Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly appreciated!
 

Hi everyone, I'm just starting out and dipping my toe into buying a holiday home in France, and have been drawn towards the Charente and surrounding, due to the promises of Sunshine throughout the Summer.....but then I read lots of other horror stories about floods, storms etc and by all accounts it seems this Summer hasn't been that great!!
Do people think think this is a one off or a sign of things to come....climate change etc?
It seems a fair few people are 'selling up' and are advertising homes that they have had for 7-8 years....and moving on.
Is there an opinion that the climate/weather is on the decline in that area at all? Or just coincidence do you think?

The places I'm looking at are inland mainly so obviously safe from coastal flooding, and I'll be staying fairly clear of rivers etc. I'm looking from St Jean d'Angely across to Chef-Boutonne, down towards Angouleme and Chalais, my main question is does the weather differ much in these areas? Or can I expect fairly similar all around that area? Does it rain more in some areas?

I'm hoping to find somewhere that is warmer/dryer than the UK from around May/June - September/Oct, in general. Not necessarily blazing sunshine, just overall more pleasant. I don't mind rain/storms every now and then either, just not weeks of endless rain like we tend to get in the UK some years!

I know winters can be pretty harsh, but I don't mind that so much, I'm just looking for a relatively good summer 'season'. But within a 7-8 hour drive of the UK as we will be mainly driving to come over.

Also I'm having a quick visit this weekend to view a few properties, and see what the general area is like as I have never been! There do seem to be some bargains on the market to be fair, I know prices have fallen the last few years, as they have pretty much everywhere. What's the general opinion on whether it's a good time to buy or not? I read conflicting articles/blogs etc saying now is the time, and others predicting further falls this year.
Wherever I do buy though I am planning to keep long term for family/friends to use.....so I've got to get it right :fingerscrossed:

All help/advice....GREATLY appreciated :thumbsup:

Thankyou....sorry it was so long :o

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

How long is a piece of string? If anyone could predict the weather accurately, they'd be rich:) There are rumours though that it's the beginning of a ten year cycle of cooler wetter springs, just like the UK.
I live to the east much higher up, so no flooding here (but more rain), so I can only answer for this area that it was cold and wet, wet, wet up until mid July, then summer as normal. There are always storms from time to time. Generally speaking, the higher up it gets, the wetter it gets, but the Charente gets more sunshine and is hotter than here - which is quite hot enough!
Any flooding is quite localised I think, there's a map here:
http://cartorisque.prim.net/dpt/17/17_pprd.html

I don't think anyone can predict house prices any more than the weather, and a good time to buy also depends on the exchange rate. Good luck in your search!

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

I'm doing the same as you HHH, but I took the decision to go much further south (either 66, 11 or 34 depts). I also decided that it is better value to take Easyjet or Ryanair to my intended house and to either use public transport or to rent a vehicle. Trying to predict the weather is almost impossible, so I think it is best to just use common sense in selecting an area which you like, is not in a flood basin or prone to extreme weather and also offers lots of options to keep you interested. I have been having a look at beautiful hamlets, villages etc but came to the conclusion that they might be stunning but they will become lonely and dull, particularly if you have younger people in your group. I suppose it all depends on your needs, but I took the decision that I would like both. City attractions coupled with open country.
At some point France will start to come out of recession, so I believe that the next 12 months will probably see the bottom for them, but again it's impossible to predict political and social events. Some even think that France may exit the € at some point, but I was always taught that you should see property investment as a minimum of 10 years, so it's very tricky to say what the situation will be in 2023. My feeling is though, that if you are trying to buy now to make a profit in a couple of years, you could be disappointed. However, I am very positive because there is plenty of choice and many properties that I have looked at have steadily been reduced in price as there are more sellers than buyers at the moment. It's a buyer's market, so if you have got the finance available, haggle over the price.

