MY FRENCH HOUSE
THIS IS A PHOTO OF THE REAR OF THE HOUSE OR VILLA, TO BE CORRECT, TAKEN IN OCTOBER 2002 THE DAY THAT I BOUGHT IT.
THE HOUSE IS ABOUT 300 YEARS OLD AND STANDS IN A 900 SQUARE METRE PLOT, 5 MINUTES WALK TO THE CENTRE OF THE TOWN WHERE THERE IS A MARKET ON WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS.
AS IT STOOD THERE WERE ONLY 60 SQ.M. OF LIVING SPACE OUT OF A FOOTPRINT OF 100 SQ.M. THIS LIVING SPACE HAD BEEN REFURBISHED IN THE 1960`S AND REALLY NEEDED SOME TLC TO BRING IT UP TO MODERN STANDARDS.
THIS IS A PHOTO OF THE REAR OF THE HOUSE OR VILLA, TO BE CORRECT, TAKEN IN OCTOBER 2002 THE DAY THAT I BOUGHT IT.
THE HOUSE IS ABOUT 300 YEARS OLD AND STANDS IN A 900 SQUARE METRE PLOT, 5 MINUTES WALK TO THE CENTRE OF THE TOWN WHERE THERE IS A MARKET ON WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY MORNINGS.
AS IT STOOD THERE WERE ONLY 60 SQ.M. OF LIVING SPACE OUT OF A FOOTPRINT OF 100 SQ.M. THIS LIVING SPACE HAD BEEN REFURBISHED IN THE 1960`S AND REALLY NEEDED SOME TLC TO BRING IT UP TO MODERN STANDARDS.
Having lived and worked in Provence I may still write a book about my adventures there. If I do, the the unofficial title will have to be ”Eat your heart out Peter Mayle”. His year in Provence was really boring compared to mine.
After many years of trundling down to the Cote D`Azur with the wife for a couple of weeks holiday, and of course dreaming of owning a place there. I started to surf all those property websites, but just like vintage Bentleys, the prices of the villas and appartments seemed to increase every year beyond my means. As I grew older I started to question the choice of location as I became increasingly irritated by the problems in parking, the overcrowding, the noise and pollution and also the attitude of some of the inhabitants, who considered that they were doing you a favour if they spoke to you.
It was my conversations with BDC member Roger Hanauer every time I met him at the Beaulieu Autojumble that sent me on a different path. He mentioned that he had a house in the ”Charente” that is the department or county in which Angouleme is the main city and is situated north of Bordeau. I decided to surf the sites in that area and soon discovered that house prices there were much more affordable than in the Cote D`Azure.
twelve years ago I decided to go there for a long weekend to do some research on the best locations for buying a house and made a list of the houses selected from the websites that I fancied in my price range. I had made appointments with the Immobiliers to see these houses but when I arrived at their offices the story was always the same, the cheap and good houses that I had selected were already sold. What the agents were doing was leaving them on their websites as a come on, and when one presented at the office was shown houses that were in a higher price range. The British are in bed with the French agents and manipulate the prices so that the British and French punters end up paying more. In France It`s the buyer that pays the agents fees, not the seller as it is in the UK.
I know there is an interest in reading about other people`s experiences when it comes to finding secondary homes in foreign countries. I spent many happy hours trawling through forums on the net and learned a lot from them. One thing that is very important is to know something about the area that you are considering buying in. The pictures of the properties that you see on the websites are always taken from the best angles, but when you go to see that ideal property at an affordable price, quite often there is a negative aspect that is not mentioned, such as being located next to a main highway.
The Charente is an ideal location for Bentleys, there is a network of ”D” roads which are well surfaced and carry very light traffic, the local populace are very enthusiastic about vintage cars and I must say that they are mostly very friendly, helpful and courteous, especially if you can speak some French.
IF THERE ARE ANY BENTLEY ENTHUSIASTS LOCATED IN THE CHARENTE, WHY NOT SEND ME AN EMAIL. PERHAPS WE CAN GO AND KICK A FEW TYRES TOGETHER.