View from the Foothills of France

Some personal views on living, working,
bringing up family and making the dream happen in the most beautiful region of France. View from the Foothills of France also includes some personal and professional thoughts and tips on finding and buying the perfect property in the Ariège and Haute Garonne regions.

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Snow – yes please bring it on

By nadia, on 1st February 2012

Bagneres de Luchon in the snow

One of the many things I love about living in view of the Pyrenees is that, while the rest of France is currently moaning about the miserable winter weather, here in the foothills we are celebrating. A cold, rainy day here means that it is snowing buckets up in the mountains and thus everyone has one eye on the weather forecast, just waiting for the next sunny day – when, there will be lots of crosses in diaries, marked with the word SKI.

What could be better than taking a day off to go up into the mountains and mess around in fresh snow under clear blue skies, stopping for hot chocolate or mulled wine pour se rechauffer? Bliss. And even for those people who don’t ski, there are lots of places to hire snow shoes for a snowy walk in a winter wonderland or simply just enjoy the views and fresh mountain air from a sunny terrace.

Snow shoeing

Yesterday I was in the mountain town of Bagnères de Luchon after two days of snow; the whole place was white and sparkling in the sunshine – it was magical. And the views, as I drove around on my latest property search, were breathtaking. I have said this before, but on a day like this, I really do think this must be the best place in the world to live – but don’t tell anyone.

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What Triple AAA Rating?

By nadia, on 18th January 2012

While much of the rest of the world seems preoccupied with the loss of France’s triple AAA rating, here in the Ariege and Haute Garonne, the whole subject has been dismissed by the locals as utterly irrelevant. Not that it hasn’t been discussed – the French love a good debate – but for people here, nothing much has really changed since the economic crisis began; beautifully illustrated I thought by this chap in his car, reading the local paper, who has clearly seen much worse and knows that life goes on.

 

Of course this area is feeling the pinch like everywhere;  fuel is more expensive – but people here don’t drive very far; gas and oil prices are up too but the majority of locals here spend their summers cutting and laying down wood for their fires and wood burners so that hasn’t really effected them either. Food is perhaps more expensive but not if you grow and produce your own. The price of an espresso is still generally seen as exorbitant although it hasn’t much changed in the last ten years – and I have never known a group of people more adept at spending quite so long drinking quite such a small beverage!

I guess if you didn’t have the highs of the 90’s excesses, then neither do you have the lows of the current economic crisis; the people in this area have always lived simply and put far more importance on family, friends, good food and quality of life than they have on shiny new cars, designer homes or gadgets which means that life continues its gentle pace, almost unchanged, as it has done for many hundreds of years.  I’m certainly not complaining – there is nothing like a wander around the market talking to the stall holders about a local cheese or the best way to prepare leeks – and then a sit down in the local café eavesdropping on the discussions of the day to slow down the heart rate and put life into perspective.

 

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Happy New Year and Bonne Année – is 2012 the year to make your dreams come true?

By nadia, on 5th January 2012

Despite the current financial climate, 2011 was a busy year for me. One significant change I noticed in the last 12 months was an increase in clients from far-flung parts of the world including Australia, America, the Middle East and South Africa with fewer from the UK and European countries. I have also noticed an increasing number of clients of British origin but who have been living overseas and want to move back to Europe but would rather move back to France than return to Britain.

I imagine that one of the main reasons for the drop in buyers from the UK is the weak pound which also helps to explain the increase in Australian clients who have been enthusing about how cheap property is in France thanks to the strength of the Australian dollar. Of course foreign buyers are also more used to employing buying agents; certainly in Australia, America and South Africa it is normal to employ a professional to assist in what is usually the biggest purchase you will ever make, whereas in the UK, only millionaires seem to employ property finders. Plus, there are even more organizational difficulties of buying a home from a distance – and the further the distance, the more difficult it can seem with a combination of time zones, the language barrier, an unfamiliar legal system and the very different customs and way the French have of doing business in general. For example, some of the agents I deal with here don’t even have websites and a large majority of people in France also sell their property privately by putting up a sign outside and perhaps a notice in the local post office.

Combine this with the fact that most of my buyers are time-strapped and cannot afford to be hopping on a plane every few weeks to look at properties that turn out not to meet their requirements, and it makes sense to hire a professional to take the strain and to negotiate the very best deal. All of my clients tell me that I have saved them money by doing all the time-consuming ground work and eliminating all the unsuitable properties so that they can come over for just one viewing trip knowing that all the properties I show them will meet the criteria they have given me and they will simply have to choose the one they prefer. What’s more, I aim to take all the stress and hassle out of the procedure so that it becomes an enjoyable experience and they end up with exactly what they want because I am working for them and not the seller.

