cyrian

I frequently advise prospective expats in France that house ownership is not an investment.
I have just read a newspaper article by Fidelma Cook - a journalist who moved as a single woman to live in France.
She moved to France over 10 years ago and has written regular newspaper articles about the unexpected problems of French life - as well as the highs and benefits.
I have extracted the following line which may encourage potential expats to consider the housing market very carefully and not look on it as an amazing bargain.
Quoted from an article from "The Herald" Scotland.
"The hardest lesson for those who’ve bought, renovated and now want to sell, is that French property is not an investment. Don’t expect to make a killing now even if it seemed a steal at the time""I heard of an English couple the other day who have just reduced the price of their house for the third time so desperate are they to sell and return.

The house – honey stone, four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a pool and about three acres of ground – sits close to one of the ‘beaux villages de France’ and has been renovated to a high standard".
If you buy a property in France, and at a later date decide to return to the UK then you may not be able to sell within your desired timescale and you may not have enough equity to re-enter the UK housing market at the level you left.

French homes can appear to be a bargain to a Brit but there is a reason for the lower prices.
Please all proceed with care and don't burn your UK bridges before you are sure that a "year in Provence" or renovating a château is the life for you.

Listen Very Carefully

I agree wholeheartedly with this If you are going to move to France especially after Brexit then where you are living should be your home which implies an emotional attachment both to the building itself but also to your community your neighbours and your friends This is why I often say" What do you want achieve by moving to France" In our case it was to create a garden from scratch and be able to grow our own veg fruit etc
That is why we moved to an old farmhouse with half an acre Yes we have spent money on the house which we picked up "cheap" but as soon as we walked in we realised that this house was the one We now have a comfortable home and are living the lifestyle we want. It is helped by the fact that we have reasonable pensions and modest needs along with the ability to speak French to a good level
Unfortunately so many Brits have seen the "Escape to" type programmes think they can buy a house cheap with loads of land without doing the research or preparation then do the house up in a totally unsympathetic way and then wonder why they have not made a killing as per their house on an estate in the UK

Chatter Static

People under estimate the time it takes to sell here average is 2 plus years. Brits tend to be drawn to old stone houses etc etc if you invest in newer houses like "pavillon" from the 50's and 60's or the newer builds you see going up today they tend to sell a lot quicker proximity to schools makes big difference as well.

Side note as a buyer it pays to learn to use Google images search engine and street view and the Cadastre because you can cut out the middle man if you know the plot number which you can find on Geportail the Cadastre will give you the contact details for the owner. It's not like the UK here if a house is for sale you want, knock on the door failing that leave a note in the letterbox people are happy to not use the estate agent.

scrubbedexpat056

I agree with the previous posts and would add that selling a property in France is expensive. There are an increasing number of surveys the seller has to pay for that come under the Dossier de Diagnostic Technique. Also the average immobilier charge in 2018 was 5%. Add the DDT and having to continue paying the taxe fonciere until the house is sold, maybe in a couple of years time and the theoretical profit you think you are going to make has already got a dent in it.
Also, from what I have read, Brits do up old properties not only often to a high(expensive) standard, but to British tastes. The French don't necessarily share those tastes, nor do they tend to seek out old properties, often preferring newer builds. This means the market for that renovated farm house is mostly down to other Brits, probably a dwindling market post brexit.
The only way in which a French property has been an investment for us is our being able to live rent and mortgage free, something impossible for us in UK.

KJMW

I have lived in France for 20 years having bought a house in the Pays Basque. Brits have long been known for buying relatively cheap properties and then having to spend a fortune on renovations. Many, in fact, ran out of money before completing the work. There can be little doubt that French properties, relative to U.K. properties offer great value for money. Therein lies the rub!!! Brits buying French properties see as far as their nose!!! A cheap French property with loads of ground going for a song!! They can't resist it. Unfortunately many, when it comes to selling get a bloody nose. Just why did they think the French owner sold it in the first place!!!!!

scot47

Real Estate in the UK is not the same as Real Estate in other areas. From the 1970s onwards we have seen a strange development in Britain - the growth of real estate as an principal area for investment. In other countries (France, Germany, Netherlands) people invest in the stock market, directly and indirectly. Thatcherite obsession with "bricks and mortar" is seen by those outside Albion as an aberration. For many non-Anglos, a house is a place to live in, not a way of getting rich.

KJMW

Simply a cultural thing I think. Brits see it one way and those in other countries see it differently. I doubt you are entirely accurate in any event as a house , even to be an investment, is still a home.

scot47

The "Brit View" is not unitary. The more sensible see a dwelling as a place to live in and not a path to self-enrichment. Not all of us worship Mammon. Dissenters like myself abound !

KJMW

You can of course, see it which ever way you wish. No one is accusing you of anything and you can invest how you want, if you do that is. I think you should allow those who do choose to make housing an investment do so without the need to accuse them of having no sense or even worse! Nothing wrong with dissent. There is with uncalled for insult though!!!

Novocastrian

I detect no insult. I, over the course of decades, have made a lot of money from selling properties at massive profits in Canada (twice) and in Germany. The point of this thread is to say this doesn't work in France.

EuroTrash

Looked at as houses to live in, I would say it's more a case of UK properties offer appalling value for money. A shoddily built shoebox for £200,000 is beyond ridiculous. Houses should be affordable, after all having somewhere to live is a very basic need. French prices seem about right.
In terms of investment value, you can't compare because one is an investment and the other isn't.

KJMW

You may not see an insult. Indeed the thread is about property prices in France but his reply wasn't about France , it was a general criticism. Good for you that you have profited from property dealings but to call people silly who do so is an insult. I suggest that you reflect on what he has said. Are you silly?

petitefrancaise

I tend to skim over a lot of what scot47 writes. Suggest you do the same.

KJMW

Suggest what you like. I respond to what is written. Scott47 didn't say that his post applied only to France. The man/female has, I believe a problem and it's more to do with an objection to those who do make a success financially. He/she is the one with a problem!

dmu

When I first started to read this Thread, I thought, "this should go in the Stickies"....
... but then it turned into unworthy squabbling.
A pity, because Cyrian and the first posters made good points which unsuspecting potential expats are unaware of.