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Hi,
If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably choose La Charente-maritime, just a little further west than La Charente, although there are some beautiful places like Cognac or Jarnac in Charente. A little town I have a soft spot for would be Saintes.
Global warming is obviously with us, but no one can forecast what its effects will be. If you act rationally and don't buy property that's liable to flood because it's low-lying there's no reason why climate change should have any more impact in Charente than in say Devon or Somerset.
The south west is a wine-growing region. You can't have a thriving wine industry in a region that is constantly being hit by rain, frost and cold weather. Are thunder storms becoming more frequent and more violent? Who knows? This summer has seen some bad ones and some wine-makers have lost this year's crop, but that doesn't mean that next year will be the same.
You're looking at a beautiful area, full of marvellous places to live in, loads of history, food, wine and weather that statistically is far better than what you would probably find in the UK. If you have the wherewithal then "go for it" as they say. I would have thought it's a good time to buy, as house prices outside the Paris region, large towns or the south east are low. I may be wrong but I'd have thought it's a buyer's market at the moment.
Good hunting,
PB

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

I think that seeing property as an investment, other than buy to let, is more a UK thing than a French thing.

People who bought property in France ten years ago as an investment would probably agree with that.

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

People who bought property 10 years ago couldn't possibly foresee the recession. In ten years time from now........who knows, but there couldn't be a better time to buy about now, imo. In addition, as shown by the Thomas Cook & TUI share price, brits going abroad to seek bargains (in whatever form) are solidly increasing in number. My biggest worry is the €, but that is a complete unkown.

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

I agree with ET. There are "bargains" around at the moment, but buying as a capital investment in France is and always has been a flawed strategy.

I also agree with PB, Saintes is a place I'd look at twice if I wanted to live in that part of the country (which I don't, but for family reasons, not because of the climate).

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Why is Saintes particularly well thought of ?

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Have you been there? We'd never even heard of the place when we stumbled across it on the way from Cognac to the coast.

We were (very) impressed with the wide, tree-lined boulevards and the general architectural style of the place. I'll get shot down for this but it seemed to me a bit like a civilized (but of course smaller) version of Paris as it should have been if Napoleon had had his way.

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

No I've never been there but it sounds as though it's worth investigating. Thanks

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

hi Saintes and the surrounding villages are lovely. We first stayed there in 1975 with our then young children and went back several times.

However after a couple of cold wet summers we started moving further south and ened up where we now are. However you pays your money, a lot less in Charente Maritime than here!!!

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Some more news about Saintes:
A certain Dr Guillotin was born there (Sharp lad by all accounts). There is a genuine Arc de Triomphe in the Town, not one of those gymcrack efforts up in Paris, but the real McCoy, built by Germanicus who was governor of this part of the Roman Empire Before being recalled home (and poisoned). However, the countryside around Saintes and Cognac is pretty flat and featureless, as is most of Charente Maritime. Where we live in South Charente, the countryside is more undulating, with a Beautiful mixture of vinyards, sunflower fields and grazing cattle. Property prices are more reasonable here as well, especially now that many expats have been afflicted by the Granny Syndrome and want to be nearer their sprogsprogs (more idiot them) and so are moving back to servitude putting their houses here on the market.
Blackie

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Yes I think the area around Chalais could well be worth investigating as well. Is that a nice place ?

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

Saintes -we really liked it when house hunting four or five years ago.

But I will never forget the look of absolute horror on the faces of two elegant French ladies on passing inadvertently though the " English" section of a rather expensive restaurant.

We ourselves had been seated next to a table of braying donkeys telling ever such amusing anecdotes about French incompetence. Every table seemed to be full of the same smug dullards.

This was after standing at the fruit stall in the market to be elbowed aside by a loud mouthed lout explaining to his awestruck acquaintances that the French did not queue, so there was no need for them to either.

We have never been back.

Re: Advice on where to buy holiday home needed Charente area....help greatly apprecia
 

HHH - If you can put your hands on a copy of this week's Investors Chronicle (16th Aug), there is a reasonable article in there about the state of the french property market, titled ' The french property market has hit a double dip, throwing up buying opportunities for Brits - just don't expect long term capital gains.' Of course it's only yet another person's opinion, but it looks at it from a purely financial perspectve.