Advice on buying

[flatbread]

Hello,

We really like a house in SW France, but there is one problem. There are plans for a N road 600-750 meters from the back of the property. Do you think this will negatively impact the property prices going forward? Also, will this be an issue for potential holiday renters (we plan to rent it out during part of the year).

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

[marcus]

N roads can be pretty busy and pretty fast.

There is a little quiet road about 600m from our house that we can see clearly. It doesn't disturb anything. But it is close enough that I am sure that if it was a busy road it would be disrupting.

600-700 metres is a reasonable distance but not huge. If the house is separated from the road by woods, trees or a hill it is perhaps fine. If the road is visible from the property I certainly wouldn't buy it. The appeal of many houses in SW France is the complete quiet that often descends, apart from birds and the like. I think 600m from a busy road would not be noisy but it would be close enough that you would rarely 'hear the silence'.

On balance, I'd keep looking, sorry.
Marcus

[mpprh]

Hi

we have a RN 2km away.

If the wind comes from that direction (very rare) we can hear the traffic. It is not loud, but noticeable because we live outdoors in near silence (apart from Mrs mpprh !) for most of the year.

Also worth noting that trucks use some RN's at night to avoid paying tolls.


Peter

[Fraise]

A lot of holiday makers are looking for peace and quiet- the road that close would not be a bonus!!!!Personally, I would keep looking!!

[paolo]

For me that is too close - you would hear the rumble of traffic all the time.

[flatbread]

Thanks all. It is a shame as it is a beautiful house - we will keep looking. It seems hard to find a beautiful old house in a good location. We have upped our budget over the last year, but still haven't found anything that is not compromised either in terms of the house or the surroundings.

Any idea of a good "personal buyer" we can engage to help us in our search? We are looking in the broad SW region and are looking at something upto 450k euros - somehow when we look through regular realtors most of the stuff frankly looks overpriced.

Thanks

[Paul Carmel]

If you post on the following site you might get lucky

http://angloinfo.com/

[Alan Knighting]

I am unlikely to be of any help but I think it might be assistance to all if you could say which part of the South West you are focusing on. The South West is a very large and diverse area so is it Aquitaine, Midi-Pyrenees or Langedoc-Roussillon?

In very general terms, over the last few years, there has been a large influx of buyers, including the French, and this has had two effects. It has pushed up prices and it has reduced availability. The "right" property still exists but it is harder to find and it is now more expensive.

Your idea of engaging a "personal buyer" to conduct a property search is, on the face of it, an attractive one. Unfortunately, he/she will be very difficult to find. Most people offering this service are either "estate agents" who are really only interested in their commission or complete amateurs who don't know what they are doing but want to make money doing it. That's not to say they don't exist. If you were searching in the South East (Provence-Alps & Cote d'Azur) I would have no hesitation in making a recommendation.

Do you have a willing friend living in your chosen area? If you have, my suggestion is that you get onto the mailing list and Website of every Immobilier you can think of and get your friend to visit likely looking properties. That way you could sort out the wheat from the chaff, and there will be a lot of chaff.

Don’t give up! Speaking as someone who made the move a number of years ago I can say you will not regret it. It’s lovely to holiday here but it is a thousand times better when you live here!

Good luck with your search.

Alan

[flatbread]

Thanks again folks for such prompt and thoughtful responses. Alan, we have looked at various properties in the SW and we like most of the region, so are open with regard to location as long as the house fits our criteria. We have travelled but never done any property searches in the SE, as have always thought of that as being very expensive and probably out of our range. Not sure if we can get something nice with a bit of land/ garden in Provence-Alps within our budget - if you know of a person who really knows the region and can help identify good properties that would be great!

Thanks

[Alan Knighting]

I still don't know which part of the South West you have been looking at so can say no more.

I will PM you with a contact name and address in the South East.

You are right, much of the South East is very expensive but it can be superb, as Alexia will tell you. Inland Provence is "to die for" if you can afford it.

Alan

[Loopy Lou]

Have you had a look at the Granny Network? They might be able to help you. http://www.grannynetwork.info/

Good luck.

[Fraise]

Hi.A French friend of ours is an estate agent in the SW Charente Maritime.He is very "proper" and won't even speak to you if you refuse to give your name (some English just ring and expect a reply without actually giving their name).He is extremely ethical (he is an ex-bank manager and left because he didn't like the way the banking system was going ie,less people contact).I'm not on commision- I just respect the man!!We did not buy our places from him but would not hesitate to recommend him.He is called Serge Maurin and his phone number is 05 46 49 98 66.He runs the "Agence de l'estuaire" in St- Fort -sur- Gironde.He does speak English if you speak slowly. That's it,good luck

www.thepetitmanoir.com

[enid]

Since we started our gites two years ago I have had several approaches from locals wanting to sell their property who weem to think amll our clients are English folk looking to relocate. i do have two that are OK - if you find yourself in this region they could be worth a look.