I’m 57, I’ve only ever bought a house, never lived in a home. Houses were always bought, regarding work, the commute and investment wise. Never because I really wanted to ‘live’ in it.
But I hear many people say that as soon as they walked through the door they just knew/felt it was the one……is that true? Or did you feel that and thought bugger it later on?
I’m coming over for a house hunt in March for a couple of months and I really want to buy a potential home, something to love coming back to after a day out etc….was this similar to your experience?
I havce a greatly respected friend who does “know” immediately, though her experiences have generally been the same as mine: it’s more a definite feeling of “No” than an always-on Yes or No.
We had a list of musts and must-nots which we drafted and agreed before we started looking.
Again, before we started looking.
When we started viewing, we mostly agreed, pretty quickly, whether the house was a possible or not.
However there were a few houses where I was absolutely clear they would not work for us (no parking; sanitation unsatisfactory; too much work required) but which Madame thought were possibles. When we looked at the criteria again, it made the decision clear, because only one house fitted.
We love the house, but we tend to try to be grateful for the gifts we’ve been given. It’s just stuff. Ultimately, I believe, une maison est une machine-à-habiter.
I’m not saying you should never depart from your criteria if you have a good reason for doing so, but “falling in love with a house” is not a good reason (IMO, of course).
For us, it’s a combination of the house feeling good and then growing into it. So our present UK home felt great even though it needed a fair bit of work, and we’ve enjoyed living there since 1990. The French house wasn’t our first choice because of the location, but we also really enjoy the place.
But like porridge said, in the end it’s just a house and that’s all. We consider ourselves fortunate indeed to live in such places.
For us we knew the minute we walked to the end of the garden. The house didn’t’ meet our criteria, but the garden did. And it was the top priority criterion.
For us it was the view of the Pyrenees. We signed a bonne de visite so we knew the location but the sellers were on holiday and we could only see the house from the road but by then the decision to buy was already made. When it came time to downsize, the view made it easy to sell.
We saw it from the outside a chocolate box cottage, not large but oodles of charm. Inside it was almost livable so I could stay there whilst starting renovations unlike so many ruins the ahents wanted to off load on insuspecting Brits
The one I am in at the moment is the one that was signalled to us in England by a friendly estate agent here after my wife decided we should live in France.
It wasn’t a photo just a black and white photostat image and she was entranced from the off, leaving me open mouthed in disbelievef at her lack of perception.
But it was her vision and we came , we saw, we bought and we extended, finally settling to live here 6 years later in 1999. Never regretted it and now she is in the cemetary down in the valley which I can almost see from here (but for the trees in between), the place where she always insisted would be our last resting place, and so it will be as there is plenty of room for me alongside her.
We turned down our current house on the first visit, saying it wouldn’t work for us, but in the end, it was the view that swung it, and we just accommodated what we perceived to be its shortcomings. I will miss it when we eventually move away, as it really is getting too hot in the area during the summer months.
I went inside this house as it was going up from the concrete base and seeing where all the pipes were sticking out but never actually saw inside the almost finished building until the day I signed the compromis and was allowed to have the key by the builder and Notaire so we could sand and paint inside. It was then I discovered that my fridge was too big for the cellier but to be honest I just wanted my new home and the fridge slipped easily into another alcove near the kitchen. I’d had enough of living in an almost 500year old house that was damp and awkward due to the walls not being straight but at the time, it had been a comfortable purchase and we totally transformed it into a large family home which then required yearly maintenance somewhere or other. I don’t want that bother now, just a nice warm/cool easy to clean and live-in house with just a nice bit of garden -eventually but its coming along!
When I bought my French house I was very much constricted by a budget, so it wasn’t a case of looking for, or finding, my ‘dream’ home.
However, when I came to view the house, it ticked a lot of the boxes for me - detached, off-road parking and a garage, two good-sized bedrooms, large(-ish) living room and kitchen with space for a small dining table. Space for a workshop (basement). Garden shed. Good-sized garden (1300m2). But it also had a welcoming feeling - and I think this is what you are talking about. It needs work but it felt like I could make it my own, and put my own stamp on it. It feels like a happy place - if that’s not too silly a thing to say.
Good luck with the hunt and you will get there for sure.
It might help if you list the thinks you must have (likes) and things you cannot abide and then check off each place against that. After a while you will feel it in you tummy and trust that !
To answer your question, yes we found what we were looking for after a couple of years though
When I went house hunting I went to local estate agents and got a handful of leaflets to look at. I looked at the one I thought looked the most interesting, a semi-ruin in a beautiful location and that was that. I didn’t ever visit any of the others. Thirty years on and I’ve never had any regrets. When I’m away I visit lovely places with beautiful architecture but I’m always pleased when I return home. I’m always interested to read about people who spend years visiting every holiday for visit after visit and wonder if I was simply lucky or perhaps my expectation were low.
We had a list of criteria, which helped us see past the massive piles of junk both inside and outside our house. They took most of it with them….
I had an unwritten criteria that the house would be stone with volets but having overwintered in one I’m now grateful for my cosy, light-filled, practical 1970s house.
Good luck in your search!
I do have my list of criteria musts/must not etc…… I’m aware I’ve taken a long time choosing houses in the past……but I’ve been happy with those decisions, so I’ve got to trust myself with this one
I thought I had a vision of a very old stone ‘French’ house but the one I like online is much more modern, and who would have thought that looking at hundreds of houses online would be so exhausting!
I’m very much looking forward to my trip out there, if I don’t find the one in those 8 weeks it won’t hurt as I’ll gain so much more in knowledge, language and probably weight
In the Auvergne, we’re in the Puy de Dôme, at nearly 600m asl. Not high enough any more to remain cool in summer, the counterpart being that winters have become much milder, but I am more at ease with the dry cold than the dry heat
This gives a broad idea, but if sensitive to wind also look at maps for the mistral or tramontane. Personally I would find it hard to live with these winds. (Map onky goes ro 2010, but the hotter areas then are the unbearable (to me) areas now.
Interesting to see the Dordogne on the boundary of the hotter area, I don’t find it uncomfortable in summer and rarely have the a/c on, but I also note that the same boundary splits pain au chocolat from choclatine.
