Timbo21

Hi all I am thinking on moving to France and would appreciate any advice you can give me I am looking to renovate a house I have a budget of £30.000 to bye so I think midi pyrenees is my best option but if you no somewhere better I would appreciate your advice

InVinoVeritas

Not trying to be funny, but did you miss out a zero here?

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
I'm not sure why you think the Midi-Pyrénées is cheaper than anywhere else, unless you mean in a hamlet high up in the mountains? This is the sort of price that you'd pay for a ruin in such a location.... Also bear in mind that you'd have difficulty obtaining a Permis de Construire if you intended to increase the habitable surface (horizontally and vertically).
There was another thread recently where a couple with a limited budget was asking about renovating a house near Montpellier, and the general consensus was that whatever the asking price is, they should at least double it in their budget to cover the renovation costs and invisible expenses. In the case of £30 000, I think you'd have to multiply it several times for a realistic figure to pay out to make it habitable.
Sorry to sound pessimistic, but for £30 000, you'd end up with a white elephant which you wouldn't be able to sell....

Timbo21

I don't intend on renovating to sell only to live there inland is where I would rather be than coastal the £30,000 is only to bye I not including fees as I am intending to retire after the renovation

dmu

Hi, what I'm trying to get over is that £30 000 won't get you more than an uninhabitable dwelling which no one else wants! If the renovation work is spread over several years while you're still working in the UK, then the financing shouldn't be a problem. You didn't specify your time-line....
On the other hand, take a look at the Read-Me: Moving to France FAQs above, in the "Growing Old in France" thread. However fit you are now, you should consider your future healthcare and not settle far from the madding crowd. I say this because we live in rural Hérault and are 5 km from the nearest Doctor and nearly an hour away from the nearest Hospital, and this is a cause of worry now that we have grown old.

Timbo21

Hi I appreciate what you are saying and I'm taking it all on board for£30,000 I have found quite a few properties that can be lived in as I renovate yes they are out the way but that's how I live at the mo I'm 55 and have lost friends who are younger than me and now I'm just going to enjoy life you never no what's around the corner I'm looking for a nice friendly hamlet to settle in to it's all about the feed back I get as to where I go and settle my brother lives in Portugal so I'm also looking there but I just fancied France your input is very welcome and I thank you for it cos that's wy I'm on here

dmu

A point which I forgot to mention beforehand. "Out of the way" dwellings usually have a fosse septique and if the compulsory "Diagnostics" say it's not up to standard, you'll have the extra expense of installing a new one. In our neck of the woods, it costs 10 000€ to replace an old one, although another member in another area paid about half that sum. Electrics and plumbing, asbestos, termites, lead.... are also checked and must be brought up to standard. If all this adds up to a tidy sum, the vendor might be willing to negotiate the asking price.... This is what happened when my late neighbour's heirs accepted a reduction by 10 000€ of the asking price due to the cost of replacing the fosse septique. But the asking price was in 6-figures and the fosse septique a small proportion of the whole. Would the vendor of a house selling at £30 000 be willing to reduce the price by 1/4?
I'm playing the Devil's Advocate here, as I've got the impression that you haven't thought everything through. Is there a particular reason why you prefer France alone to Portugal near your brother? Do you speak French? We live in a friendly hamlet where no one speaks English....
Anyway, all the best with your decision!

Timbo21

The building is not a problem as I'm a builder I speak a little French enough to get me by it was just mainly the area in wich I was asking about sorry I could have been a bit clearer from the start but agen thanks for you input much appreciated

dmu

Hi, sorry to harp on, but French norms (electrics, plumbing, even building...) are different from the UK and you wouldn't be able to "sign off" your own work unless you're registered in France. Maybe not a problem while you're living there (and even then I'm not sure that your house insurance would cover you if there's an accident caused by non-conform work), but your next-of-kin will certainly have issues when selling it.
Meanwhile, brush up your technical and administrative French, as you'll need to communicate seriously with the Mairie when applying for the Permis de Construire. According to an on-going thread "Moving to France", the dossier that you must file contains an awful lot of technical data to prove that you'll be complying with the rules and regulations. Not to mention adequate French to discuss with builders' yards for everything you need.
As for suggesting an area, every one will have different ideas. But it's sure that you won't know whether a hamlet is friendly until you've actually bought the place and are on the spot. Don't believe what the Estate Agents say in ads, come over to different areas to look around and see for yourself.

EuroTrash

That, I think, is the only possible answer. Never buy blind, and if possible visit in summer and in winter. Places sometimes change their character a lot especially if they have tourists or holiday home owners in the summer. In summer it might seem a buzzing little place with a bar and a shop, in winter the bar and shop might be shut up and not a soul around.