Moving to France or second home
Jun 21st 2020, 9:41 am
#1
BE Forum Addict
Thread Starter
Joined: Apr 2009
Location: Scotland & Touraine [37]
Posts: 3,018
Moving to France or second home
I have just read an article in a UK newspaper about the increased interest from Brits to buy a home or second home in rural France.
The newspaper has comments from a couple of estate agents who specialise in French house sales to Brits.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
Buying a property in rural France from a "virtual viewing" is not a good idea.
It is not possible to physically check things like septic tanks or boundaries or neighbours without physically walking around a property.
A few years ago, there was a thread on BE from an expat complaining that they had bought such a property and were disgusted by the farmyard smells that emanated from the neighbouring farm.
They also complained that they could not use their outside space because of the flies and other beasties.
The estate agents also stated that broadband connections had been a problem in France but that the government had been promoting a conversion to fibre.
While this is certainly the case in towns throughout France, rural France is an enormous area and if you must have a good internet connection then you really need to check the broadband on-site.
Property in France can take a long time to sell (sometimes several years) and you cannot compare the French property market to that of the UK - especially the South East of England.
Estate agents love Brits because they potentially pay higher prices on what can be otherwise hard-to-sell properties and they want to complete fast.
You need to ask yourself why a property has not already sold.
If you buy a French property then you should not expect to make a profit (or even get your money back) when you eventually sell it.
If your dream is to own a château in France then there was a post (I think on BE) where someone reported that 3 different lots of Brits - each in their own turn had poured millions of euros into trying to restore a château and each had given up.
While owning and restoring a château can be a dream for some, it can also be a money pit.
They do not show the failures on UK tv.
The role of an estate agent is to sell properties and generally charge fees of 5%-6% which may be included in the price paid.
Don't dive in to the French property market.
The gîte market is also oversubscribed and is suffering from AirBnB competition.
Do your homework and ask questions on the forum.
HTH
The newspaper has comments from a couple of estate agents who specialise in French house sales to Brits.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
Buying a property in rural France from a "virtual viewing" is not a good idea.
It is not possible to physically check things like septic tanks or boundaries or neighbours without physically walking around a property.
A few years ago, there was a thread on BE from an expat complaining that they had bought such a property and were disgusted by the farmyard smells that emanated from the neighbouring farm.
They also complained that they could not use their outside space because of the flies and other beasties.
The estate agents also stated that broadband connections had been a problem in France but that the government had been promoting a conversion to fibre.
While this is certainly the case in towns throughout France, rural France is an enormous area and if you must have a good internet connection then you really need to check the broadband on-site.
Property in France can take a long time to sell (sometimes several years) and you cannot compare the French property market to that of the UK - especially the South East of England.
Estate agents love Brits because they potentially pay higher prices on what can be otherwise hard-to-sell properties and they want to complete fast.
You need to ask yourself why a property has not already sold.
If you buy a French property then you should not expect to make a profit (or even get your money back) when you eventually sell it.
If your dream is to own a château in France then there was a post (I think on BE) where someone reported that 3 different lots of Brits - each in their own turn had poured millions of euros into trying to restore a château and each had given up.
While owning and restoring a château can be a dream for some, it can also be a money pit.
They do not show the failures on UK tv.
The role of an estate agent is to sell properties and generally charge fees of 5%-6% which may be included in the price paid.
Don't dive in to the French property market.
The gîte market is also oversubscribed and is suffering from AirBnB competition.
Do your homework and ask questions on the forum.
HTH
Last edited by cyrian; Jun 21st 2020 at 9:44 am. Reason: addition
Jun 21st 2020, 2:08 pm
#2
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Jan 2012
Location: Dépt 61
Posts: 5,254
Re: Moving to France or second home
It's gobsmacking to me that anyone would actually purchase a property without having physically visited it several times, had a good poke around to find what the seller doesn't want to show you, and also explore the surroundings. If it turns out to be a dud, it's not only the purchase price you've lost but also, if you can't sell it on you will be stuck paying property taxes every year until you do.
It's also very misleading to suggest that completing on a house purchase will in itself give you residence rights.
Wouldn't it have been nice if we'd emerged from the pandemic as more considerate, thoughtful, caring and truthful society.
It's also very misleading to suggest that completing on a house purchase will in itself give you residence rights.
Wouldn't it have been nice if we'd emerged from the pandemic as more considerate, thoughtful, caring and truthful society.
Jun 21st 2020, 2:16 pm
#3
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Aug 2019
Location: France atm
Posts: 747
Re: Moving to France or second home
Great informative thread! Thanks.
