Estate agents are definately dishonest and here in Normandy they put up the prices if your number plate shows 75,92,78 etc. Our friends recently saw a house at 118,000 Euros but it had already been sold five days later. They were shown around bathroomless wrecks at 210,000. Try going to a 'Notaire' instead, and specify what it is you want and I'm sure he will find you something.

Hi Busby

Thanks, yes, estate agents certainly don't seem to be the most morally upright types (hope there aren't any on here reading this, I'll be in the "pottage").

Notaires, what a great idea. Presumably, they are bound by something similar to our legal Bar thingy, so can't really get away with doing the dirty on one?

Anyone know where I can get a list of Notaires around Pau and Tarbes?

When I bought before in France, we did drive-arounds and often saw A Vendre written very obviously on a do-it-yourself placard posted on the gatepost, and I wondered about how one would go about buying like that? Anyone got any experience of doing it this way, I would be glad to hear about it.

I have a smattering of French at my disposal so can get by with non-English speaking ones, although I do get muddled up sometimes, although not as bad as my ex who, on his first trip to france with his ex wife, rushed her to the local hospital cos she came out in spots he thought was chicken pox, and, in trying to describe it, used "poulet" or something that sounded similar, and the French nurse thought he had brought in a prostitute. I won't expand, but it sounded hilarious - enough to put me off visiting hospital over there though, so spent two years trying desperately NOT to get sick or hurt myself ..... not easy when wrestling for large parts of the day with a Kango up a wonky ladder.

Andy

Try buying privately. No estate agents' fees like that. Notaire needed on both sides to complete the sale though. I believe one only can be used but not a good idea for obvious reasons.
Try Googling for the "particulier a particulier" (person to person) site. This is a very popular way of privately purchasing property all over France. They also produce many reasonably priced printed guides. Their printed publication for buying and selling houses may not be available everywhere in France I am not sure about that but I believe that one can subscribe. I sold my house in Normandy through "Particulier a particulier" to the first people who saw it Good luck!

Not to speak of the price rise when they see the "GB" sign!

Hi Andy.

A good way to get a decent-ish car or 'van is to buy an ex 'societé' runaround? They're usually high mileage, but they've been looked after, you know? Regular services etc. I think that's what my good friend The Moose was thinking of anyway.

I think at the end of the day, your boyfriend has to have the will to do it. If he doesn't, but you do, then there are other decisions to be made!

Whatever you decide, don't stop posting!

Hmmmm. I'm sure that's not strictly true you know? They fill a need, and if people don't do their research well enough, or come over without taking off the rose-tinted goggles, they'll be fleeced. C'est simple! It's exactly the same in the UK. Some estate agents are good, others not so good. Same as with any profession. My advice though would be to check out the same property with different estate agencies, as not all of them will be quoting the same price. If you see a property you really like, chat to the owners to see if they have it listed with anyone else, then check their price too. The owners will quite often tell the immobilier what they want to 'net' from the sale. Some immobiliers can be quite creative with their mark-up!

Hi Andy
I have been reading your posts with interest and would be very interested to have the website of the Russian wooden house company, if possible.

We are living in a mobile home on our piece of land, and just beginning to start all the process of paperwork etc for building our own house. We've designed our own and had a Maitre D'ooove (sorry can't remember spelling) draw up the plans and he is going to sort out all the paperwork for us.

Watch out about living in a mobile home, we are lucky, our MH has been here for 10 years with several different owners who all had intentions of building a house. We only moved here in January, and our Mairie has said we can live in the MH for a maximum of 2 years only and once we've built the house it has got to go! I have heard in some areas that you have to leave every 3 months, so you are not actually considered as residing in the MH.

Bon chance

Hi Need2no

I have sent an e-mail to the Russians (sounds very James Bond don't it?) and am awaiting a reply. Whereabouts are you in France? Plots of land seem to be in abundance, and some in the area I am looking do look good from the pictures on the net, but I realise they can be a little different when one actually gets there. Sounds like you have found your little piece of heaven and are getting on with it. Congrats.

I will be a fair few months behind you, but its great to know there is someone else on here to bounce ideas off of who is in the same boat and going through the process!

I have contacted FLM as well, they are builders in the Tarbes area, and a really nice English bloke got back to me - Mike I think his name was - so I am in discussion with him about a new build. They offer a whole package - architects, getting the full planning approval etc so I have asked him for a pricing up for a 3 bed bungalow type thingy, and I wanted it broken down into all the phases going from groundwork right up to first fix plumbing and electrics so I can see if it is worth me and my other half doing the finishing.

Sounds like the French situation with the mobile home having to go once the building is habitable is the same as here. Have you sold everything up from UK and totally moved there? great idea to be actually on site as it sounds like we feel the same about remote project management not being too good an idea!

Anyway, I am also contacting a German company about Hauf Houses - they are like a sort of kit house all manufactured in the workshop over there, then disassembled, packed, shipped to where you want it and they send their own incredibly efficient German team with it to erect it. Can be completed in about 8 days. I'll let you know when I get info.

Have a great time wherever you are.

