That loving feeling

I am often asked what I like best about this job and actually there are many things but one of the best aspects of being a property finder is getting to look at so many beautiful and often historic properties. I love houses, I love buildings and I love architecture so combine that with stunning scenery everywhere I cover, including the majestic peaks of the Pyrenees on the horizon as well as the chance to work with so many interesting people and it really is the perfect emploi. However, there is also an inherent danger in this; I keep falling in love with the properties I am researching for my clients. There are just so many beautiful properties in this region and most of my clients have impeccable taste in houses (of course) so I get to see some real stunners – as well of course some real horrors but that does keep things in perspective.

At present I have some really interesting ongoing searches and yesterday I saw a house that I would happily have moved into there and then. It had everything that would put it in the bracket of dream French property; hundreds of years of history, built from beautiful stone, immaculately restored, outbuildings still in their original state, south facing, numerous terraces including a roof terrace, a stunning view of the mountains, lovely garden, completely private but at the edge of a village . It even had an office in the tower exactly my size (read, small).

In such a situation I allow myself five minutes of fantasy and then step back again to become the eyes of my clients. Happily, this one ticked every box for a current search brief and, although over their budget, I have some insider information which means I know that there is a deal to be done. It is a great feeling finding the perfect house for a client, especially as this is just one of a list of eight houses meeting all their criteria that I can now show them on their imminent viewing trip.

Real life story - growing up in France

This week I am delighted to have a guest blogger. I know for many of my clients, one of their biggest worries about moving to France is how their children will cope with the upheaval. Well, it is half term here in France and so it seems an appropriate time to hear it from the horse’s mouth; the real life story of a 15 year old who moved to France when she was six. I think she has turned out fantastically – but then I might be biased as today’s excellent blog is written by my eldest daughter, uncut and unedited (just to prove that English children can keep up their written English when they move to France):

"wave bye-bye to england darling". It was sunny but cold and windy the day that my family and I started our journey to southern France. I was six years old. My primary school teachers had got rather fed up about hearing about my moving to France, especially as we were having one of those grey and rainy disappointing English springs. They were probably very relieved to wave good bye to me on my last day. I, on the other hand, was extremely excited and only felt the tiniest pang of sadness as the white cliffs of Dover melted into the distance.

The car journey was long and boring and it was dark by the time we reached the house we would be renting until we found our own. We moved at the beginning of July and for the next few months I remember long hot days followed by stormy nights that cleared the air. I remember that it was a huge lifestyle change; my parents seemed to give me lots more freedom which, I realised later, was because there were fewer risks; it was safer. My siblings and I would disappear all day into the woods and forests only venturing home when we were hungry or to hot and wanted to go swimming. Once a week we would be forced out of our grubby shorts and have to accompany our parents round the local markets. Very often a golden "pain au chocolat" and a glass of Orangina in the cafe would have to be used as a bribe to tear us away from our dens and adventures. When the heat became too much to bear for us Notherners, along came the winter bringing frosty mornings, icy roads and occasionally snow. Finally when signs of spring started to appear and the French people decided it was time to come out of hibernation, my parents brought a house a couple of hours away. It was amazing, so much bigger than anything we had expected with even more space for us to discover but before that it was time to start French school!

The area where we rented a house had been full of English people and as a result I had been speaking English at school and had not learnt much of the French language. Our new school, hidden away in the still undiscovered (by the English at least) Ariège did not look like a school in any way, in fact it could have been someone's house. There were only twenty children in the whole school who shared a single teacher. There were only five other pupils in my class. No one spoke a word of English. However thanks to a few gestures and simple words I soon understood the way things worked. The other children were all very nice and, as the first foreigner most of them had ever met, I was the centre of attention. A couple of them happened not live in my hamlet and very soon I was out and about on my by bike surrounded by friends. After only six months of going to school I could have a fluent conversation with a French person who wouldn't know that French was not my mother tongue until I mentioned it.

The best things about growing up in France has definitely been all the sporting possibilities such as learning to ski, swimming, cycling, horseback riding, kayaking and so much more. I have also really enjoyed the freedom we are granted, being able to go outside and to be free to do whatever we want. I do not regret my parent’s decision to move us all out to France. It is an amazing thing to tell anyone about. My friends back in England ask me endless questions and then tell me how perfect my lifestyle sounds and how lucky I am. To that I always have the same response: I nod my head and say:"yes, I love my life!" 

Snow - yes please, bring it on

Bagneres de Luchon

One of the many things I love about living in view of the Pyrenees is that, while the rest of France is currently moaning about the miserable winter weather, here in the foothills we are celebrating. A cold, rainy day here means that it is snowing buckets up in the mountains and thus everyone has one eye on the weather forecast, just waiting for the next sunny day - when, there will be lots of crosses in diaries, marked with the word SKI.

What could be better than taking a day off to go up into the mountains and mess around in fresh snow under clear blue skies, stopping for hot chocolate or mulled wine pour se rechauffer? Bliss. And even for those people who don’t ski, there are lots of places to hire snow shoes for a snowy walk in a winter wonderland or simply just enjoy the views and fresh mountain air from a sunny terrace.

Yesterday I was in the mountain town of Bagnères de Luchon after two days of snow; the whole place was white and sparkling in the sunshine - it was magical. And the views, as I drove around on my latest property search, were breathtaking. I have said this before, but on a day like this, I really do think this must be the best place in the world to live – but don’t tell anyone.