I haven't been stung by an online house purchase myself. Three times we've been stung by online rentals.
Two had abominal damp smell and one of those had visual fuzzy mold behind and inside wardrobes and on floors.
Another with visible infestations of bugs on a rock wall and in the wooden beams.
Recently with neighbors from hell and beyond.
All of these would have been noticed and we would not have gone there if we had been able to view the place and talked to existing neighbors.
Can't imagine the heartbreak and stress of actually buying a place and finding any of those problems upon moving in!
I haven't been stung by an online house purchase myself. Three times we've been stung by online rentals.
Two had abominal damp smell and one of those had visual fuzzy mold behind and inside wardrobes and on floors.
Another with visible infestations of bugs on a rock wall and in the wooden beams.
Recently with neighbors from hell and beyond.
All of these would have been noticed and we would not have gone there if we had been able to view the place and talked to existing neighbors.
Can't imagine the heartbreak and stress of actually buying a place and finding any of those problems upon moving in!
Jun 21st 2020, 2:27 pm
#4
Austin. TX.
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 5,930
Re: Moving to France or second home
The newspaper has comments from a couple of estate agents who specialise in French house sales to Brits.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
estate agents are the same the world over........
also, the newspapers being online now are always absolutely desperate for any crap to fill their pages. Pure clickbait. Good quality journalism is very hard to find even on supposed "quality " newspaper sites. In France, I have a couple of journo friends who are literally paid only for a few hours to produce an article - they have no opportunity to do really good research and have to produce a certain number of posts per month or they don't get any more work from the "newspaper".
Jun 21st 2020, 5:39 pm
#5
Lost in BE Cyberspace
Joined: Apr 2008
Location: Hérault (34)
Posts: 8,888
Re: Moving to France or second home
I have just read an article in a UK newspaper about the increased interest from Brits to buy a home or second home in rural France.
The newspaper has comments from a couple of estate agents who specialise in French house sales to Brits.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
Buying a property in rural France from a "virtual viewing" is not a good idea.
It is not possible to physically check things like septic tanks or boundaries or neighbours without physically walking around a property.
A few years ago, there was a thread on BE from an expat complaining that they had bought such a property and were disgusted by the farmyard smells that emanated from the neighbouring farm.
They also complained that they could not use their outside space because of the flies and other beasties.
The estate agents also stated that broadband connections had been a problem in France but that the government had been promoting a conversion to fibre.
While this is certainly the case in towns throughout France, rural France is an enormous area and if you must have a good internet connection then you really need to check the broadband on-site.
Property in France can take a long time to sell (sometimes several years) and you cannot compare the French property market to that of the UK - especially the South East of England.
Estate agents love Brits because they potentially pay higher prices on what can be otherwise hard-to-sell properties and they want to complete fast.
You need to ask yourself why a property has not already sold.
If you buy a French property then you should not expect to make a profit (or even get your money back) when you eventually sell it.
If your dream is to own a château in France then there was a post (I think on BE) where someone reported that 3 different lots of Brits - each in their own turn had poured millions of euros into trying to restore a château and each had given up.
While owning and restoring a château can be a dream for some, it can also be a money pit.
They do not show the failures on UK tv.
The role of an estate agent is to sell properties and generally charge fees of 5%-6% which may be included in the price paid.
Don't dive in to the French property market.
The gîte market is also oversubscribed and is suffering from AirBnB competition.
Do your homework and ask questions on the forum.
HTH
The newspaper has comments from a couple of estate agents who specialise in French house sales to Brits.
Since the start of the Covid pandemic, they have promoted "virtual viewings" and are telling clients that they now have competition from Parisians who want a rural home away from Paris.
They are also pressuring clients to complete before the end of 2020 to ensure continued EU rights.
Buying a property in rural France from a "virtual viewing" is not a good idea.
It is not possible to physically check things like septic tanks or boundaries or neighbours without physically walking around a property.
A few years ago, there was a thread on BE from an expat complaining that they had bought such a property and were disgusted by the farmyard smells that emanated from the neighbouring farm.
They also complained that they could not use their outside space because of the flies and other beasties.
The estate agents also stated that broadband connections had been a problem in France but that the government had been promoting a conversion to fibre.
While this is certainly the case in towns throughout France, rural France is an enormous area and if you must have a good internet connection then you really need to check the broadband on-site.
Property in France can take a long time to sell (sometimes several years) and you cannot compare the French property market to that of the UK - especially the South East of England.
Estate agents love Brits because they potentially pay higher prices on what can be otherwise hard-to-sell properties and they want to complete fast.
