like in the UK - no question of going via a notair - then when you have a buyer the buyer appoints a notair (so can the vendor if they want) for the finall transaction and so the 'state' can collect its taxes!

The French estate agent business is now almost as modern and efficient as the english system and basicly you do all your dealings through the estate agent /imoblier. There are chains and groups of immoblier operting together etc.... It may be that in the more country districts the old ways of using a notair to sell your house is still the prefered way for some older vendors,,,, The agents have vastly more properties on their books and a wider knowlage of the market - I think.

Krazey

Micheal E
You're probably right. Here in the Limousin it is very backwards in many respects. Here is (as far as we are aware) the oldest population in France and the poorest area, so things probably are still done in a very old fashioned way. Even so, the Notaires know about all properties for sale as soon as they come on the market.
Krazey

QuestBG

Hi everyone

I have been reading this thread with interest. I am in Bulgaria now but have a definite love and true feeling for France having moved from England to France and lived there for over 10 years

I was in "immobilier" at first when living there but after this I got a call from my local notaire asking me to come and work with him - couldn't wait after what I had seen and witnessed. I worked for the notaire for some time, running his complete "service immobiler" (estate agency side) and I can honestly I have seen it all - agents coming and going, English agents doing the dirty on the English; basically greed getting out of hand

IMHO I would absolutely condone the post that you get in touch with the local notaire. They have no obligation to pass properties onto agents at all. If they do, it is generally because the agent has told them that they will be used as the notaire in the sale/purchase and then the agent adds a percentage (in the case of some 5% in France and 5% in England on top, plus they then give the notaire a commission in addition). I know of lots of agents who just flog round the notaires doing just this, especially British agents who offer nothing extra to you to the normal notarial service (given that the notaire can speak English, but then a translator/interpretor would work out a much better bet all round even if they did not) which is paid for in the usual conveyancing fee. Failing the local notaire, as they do not all offer an estate agency service, please get in touch with French agents (agence immobiliere) , they can help you much more, just a little perseverence required if you don't speak French, but this will pay off in the long run

For 100K stirling you should get something really very nice, especially in the areas of the Limousin and Poitou Charentes.. so don't give up, hang on in there and don't let the agents run you ragged and take your money which you could spend on a house

All the best of luck to you all