France property owners

[Ehiogu]

Any suggestions, gotchas and things to look out for when buying property in France? We plan to buy a cheap property to visit during the summer months.

I know about the sewerage/septic tank regulations.

Is is there an equivalent of a B and Q in France, where you can buy all your DIY items online and have them delivered? (Idea is to spend 3-4 months slowly renovating the house).

Anyone who who has experience on this forum?

Thanks

[big_panda]

Sounds like a money pit

[Skyhook]

Leroy Merlin is the eqv of B and Q which is excellent. Lots of destination warehouse / mega stores for all your diy and plant nursery needs in France. Being Very house proud as the French are. Love them for it too.

We own an 8 year old house in the outer periphery of Paris, so no issue with septic tanks etc.

Where in France are you considering buying? How much are you considering spending, I might be able to give you some pointers if I am familiar with the area.

[Ehiogu]

No real preference on location. Within, say, a 5 hour drive of Calais or an hour or two of a well serviced airport. So, I guess, most of France.

Just after a 2 bed home, rural, with a garden. Looking to spend maybe GBP50k on the property and up to another 25k on renovations I think.

[dumbdonkey]

becareful, burglaries are high for holiday homes

French holiday home alert after burglaries rocket by 18 per cent - Telegraph

[Ehiogu]

That's a good point actually. How do you secure your property the other 11 months you don't use it? Do you use a property agent? Do you rent it out when you're not there? i'm not sure I'd want to rent it out, but I would like to have someone come in once a month or so to cut the grass and air the house out.

I do have a friend who is a networking wizard. I'm planning on getting IP cameras installed so that I can check up on the house. Apparently you can get motion detection ones so that if something happens, it records and automatically sends to you. Seems a good system.

[Skyhook]

No real preference on location. Within, say, a 5 hour drive of Calais or an hour or two of a well serviced airport. So, I guess, most of France.

Just after a 2 bed home, rural, with a garden. Looking to spend maybe GBP50k on the property and up to another 25k on renovations I think.

That should be pretty easy to acquire as there is a HUGE abundance of property available in that price range. Pretty much anywhere out of the main cities, you will find properties like what you are looking for. I was in Normandie, Calais and Dunkirk late last year. I'd probably try and get located within 45 minutes to an hour drive of Calais, as you have Cite Europe located in Coquelles which is excellent for your average shopping needs, BIG Carrefour super store located there also.
http://www.citeeurope.com


Just for example, the property below in Le Baleine
https://www.frenchentree.com/propert...updating-south

is about a 4 hour drive from Calais, which is located in a nice spot for a Holiday house etc, but know you can get something like that pretty much anywhere between there and Calais. It's all pretty much of a muchness once you leave the confines of the main cities. Proximity to an airport wont be a problem around the Normandie area, no worries about that. Also you're close to coastal towns/cities, and countryside so it kinda ticks all the right boxes. Gets a bit cold and windy at times, but nothing a nice cozy fireplace/woodheater wont fix, which just enhances the whole cozy cottage feel/experience during winter, quite nice in Summer though.


When looking at homes with the intention of renovating them, things to check are as follows.

A lot of homes have slate shingle roofs, make sure the slate is in good shape and that it hasn't become porous/flaky/brittle, as they will cost a small fortune to replace. Same goes for terracotta tiled roofs too.

Check for rising damp along the base of all exterior walls of the house, as this can also be quite expensive to rectify. any signs of previous water damage basically.

Check to make sure that the foundations are in good shape, that the house is not sinking etc, plus the usual suspects, plumbing, electrical and sewerage.

The usual do diligence is required, like any property purchase anywhere in the world.

You should be o.k, your budget is very achievable and I think your budget for renovation costs sound about right, its much easier to renovate a property in France than here in HK in regard to the choice of materials and stuff you can buy at the BIG hardware stores and plant nurseries in France, if you enjoy DIY, you will LOVE France.