Andy

Hi Le Chant

Gosh you read my mind! Moose told me he thought you knew a bit about getting a second hand car in France, and I was going to put a post on here for you!

Last time I was in France we bought a second hand Peugeot from a garage, and it was fine, but wow are they dear in France. In England it would have been a third cheaper. Never mind, swings and roundabouts and all that, as there is no car tax and the equivalent of the MOT is 2 years not like our 1 year requirement here.

Presume they don't have auctions over there like we do here? Always managed to snag a quick bargain at the local car auction here in Exeter.

Have to say I would be a bit nervous looking for a car in France privately, as when I was there before we did go look at a few that our friends recommended. One was the biggest rust bucket I ever saw and actually had a hole in the floor. The other didn't have a rear windscreen at all, but, being all politeness as we were new over there, we got in for a test drive anyway. I reckon the rear windscreen had been pushed out by the parachute that was clearly needed to stop it as we found it had no bakes either ..... great way to meet the locals though, haring down a hill with me screaming "pas de freines, pas de freines - ATTENTION!!" out the window.

Have a good weekend everyone - hit the wine and have a great time.

Andy

Hi Andy

I've really appreciated all your messages on the site. I too live in Devon (where abouts are you) and desperately want to move to France to escape but it's got to wait a couple of years till my son gets to Uni. SO trying to decide on location. But it needs to be commutable to/from the UK. Any suggestions?

With your sense of adventure I can't see why your partner just plain wouldn't follow your lead to ensure he keeps you at all costs!

I also saw the Grand Designs program (I'm abit of a Kevin McCloud groupy!) but I had particular interest as my friend lives just down the road, it's in Herefordshire. This was a typical 'how not to do it' as they made every mistake in the construction industries book and the house isn't worth the money it cost. I personally cannot understand why anyone would want to be in so much debt but it is in a lovely spot although on a VERY noisy, busy road.

As for log cabins, there are many on the market just make sure it's substantial as many aren't much more than mobile homes. The nordic countries have been using for years and these suppliers may be worth a look at. Maybe you need to go to the Homebuilder and Renovating shows at NATIONAL - NEC Birmingham, 10 - 13 April 2008 or the SOMERSET - Bath & West Showground, 22 - 23 November 2008 is nearer to you. Scandinavian Log Cabins Direct Ltd. will be there and you could interogate to see if this type of building would be suitable. I could get you free tickets (I work in the industry so has some bonus!) Not heard of FLM so can't help on that one.

BTW keep working on the partner and you'll soon be there.

Wendy

Hi again Andy

Hauf houses are wonderful - but VERY expensive - the team that come and assemble the house are really efficient and yes completed in the time scale that they give you. (as long as the crane arrives when it's supposed to and that would be a local....)
If you could afford a Hauf house (oh I wish I could!) then I couldn't recommend anything better.


Wendy

Hiya Wendy

What a coincidence you are in Devon too. I'm in Starcross, just south of Exeter on the estuary.

So you are a "lady in waiting" eh? I know that feeling OH so well. I first waited for my daughter to grow up as I wanted to go to Canada for years but she would not be separated from her father. So that went on the back burner, then she left home to live with him and it coincided with meeting my ex and we went to France. Long story, and I am now back here and hating it.

I know my other half WOULD follow me to France, but that is not enough. He has to be comitted and WANT to go, and we have to walk side-by-side. I am the sort of person who cannot be happy unless the person I am with is happy. He is coming round to the idea, largely because we will, when we have sold both our houses, not really have enough money to buy anything halfway decent in this country, and we both like solitude and our own space and lots of land etc. That costs real money here.

Anyway, where in France are you looking? The point about being somewhere so you can get back and forth easily is a good one and very worth taking into consideration when making the decision about where to go. When I went, we actually went over twice before we settled on a place and we made a shortlist of places we liked and I made copious notes about suitability, terrain, infrastructure, climate at the time (we went in February and July to get a flavour of both winter and summer - always worth considering). The other consideration is if you are going to renovate something it is worth checking out where the nearest Brico depot is for supplies. I know there is one in Tarbes and one in Montauban and one in Perigeux, but others on the site will know where Bricos are in their areas so ask away!

If you will be based both in France AND the uk, and the uk bit will be Devon, the area around Bergerac is quite a good choice, as you can fly direct from Exeter with Flybe. The Dordogne has got quite expensive and, not knowing what your budget will be, its difficult to know whether you could afford what you want in that area. But, we did look at a place called Beaulieu sur Dordogne, which is just in Correze, and which was absolutely wonderful and property is definitely cheaper there. We basically drew a line from Bordeaux to Monaco and researched it. Limousin is popular and there are many people on this forum who live there, so I am sure they can advise you about that area. I

And don't forget the Lot area - its really beautiful and the towns along the river are stunning, right from Cajarc to Fumel.

I was just south of Cahors in a village called Montpezat de Quercy which is just over the border in Tarn-et-Garonne. It was very nice, but hellish hot in June and July and we had a whole month of fog in November. During December and January it was very cold during the night but warmed up during the daytime. April onwards was wonderful. The soil is hard to work there so if you have dreams of growing your own you will need to do a lot of work to the soil and have good regular water source.