Of course, another reason for increasing world-wide interest in property here is that France and particularly South West France is seen as an investment safe-haven, perhaps because the buying process in France is so well regulated, meaning that international buyers feel secure investing in property here. In addition, mortgage interest rates in France are at their lowest level since the Second World War and there is a reassuring long-standing stability in the French property market provided by the dominance of fixed rate mortgages (over 80%) which means that the housing market seems less prone to sharp ups and downturns.

Perhaps more importantly, despite the global financial crisis, people from all over the world still want to buy in this part of France; at the end of the day, it is not just about market stability, return on investment or sensible bank lending in France, it is because many of us just love the country, the culture and the quality of life here (and the weather of course) and are happy to invest in a beautiful, well built and well priced French home.  A safe haven doesn’t come much more secure or enjoyable than South West France.

And some great news to start off 2012; the Euro is at the lowest it has been for 15 months which is great for anyone transferring money from other currencies to invest in French property. So it looks like 2012 might be a good year for everyone and anyone dreaming of a home in France. I look forward to finding lots more fabulous  properties for my clients, wherever they come from, in the coming year. Bonne année, bonne santé et bonheur à tous.

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Goodwill to all – even French estate agents

By nadia, on 19th December 2011

Saint Lizier decorated for Christmas

As it is Christmas, I thought I should sprinkle some goodwill over that much maligned species, the French estate agent. Most of my clients cannot understand how estate agents here in France can justify their commission of between 5 and 10% and I certainly know of agents who do not deserve to earn such large fees; these are the agents who never bother to return calls or emails, organize viewings of completely unsuitable properties and then wipe their hands of buyers the minute the Compromis is signed. These are the worst examples and I have learned from experience (and countless wasted viewings) who these agents are in my region and I do not use them – nor do I need to work with them as, in almost all cases, any property they have on their books will also be on the books of other agents. Conversely, I have built up an excellent network of very hard-working, proactive and extremely helpful agents who spend huge amounts of time and effort in helping me to find exactly the right property for my clients.

While the basic job of the estate agent in France and those in other parts of the world is essentially the same, in practice the role, workload and responsibility can actually be very different and there are reasons why agents here charge a higher commission:

Firstly, French estate agents do more work for each sale than their foreign counterparts and have a legally defined role in law which often includes drawing up the official Compromis de Vente before passing it to the Notaire and thus they have far more legal responsibility. In France, the agent also has a much closer link with all parties and has liability working as a professionally intermediary, liaising between them to make sure that the Notaire can process the sale efficiently and will even be there at the final signing to help with translation and to advise on the legal formalities and iron out any last minute problems.

Secondly, French estate agents have a much closer relationship with the seller and will work very closely with them and spend a great deal of time marketing their property over many months. In many countries, the agent will often carry out just one visit to a property to take all the initial details and that might well be the end of their direct involvement with seller with most subsequent communication taking place by phone or email. In France on the other hand, the agent will personally do every viewing with any potential buyer and once things come to negotiation stages, many of the agents I work with actually go to see the seller face-to-face to discuss each offer and the terms at each stage. Often however,  even after all this work and outlay of time, the agent is quite likely to see the sale go to another agent while they ultimately earn nothing for all their time and effort.

Thirdly, the French move house less frequently than in many countries so the volume of transactions is much smaller but the French population is dispersed over a much larger area than say Britain which means that accompanying buyers on viewings is vastly more time-consuming and expensive for agents here than it would be in the UK. Furthermore, it can also be a very frustrating job because an agent can only sell the property they have on their books so, however good and helpful they may be, if they get a potential buyer looking for something they just do not have for sale, there is very little they can do. Conversely, in my role as property finder, at least I am able to work with lots of different agents as well as Notaires and private sellers so that I have a far wider pool of properties from which to track down the perfect property for my clients.

Fourthly there are a far greater number of checks and tests that have to be done on a property in France before it can be sold and much of this extra information has to be organized and collated by the French agent. The proper checks have to be carried out for asbestos, lead, beetle and termites as well as tests covering such issues as electrical and gas connections, septic tanks and energy efficiency. Plus, most of the agents I work with will help the new owners with the reconnection of services such as water and electricity and remain available to answer questions in the days or weeks after the final documents have been signed.

Finally, it is always worth always keeping in mind that the majority of agents you will deal with in France are actually Agents Commercial which means that they are effectively self-employed and so do not receive a regular salary – the commission they make on a property is all they earn – and in reality it is often far less than the stated commission because this is then shared between the owner of the agency and their colleagues. Plus, pity the poor agents that work with me as, more often than not, I ask the agents to lower their fees in order to reach the best possible deal for my clients and hence they earn a lot less than their advertised commission on any sale I bring them. So it can be a thankless job and, despite what you might hear, I certainly do not deal with many wealthy french estate agents driving Mercedes.

So this is by way of a thank you to all the agents who have helped me find some fantastic properties for my clients this year. I look forward to working with you in 2012.

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