Actually, I am on my 2nd right hand drive car here in France (this one more powerful, comfortable and French registered than my little Fiat)....but I have never found it to be a problem...There are far fewer cars on the road here and unless you are the sort of driver who simply has to overtake...then one can still do that by waiting for a stretch of road with a slight bend and keeping a bit of distance to get a clear view.....This works OK provided your vehicle is powerful enough to then make the move to overtake.
Prior to my first visit I was not up to date with the way that the French agents worked, but I guess you're right. Most seem to be on commission only, but two agents we have met have been really good. They sent the Google earth co ordinates and I followed up with a Google Street View. They were quite expensive properties but not where we wanted to be and they were too close to other neighbours and busy roads, but it saved both parties the time and trouble of a wasted viewing. One of the agents is the one we are using this time around. 3 properties that we have already sussed out making the choice a lot easier.
We had to sign a "bon de visite" that gave the agent 3 years leave to claw back his commission if we bought from the vendor during that time.
Why should agents give you the property locations Paul ?
It's dog eat dog out there and many people try to cheat the system. Agents don't like being cheated. I had a call from an agent a few months back requesting a visit from some british clients. The agent was a bit pressed for time so I suggested he sent the clients to me, having signed a 'bon de visite' and I show them around. The french agent went beserk, accusing me of trying to cheat him out of a commission etc etc. ..Talk about paranoia !
Hi again, biggest problem with houses seems to be the selling agents, not all of them, but we just cannot establish an exact location for a property that we like before we are allowed to see it. Takes a couple of weeks to arrange a viewing only to find that the photographs of the property are not accurate, We have had solar panel farms, right in front of the house, a French farmer (who was a very nice chap) who smiled and waved as he drove his tractor through our proposed property up to 10 times a day apparently . I am all for sharing and helping out with my neighbours but am a little reluctant at this stage to inherit a French farmer. We`ve just got rid of the kids. Just wish there was a little more good will between the Agent-Vendor and prospective purchaser. It would save a lot of time and wasted journeys. However, I think we`ve found somewhere...possibly.
Yes it is west of Bergerac, so it's probably out of your target zone - I mentioned it because I noticed the for sale sign. It's about half an hour from Bergerac airport, an hour and a half from Bordeaux airport, and Ste Foy has a station. The house itself looks nice from the road but could obviously be awful/the wrong price/a pig in a poke ;-)
Good morning Veronique, We have driven past this area, is it to the west of Bergerac? We had considered this area but had preferred to look further to the East. Brantome is not exactly easy to get to be but we will be collecting and delivering people back to the Airport ourselves. The best one for us is Limoges as it is the most economical one to travel to and from, from the UK. It is a bit of a pain, but I do like Btantome. The housing market is changing and properties are moving once again, but I do not know for how long, but I do not want to miss the house I have chosen , just outside overlooking the town. I am not back for a week, and an awful lot can happen in that time, I do not want to lose it, but I don't want to look to desperate at the same time..
Hi Joseph, Paul here. Our first trip in September took us right by your front door, in fact I think that we virtually travelled North South down the Correze Cycle Route from Thauron in the North to Argentat . This time I am over to the West , a good two hours away. I think that I have planned my trip a little better this time round, but thank you for the offer.
Paul.
Since the beginning of September every day I have been driving past a nice-looking house for sale on the outskirts of Ste Foy, it is for sale with Leggatt immobilier and has nice views over the river (but not floodable unless major 40 metre tsunami) & while it is not IN a village it is all of 2 minutes away (by car) from both Ste Foy and Le Fleix. You coild walk + dog to a café... I'm sorry not to have solid information but I expect it is on a website...
Hi Paul, we run a chamber d hotels in Sornac, just north of ussel in the correze region of the limousine, en suit room at maison brigoulet is 55 euro per night including breakfast, ring us on 0033587511570 if you need accommodation
Yes, … Although most Brits delegate that duty to their partners (ducking incoming SFN flames)
Yep, just need to learn German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Sweedish, Japanese and even American....
Kwashie, sound advice. No, the big rambling houses with outbuildings and land are not for me. We have made wiser choices on this buying trip, thank you.
Yep, the advantage about places like Sarlat, Riberac & Brantome etc is you won't need to learn French ...
Thanks. Sarlat is popular with everybody. My only advice, humbly given, is not to buy a massive renovation project, or better put, accept the house as you buy it. I’ve seen many people pursue vainglorious kitchen extensions etc… But it never makes them happy and eats all their spare cash.
Hi Kwashi, thank you. The market is definitely changing. Certain Hot Spots should always remain strong, and I am thinking long term, 10 to 15 years before we move on again. I hope to see a reasonable return and where better, it is very pretty. I hope we can buy before then prices start to rise again.
Brantome is pretty, and pretty expensive and far from airports. Nice for a day trip. Around sarlat your price fairly reflects the facilities and popularity. You will never be bored there and should be able to sell the house on quite easily.
For anyone who's interested - The Notaires de France website (available in English) is a pretty good info and real estate source - sometimes good deals to be had - repossessions etc - one man's loss is another man's gain.....
Their latest Market Report for July 2015 makes interesting reading and shows that total house sale transactions in mainland France for the 12 months to May 2015 totalled around 711,000. A bit down on the previous period but with a more recent increase in activity.
Hi Hillary, how strange, I do not know how this happened, but I was looking at this property half an hour ago on another web site. it is a great house but as you say, just a bity too far North. I think that we have settled on Brantome and am looking at 4 houses there or alternatively, two by the river just to the West of Sarlat. Thank you for looking though, it was very good of you.
Regards.
Paul
Hi Marjorie, thank you and I had not come across this piece of information. I have spent most of the day organising the necessary paperwork to bring my car across. RHD is not much use I know in France but I have an old land Rover that I have worked on for years and am loathed to leave it behind.
Unfortunately, I am going to have to find a Notaire that speaks English. I really don't want any un forced errors due to the language barrier. Seems to be a bit of a cop out really but I think it will be for the best.
Thank you for the information.
Paul
Hi Paul notaires have their own web sites and people tend not to advertise with anyone else,
find out the notaire for where you are interested in and put in eg immobilier sallet gouzon this one is close to us, sorry if you already know about their sites
regards Marjorie