PeaceSeekingMissile

I currently live in London and am am able to travel out of town for week[s] whenever I feel like it.

Have a few 100k that I can spend on a country pad to provide the few things that London doesn't ... clean fresh air, complete peace and quiet, space, guarantee that next door won't stand under my bedroom window puffing smoke my way [because I own the half acre field before you get to next door].

I know all well lucky so far so no complaints ..... but ....

Unfortunately anywhere in the South/South West/South East of England for a few 100k will have close neighbours will not be very attractive or well built or have land and any outbuildings will have been separated and sold separately etc etc.

Am therefore looking across the channel and finding a lovely house with land within budget is easy.
The cost and time to get there is offset by having all the nice things France has to offer just by crossing the water.

My two main fundamental questions are
1. Will I actually use so often given that there's all the hassle booking a ferry and it's still a 7 hour journey all in and I can't just decide to leave at10pm and jump in the car?

Question for folk here, is there anyone who has a country pad just across the channel and how does it work for you?

2. I'm thinking either around the coast or le Perche or looking at house listings makes the Cherbourg peninsular look very attractive.

I have visited some areas and they're pleasant but not spectacular as say the Pyrenees are. Could also insert Alps or less-so-but-nearer Ardennes there, I guess.

Are there places nearer Blighty that make you think Wow, definitely Gods own country?
In my position would you actually bite the bullet and accept a 10-15 ?? hour journey to the Pyrenees to make you feel all that effort was worhwhile once you arrive?

dmu

Hi, and welcome to the forum!
As you're in London, you've got several airports to choose from, to get to virtually every airport in France. You could hire a car when you're on the spot. No need to worry about 7-15 hr. car journeys...
HTH

PeaceSeekingMissile

Thanks but no way. Airports are IMO horrid and to be avoided, just passed my 2 year no flights record. Flights are not much better even in business. Then you have the pleasure of car hire cos trying it on unless you're on your guard.
Anyway I used to have a house in Europe with a 1 hour flight and was still 5-8 hours door to door depending on delays. Even the tube not getting you to Heathrow on time is a significant possibility. Busses at Hatton Cross anyone?
So no time saved just stress and unpleasantness added. I am maybe unusual in that I don't like shopping malls either adding to the nastiness of airports. Maybe I just used them too much in the past - and that was when things were far more civilised.

My aim is definitely somewhere I can drive. I did buy a car big enough that I could stretch out and sleep in the back but haven't actually tried it yet. So maybe I should just try a drive down to the Pyrenees as a test. Towards Spain from Toulouse really is magnificent. Still suspect that a 2-day long journey will mean I only get there at most twice a year though.

cyrian

Hi PSM,
I would suggest that, at least initially, your rent somewhere and see how your plan works.
If you don't like that area you can move to another one.
Renting in France is much more common than in the UK and is accepted as a normal way of life.
France is not like the UK where you will make a profit on a property - you may be lucky to get your money back.
Houses can also take a long time to sell in France - often a couple of years if you have a rural property.
We chose somewhere with a) good autoroute connexions. b) an airport. c) close to a tgv line.
I would suggest that you start in North France and then decide how that works for you.
The Pyrenees is a long way and the autoroutes are expensive and can be very congested in the summer.
I also have a friend who lives in Cather country south of Carcassonne and it is VERY isolated - about 20km to the nearest supermarket.
He is happy but it is not for me.
HTH

EuroTrash

Why not just pick a gite to rent for a week or two when you feel you need a getaway? There are nice gites all over France that offer everything you mention and more, you wouldn't be tied to one spot every time, you wouldn't have to pay property taxes year round, you wouldn't have to worry about maintenance and storm damage and possible break-ins etc while you're away... Owning property has its downsides, so you need to make sure those are outweighted by the upsides. And if it's simply to escape London, well you don't have to buy a property to do that.

Moses2013

That's a big jump from Normandy to Toulouse:-). I would ask myself what I really want and as you say, will you use it? We bought land a few years ago (near Costa Brava in Spain) and it is a very long drive (even to Toulouse), so not worth it for a long weekend. Although I must say, we are in Ireland and that's another few hours to add to travel time. Our reasons for buying were completely different to yours too, as we have country living every day and don't intend using on a regular basis (more future home/investment). Northern France is certainly very easy to reach from London and you also have the train. But as others have said, you need to factor in other things too. But surely country side living in the UK must be possible within you budget (Wales etc.)

PeaceSeekingMissile

A gite for a week or two is a definite no. I agree would be cheaper but that's not a consideration for me. [The money I saved will only end up in the accounts of some of the charities recently exposed for their misdeeds, may look for a better charity option when it seems more likely my testament is used]. Also not concerned about investment value. Likely that whatever I buy will be sold when I'm in a box.