You need to ask yourself why a property has not already sold.
If you buy a French property then you should not expect to make a profit (or even get your money back) when you eventually sell it.
If your dream is to own a château in France then there was a post (I think on BE) where someone reported that 3 different lots of Brits - each in their own turn had poured millions of euros into trying to restore a château and each had given up.
While owning and restoring a château can be a dream for some, it can also be a money pit.
They do not show the failures on UK tv.
The role of an estate agent is to sell properties and generally charge fees of 5%-6% which may be included in the price paid.
Don't dive in to the French property market.
The gîte market is also oversubscribed and is suffering from AirBnB competition.
Do your homework and ask questions on the forum.
HTH
This could be included in the FAQs above, in an additional Buying Property thread, and we can refer to it whenever a potential newbie brings the subject up....
Hopefully it will all be over by next year, but I'm reading on another expat forum that many gîte owners are losing money this year due to the Covid-19. Not only the months lost during lockdown, but now the time spent disinfecting everything between any risk-taking clients....
Jun 24th 2020, 4:21 pm
#6
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Oct 2007
Location: Halfway between Ricard & Absynthe
Posts: 4,291
Re: Moving to France or second home
Some interesting comments above. It seems almost unbelievable that some would actually purchase a property without having physically visited it several times, but from what I've read some really do. Crazy!
From what I've seen, the agents here do very little for the fees they charge, and frequently their shop-front photos which should entice prospective buyers to go inside, don't even show an external photo of the property, and often may indicate just a poor picture of a single inner room. Very unprofessional.
Whether purchasing or renting property, our experience with French agents has been disappointing. Even with our dossier which particularly stated 'no pool', the third villa we were taken to see had a very shabby, large pool at the rear, and when we exclaimed our surprise and that we considered they were wasting our time, the agent's response was that the pool could be easily filled-in and the garden re-landscaped!
Regarding, "estate agents are the same the world over", having travelled extensively but certainly not the world over, I'm unable to judge on whether the nature of estate agents is generally poor. I do know that in Hong Kong and also later in Singapore the professionalism of the agents we had dealings with were superb. Even in the Lebanon where I worked for 2 years, in a country struggling back after a violent past, the efficiency of the agent was truly remarkable, eventually finding us very suitable rental accommodation. One young lady in HKong took us to visit an apartment at 9pm, and was back in her office again very early the following morning. Generally a far better class of service compared to when we purchased in UK (admittedly ages ago) and also here in France.
It's been said before, and worth mentioning again that those tv reality shows promoting the french dream certainly have a lot to answer for. Make sure you can swim before 'diving in the deep end' and parting with your money!
Some time ago I put together what I described as a tongue-in-cheek guide to French estate agent's yuckspeak. But there's far more truth there than one may realise, especially during these exceptionally hard times where all industries, estate-agents included, are fighting for survival.
Bottom line is, buyer be vigilant!
For newbies who didn't read it initially - ENJOY.
From what I've seen, the agents here do very little for the fees they charge, and frequently their shop-front photos which should entice prospective buyers to go inside, don't even show an external photo of the property, and often may indicate just a poor picture of a single inner room. Very unprofessional.
Whether purchasing or renting property, our experience with French agents has been disappointing. Even with our dossier which particularly stated 'no pool', the third villa we were taken to see had a very shabby, large pool at the rear, and when we exclaimed our surprise and that we considered they were wasting our time, the agent's response was that the pool could be easily filled-in and the garden re-landscaped!
Regarding, "estate agents are the same the world over", having travelled extensively but certainly not the world over, I'm unable to judge on whether the nature of estate agents is generally poor. I do know that in Hong Kong and also later in Singapore the professionalism of the agents we had dealings with were superb. Even in the Lebanon where I worked for 2 years, in a country struggling back after a violent past, the efficiency of the agent was truly remarkable, eventually finding us very suitable rental accommodation. One young lady in HKong took us to visit an apartment at 9pm, and was back in her office again very early the following morning. Generally a far better class of service compared to when we purchased in UK (admittedly ages ago) and also here in France.
It's been said before, and worth mentioning again that those tv reality shows promoting the french dream certainly have a lot to answer for. Make sure you can swim before 'diving in the deep end' and parting with your money!
Some time ago I put together what I described as a tongue-in-cheek guide to French estate agent's yuckspeak. But there's far more truth there than one may realise, especially during these exceptionally hard times where all industries, estate-agents included, are fighting for survival.
Bottom line is, buyer be vigilant!
For newbies who didn't read it initially - ENJOY.
