Review of French Property – An Insider’s Guide

DOES buying a property in France have to be difficult? Well it can definitely be made easier if you have done plenty of reading in advance and have an understanding of the processes involved.

With this knowledge you can then ask questions of the professionals involved, be that estate agents or notaires, as well as focus on the type of property that suits your needs.

And it this advanced planning that comes out in an ebook by Alex Charles and Greg Taylor, of Creme de Languedoc, who start by asking readers what type of buyer they think they are likely to be.

So if readers are keen to move across to France to live either full time or to share their home with family and friends, their demands will be different to those people looking for a buy-to-let property.

While those in the middle who want to buy somewhere as a place to let to holidaymakers and use occasionally themselves are going to view things differently as well.

The ebook then goes on to recommend some of the questions you need to ask yourself depending on what you want, as well as some of the financial implications of having your own home in comparison to someone who is letting apartments.

For example, if your property is your home then any problems, such as a blocked toilet or leaky roof are things you are going to have to sort out yourself.

However, if your French property is a holiday home do you have someone close to the house who can handle general caretaking tasks such as these? And what should you expect from a property management company if you have a city centre apartment and problems flare up?

The ebook is written in a very easy going style and the experience that Alex and Greg have of buying, renting and helping others with properties in France comes through.

So for example, their advice on choice of location for people keen to have a home for their own use as well as friends and family reads:

It’s only you and your friends who’ll be visiting, so go ahead, buy what you like, where you like. Just remember that one day you may want to sell up (or maybe you’ll HAVE to sell up), so bear resale potential in mind.

France is a huge country; it’s essential to narrow down your search area. To help you decide, consider climate, accessibility, lifestyle, amenities and activities, and – most importantly – whether your budget will allow you to buy in your selected area. Location is crucial because everything else about a property can be changed, albeit at
a cost.

Location is all about your life stage, too. If you’re coming up for retirement, sunshine may be a “must”; for young families, access to leisure facilities and amenities can be important. Buying a bolt-hole halfway up a mountain is fine when you’re young, free and single, but you’ll soon get fed up with driving an hour to buy nappies or formula milk once you start a family. Take into account your current needs and how they may evolve as years go by.

The ebook is available in .pdf format so should open on practically any computer which has a copy of Adobe Acrobat, or similar reader, although you might have to play a little with the zoom level to get a whole page on the screen.

Also one of the advantages of an ebook is that you can include links to web pages and so when a chapter deals with estate agents, with one click you can be on the site of the national association to explore more and read about average property prices for the past twelve months.

And naturally because the French Property – An Insider’s Guide ebook is in a digital format there is no printing involved and so costs €4.95, meaning even if you take away just one helpful tip there’s a good chance you’ll have made your initial outlay back.