And to be clear my main home will [for the next years] be in London. I may have a wobble at the end of Brexit transition although I suspect folk with dosh will still have options after that. They alsways did, I moved to Europe with a job before freedom of movement was invented.

I have considered renting temporarily but it isn't actually a good trial in a way. Living with other folks stuff is always going to be second rate for someone who likes making things how they like them. A rural place with barnspace to DIY my own trailer home for travel could maybe work ... but how easy is that to find? I also understood renting long term in France includes a regular job, references, employer etc. Not my situation, I have money from another property sale but none of the other things that landlords and -ladies like.

The other [only] financial criteria is that I would simply like to use some of my capital to buy land and bricks or stone. This stems in part from a belief that assets are all hopelessly overpriced due to QE internationally and what happens to people with cash in the bank if the system crashes is a question. Will depend on what governments and central bankers decide. Would just like to convert a part of that cash into something less easy for them to take off me. <terrible tin-foil-hat-issues>. Buying a manoir - corps de ferme or even chateau with a few hectares in the Normandy countryside using well under a third of total assets just seems a sensible choice. [In the sense that if it all goes TU you end up with some pretty stones and land which has possible uses rather than bits of paper which don't.]

Thanks for the replies anyway, making me think.

Moses2013

Why not just buy land as investment and put something like this on it.
https://www.pinterest.es/pin/5209398...autologin=true Of course you have to make sure you have all connections etc. available. Other option, just a bigger camper van.

PeaceSeekingMissile

Returning to a question I implied but didn't explicitly ask in the OP:

Where [within a few hours of Dieppe/Calais] is breathtakingly-fabulous in some way?

dmu

You can't install a construction on a bare plot of land just like that. You first need Permission from the Mairie (Permis de Construire), which involves a lot of paperwork, esp. if it's classified as agricultural land.
Doing up an existing building also needs a Permis, and upward and outward "improvements" are limited to the original plans.
Before deciding on a location, the OP should pay a visit to the local Mairie to make sure that he/she won't be buying a white elephant...

Moses2013

I did say, Of course you have to make sure you have all connections etc. available. Any build usually needs planning and in any country you need to research before buying. Just an option to consider. If we'd have to go through everything here, you'd probably need 500 pages. At least it's a cheaper option than buying an old building and you are flexible. Modular is the way forward for people not wanting to rent, but who like their own space. Depending on area and type, no foundations required, so not the typical planning process (dealing with builders and so on).

EuroTrash

I wasn't thinking cheaper, I don't know if it would be cheaper or not in the long term. I was just thinking that it would be less hassle, plus you wouldn't always be tied to going to the same spot. Nice as that spot may be. To me that's the chief disadvantage of a holiday home, you feel obliged to go there every time and it seems a shame not to see different areas.

I wouldn't advise buying land as an investment in France. If it doesn't currently have permission bo build there's no guarantee you will get it, and if it does currently have permisssion you have to start the building before the permission expires because there is no guarantee it will be renewed.

I agree with the campervan idea though. I love Normandy where I live but I also love exploring the rest of France, so my second home is a campervan. Works for me.

PeaceSeekingMissile

Some of those designs are very nice as a small modern space. I guess it means you could have it delivered to your [my] first plot of land and then when you find somewhere you prefer, have it put it back on a lorry and moved.

The point about planning and paperwork probably makes that all less attractive though.

Has occurred to me that I could buy a UK house with land/a big garden and dump something like that in the garden which can be done without planning if it's small enough [something about domestic curtiledge]. Then rent the house out. But would be a 2-3% return which doesn't even cover costs of rental if there are problems as there always can be. And I expect prices have to come down eventually, the type of house I could buy in the UK is not really a keep-forever-purchase, more it's-shite-but-will-have-to do.

Back on topic for France ....
In addition one of the things I like about what I can buy in France is the history and style of the old buildings. pre 1850 is probably a must, pre 1750 better still. Having said that big rooms, high ceilings and big windows are easier to find in a late 19thC house. Just that's what I've always had [and still have in London].

dmu

Sorry, I understood water, electricity, sanitation ... which are indispensable connections unless one wants to live off-grid.
And I would say that any build larger than 20 m² always needs planning permission in France.
But this is a bit off-topic, I was just commenting on your suggestion - the OP wants to buy an already existing building....

Moses2013

No worries. Back to the OP: You can buy a house from 1850, but you'll spend more money and time renovating, that you'll probably never really get to enjoy the surroundings. If the house/project is your life then sure, but if you just want to spend quality free time, is it really worth it.?


https://www.french-property.com/guid...ng/permission/
In reality, getting planning permission isn't always that difficult. You just have to do the research before buying the land and make sure you have written confirmation (what you can do). Even when buying a car, you have to register it and make sure that you can get insurance.