Gentrifying France
Ooops that’s about two weeks since I posted here. Been rushed off my feet with all sorts of things – people coming to visit for Easter for example, and the glorious sunshine keeping me out on the tractor and my bike.
A week or so ago I had fish and chips for the first time in six years, which was pretty exciting. Someone English in the area has decided that one evening a week they will do takeaway fish and chips in a local town, English style.
Usually I’m not very keen on people trying to import England to France, but just this once, under terrible pressure from the children, I weakened. Very nice it was too.
More interesting is how the area is changing. When we moved here a few years ago there were a few English dotted around but not many, and lots of ruins just waiting to be renovated.
Now the landscape is dotted with people desperately seeking a ruin for less than 100,000 euros. The road to the fish and chip town, about 10 kilometres away, was lined with derelict barns and farms just five years ago – now every single one has been beautifully renovated.
The last ruin to go was literally just two stone walls right next to the road, but somebody enthusiastic has bought it, and built a house around the two walls. To all intents and purposes it’s a new build house, but presumably somewhere within the house the old stone walls are defiantly on show. Beautifully lit by the cars speeding past just inches away, no doubt.
I do know of one other ruin, that to the best of my knowledge isn’t sold yet – it’s on a back road in a good location, but I think the owner is trying to sell it with just a small handwritten AV sign (a vendre – for sale) next to the road rather than going through an estate agent, so it hasn’t caught anyone’s eye yet. I’d be quite tempted myself if I had the cash to renovate somewhere else.
Likewise I passed a place when I was out cycling yesterday which has been for sale for at least a year, but almost no-one will ever spot the AV sign. In a fantastic location as well.
So the point is, if you are looking to renovate in France or live in France, you should spend a lot of time driving around the lanes looking for likely properties, or rent in the area for a few months so you come across them. And ask in the local notaires if they know of places for sale. It takes longer and you need to pay a few months of rent, but the property you will end up in and the money saved will make it all worthwhile.
There are still great places to be had, but you need to work hard to find them.