Recently I have been spending time trying to find a cheap house for sale in France - by cheap I mean really cheap, something under 35000 euros. I know that it will need a lot of work but I am prepared for that.
My problem is trying to get replies from some of the websites and from Leboncoin. I am either getting no reply at all or if I ask for the address (not an unreasonable request) I get no further response. Has anyone else had this experience?
It may not seem like a unreasonable request but immobiliers are highly protective of a property location as giving it puts their sales commission at risk.
Google Earth is your friend, with a little time and effort it is usually possible to work out a property location.
An Immobilier will ask you to sign exclusivity before viewing so that they get the commission as often the property will be with several agents.
To cut out an agent you really need to be on the spot and with a few enquiries it is often possible to find out who the owners are and cut out the middle man.
Welcom to France. It is normal. I do not know if it is peculier to France or if it becoming a modern norm everywhere, but in the last ten years, the practice has infuriated.
Basically, there is no courtesy left in anyone.
Ahh but they are easily offended 
even when I was working the one way flow of information (not responding to an email) I find just rude.
It is not enough to say immoblers need to protect their assets, they can still send a couteous reply saying exactly this. But because the average immobler is shit-for-brains, they cannot see that this might keep the dialogue going.
When you make your requests are you giving French or non-French contact details? And do you provide context? People can be suspicious of foreign contacts with no background - particularly on LeBonCoin which is a well known hunting ground for scammers.
Your best bet is to use the phone, not email, for a first contact.
For the house we live in now, which we bought direct from the owners, they only replied after a couple of messages and when we finally got to meet them they said they were suspicious as thought my name was a joke,
I am giving non French contact details, since these are all I have. I even contacted one a second time and offered to provide a copy of my passport, proof of funds and proof of address - still no answer.
I can understand their need for exclusivity but to get no reply means a sale cannot happen. I don’t know what else to do here, maybe they would like a DNA test? 
I sympathise. It took me a while - and a lot of reading - to get used to the French approach. Madame still doesn’t accept it and blithely fires off emails into the ether, expecting a response.
My experience was exactly as @JaneJones suggests: you need first to make contact personally, either by phone or in person. Precious details like location are closely guarded assets and certainly not for divulging to someone who may be a brick-kicker.
Have you an area you’re particularly interested in? Maybe a visit - and, importantly, getting to know one or two immos who you have faith in, and to whom you can show your documentatio0n - would be possible.
If not, then try using Google Street View and Earth.
Another idea: if you tell us the area(s) you’re interested in, it’s possible that someone might have a contact.
Thanks for the advice. My search is dictated mainly by price, so I am looking at houses in Normandy, Brittany, the northern section of Nouvelle Aquitaine. I am prepared to buy a derelict shell if it is large enough and has preferably a minimum of 1000 metres of land (I can be flexible on this for the right house and price) I can do most building work myself.
I don’t want to sell my current house (Belfast, N. Ireland) until I have a French house to move into, I want to keep working until I get closer to state pension age, so was hoping to travel back and forth for a while to work on the French house.
Having lived in Brittany for 30 years I can tell you that the very cheapest proprties are to be found in central areas around the Carhaix area and going eastwards. There are many many houses in dire conditions, we did so many renovations of these when brits flocked over in the 90’s we could only think they bought them cos they were dirt cheap. Some villages around the outskirts of Carhaix, Callac etc are basically deserted now and being left to fall down because no one wants them as there is no work locally.
Well, that’s where we are. And I know at least one other person here with an interest in the area.
So do I. 
I can’t recommend any Immobiliers yet as I am still at the brick-kicking stage. 
But from what I’ve heard from members here and from other friends who have moved to France, emails don’t really get you anywhere for initial enquiries, and no they won’t tell you where a house is in case you bypass the immo and go direct to the owner.
Another reason for the radio silence is that you are looking for a cheap fixer-upper - not much profit in that kind of house for an estate agent so they won’t go to a lot of effort.
In some cases it’s possible to identify landmarks in the property photos and match that up with Google Street view and hence work out where the property is.
We are looking for another house at the moment. We won’t view a property if we don’t know where it is. If we can’t find it on google earth we email the agent concerned and suggest we sign a bon de visite. They are usually happy with that approach.
Have you tried looking at notaires’ lists? I gather they too sell properties (not personal experience) and I would have thought their lists would be within a pretty limited area where they are based, so easier to track down.
Thanks, I am going to try that approach with one house I am particularly interested in.
Thanks, I never thought of that but will look into it this evening.
I have bought and sold through a Notaire and they usually work out a bit cheaper having a dedicated person dealing with property sales and also having all the info in one place.
That doesn’t help. Nor does having such a big search area. We are about to start to search once our current house goes on the market and I will be taking a trip to our first choice area firstly to check it is right for us as not an area we know, and then to go see local immobiliers in person clutching our dossier full of French credentials.
Good luck, but it might take more effort than you wanted. If you can mange to go over and see some of them that might help sift out no-hopers.