I personally fell in love with the Pyrenees area and I am looking at places around Tarbes/Pau and towards Ariege.

You can fly to Pau from Bristol with Ryannair. I know very little about Northern France, but again there are many experienced "northerners" on here - they will jump into this thread if you ask them about that part.

My research into log homes etc is in its infancy, and I am waiting for information. Can't get to exhibitions unfortunately as for one reason and another I don't travel well in this country, but thanks for the offer of tickets, very kind. The one thing that might go against log homes or "houses of non-traditional construction" as they are referred to is resale possibilities. They may have a narrow market appeal if one is forced to come back (yuk, perish the thought!!).

Have you been on any reckies? Reconnaisance trips to look at areas you might like? These are a great idea and can be done cheaply if you go out of school hols.

We looked at Provence but it was expensive and too hot for me personally. And I simply hated Antibes, Cannes, Nice and the rest of the glitzy bit down there. Must be the only woman in the world who could not WAIT to get out of Monaco!!!

The people on here will have a wealth of experience on lots of different regions of France and they are a totally great bunch who will willingly clue you up on their particular areas. I think I struck gold when I found this site!

Anyway, good luck, keep posting questions, info, sharing ideas etc.

Largely and generally, your reasons for going will probably dictate where you will end up as some places will be more suitable for different needs than others.

Speak soon

Andy

Hi Andy
I agree wholeheartedly of walking side by side with your partner, it is an unknown life change for him and you both have to want to be doing this (my comment was tongue in cheek, sorry )

I do not have much money but have been fortunate to have some in the property that I own as it's value has increased considerably. I would like to sell up and release the money to buy a property in France, a house that doesn't need much more than decorating with some land and maybe an outbuilding/barn that could be renovated at a later date when I have the time and inclination to do so!
I have been a single mum for years and will need to work to support myself but hopefully only for part of the year. I work in construction (a QS) and would like to just work on certain projects then go back 'home' as France is where I'd like this to be. The base here will be Devon until my son goes to Uni but then it is likely to be in the South (undecided as yet!) but have family in the South East and my daughter's in Southampton but can just go where the work is.
I have loved visiting France for a number of years, some wave of calm just hits when I arrive but I certainly don't have anywhere near your level of knowledge of the areas. I know I will need to do many reckies but want to consider which areas to check out first. So this is my request for help please.

I love the countryside but will need to be within an hour of an airport that has budget airlines. I love solitude but as a single person realise that this isn't always pratical and I don't like big cities. I am looking from Central to South and Limousin has certainly been of interest because of the price of properties! I want proper seasons but not too hot in the summer and certainly don't want too much rain (we get quite abit in Devon!)
I too am not a fan of Nice, Cannes etc - they too are too glitzy for me, infact I haven't really liked any of the med holiday resorts that I've been to, I loved Dordogne, Loire valley, Provence etc but my knowledge is very limited and would love some ideas to explore and you've certainly given me some.

Reason for leaving - I just can't wait to leave this country, fed up with the crime, crowds and the traffic, cost of living, 'money' is god to so many, etc etc I would like to just step back a bit and just 'be' (if that makes sense)

I'm sorry if I've waffled on but would love all your valuable input. Your comments on this site have been very informative and makes me realise that this dream of mine could be a reality.

Regards
Wendy

hello again

We have been in France for nearly 5 years, but only moved to this region in January so it is all new for us here.

We live on the border of the Lot but are actually in the Dordogne postally. Stupid really as our closest shops/school/doctor etc. is in the Lot.

I am feeling pretty lost here at the moment, haven't really got out to meet new people yet and to cap it all, the holidays are just beginning. What do you do with a 13 year old who really doesn't want to be here. She objected to moving and misses her French friends from before (in Brittany).

As you say yes, we are here on site and will be able to see what is going on with the build. In fact MOH is considering doing the build itself, although I really want to be in a new house before 2020 He works away so the build will be incredibly slow. Still, I suppose as long as it is ongoing at least that is something.

Keep posting, and I will let you know how it goes here.

Good weekend everyone!

P.S. Forgot to say that if anyone lives reasonably close and would like to get together I am up for it

Hi Need2no

Oh I do feel for you! I remember when Kat (my daughter) was 13 and I couldn't even amuse her HERE in England, so it must be difficult for you and the weather is probably no good for outside activities either. Has she made any friends at the local school at all? When the house gets started there will be plenty for her to do, helping, etc, and that way kids can feel involved and hopefully get to love the house.

So you are going to self-build? Quite a challenge - you should go on Grand Designs Abroad. Where's your nearest Brico depot, Perigeux? Its never too early to start planning kids bedrooms and stuff - maybe take her there and let her start making lists and drawings of how she wants her room?

Although we made loads of friends over there, it was 3 years ago and I don't know if any of them will still be there. I only know of two who are definitely still there, and they are in Degagnac near Gourdon. They are doing most of the renovation on their propery, doing a barn as well into 6 small gites for a cycling business, but I suspect that is a bit far for you to travel to see them.

I wish you luck and, if all else fails there is always the computer, satellite telly and Monopoly!!

Best wishes
Andy