What Triple AAA Rating?

While much of the rest of the world seems preoccupied with the loss of France’s triple AAA rating, here, in the Ariege and Haute Garonne, the whole subject has been dismissed by the locals as utterly irrelevant. Not that it hasn’t been discussed – the French love a good debate – but for people here, nothing much has really changed since the economic crisis began; beautifully illustrated I thought by this chap in his car reading the local paper who has clearly seen much worse and knows that life goes on.

Of course this area is feeling the pinch like everywhere;  fuel is more expensive - but people here don’t drive very far; gas and oil prices are up too but the majority of locals here spend their summers cutting and laying down wood for their fires and wood burners so that hasn’t really effected them either. Food is perhaps more expensive but not if you grow and produce your own. The price of an espresso is still generally seen as exorbitant although it hasn’t much changed in the last ten years – and I have never known a group of people more adept at spending quite so long drinking quite such a small beverage!

I guess if you didn’t have the highs of the 90’s excesses, then neither do you have the lows of the current economic crisis; the people in this area have always lived simply and put far more importance on family, friends, good food and quality of life than they have on shiny new cars, designer homes or gadgets which means that life continues its gentle pace, almost unchanged, as it has done for many hundreds of years.  I’m certainly not complaining – there is nothing like a wander around the market talking to the stall holders about a local cheese or the best way to prepare leeks - and then a sit down in the local café eavesdropping on the discussions of the day to slow down the heart rate and put life into perspective. 

Happy New Year and Bonne Année – is 2012 the year to make your dreams come true?

Despite the current financial climate, 2011 was a busy year for me. One significant change I noticed in the last 12 months was an increase in clients from far-flung parts of the world including Australia, America, the Middle East and South Africa with fewer from the UK and European countries. I have also noticed an increasing number of clients of British origin but who have been living overseas and want to move back to Europe but would rather move back to France than return to Britain.

I imagine that one of the main reasons for the drop in buyers from the UK is the weak pound which also helps to explain the increase in Australian clients who have been enthusing about how cheap property is in France thanks to the strength of the Australian dollar. Of course foreign buyers are also more used to employing buying agents; certainly in Australia, America and South Africa it is normal to employ a professional to assist in what is usually the biggest purchase you will ever make, whereas in the UK, only millionaires seem to employ property finders. Plus, there are even more organizational difficulties of buying a home from a distance – and the further the distance, the more difficult it can seem with a combination of time zones, the language barrier, an unfamiliar legal system and the very different customs and way the French have of doing business in general. For example, some of the agents I deal with here don’t even have websites and a large majority of people in France also sell their property privately by putting up a sign outside and perhaps a notice in the local post office.

Combine this with the fact that most of my buyers are time-strapped and cannot afford to be hopping on a plane every few weeks to look at properties that turn out not to meet their requirements, and it makes sense to hire a professional to take the strain and to negotiate the very best deal. All of my clients tell me that I have saved them money by doing all the time-consuming ground work and eliminating all the unsuitable properties so that they can come over for just one viewing trip knowing that all the properties I show them will meet the criteria they have given me and they will simply have to choose the one they prefer. What’s more, I aim to take all the stress and hassle out of the procedure so that it becomes an enjoyable experience and they end up with exactly what they want because I am working for them and not the seller.

Of course, another reason for increasing world-wide interest in property here is that France and particularly South West France is seen as an investment safe-haven, perhaps because the buying process in France is so well regulated, meaning that international buyers feel secure investing in property here. In addition, mortgage interest rates in France are at their lowest level since the Second World War and there is a reassuring long-standing stability in the French property market provided by the dominance of fixed rate mortgages (over 80%) which means that the housing market seems less prone to sharp ups and downturns. 

Perhaps more importantly, despite the global financial crisis, people from all over the world still want to buy in this part of France; at the end of the day, it is not just about market stability, return on investment or sensible bank lending in France, it is because many of us just love the country, the culture and the quality of life here (and the weather of course) and are happy to invest in a beautiful, well built and well priced French home.  A safe haven doesn’t come much more secure or enjoyable than South West France.

And some great news to start off 2012; the Euro is at the lowest it has been for 15 months which is great for anyone transferring money from other currencies to invest in French property. So it looks like 2012 might be a good year for everyone and anyone dreaming of a home in France. I look forward to finding lots more fabulous  properties for my clients, wherever they come from, in the coming year. Bonne année, bonne santé et bonheur à tous.

Goodwill to all - even French estate agents

As it is Christmas, I thought I should sprinkle some goodwill over that much maligned species, the French estate agent. Most of my clients cannot understand how estate agents here in France can justify their commission of between 5 and 10% and I certainly know of agents who do not deserve to earn such large fees; these are the agents who never bother to return calls or emails, organize viewings of completely unsuitable properties and then wipe their hands of buyers the minute the Compromis is signed. These are the worst examples and I have learned from experience (and countless wasted viewings) who these agents are in my region and I do not use them – nor do I need to work with them as, in almost all cases, any property they have on their books will also be on the books of other agents. Conversely, I have built up an excellent network of very hard-working, proactive and extremely helpful agents who spend huge amounts of time and effort in helping me to find exactly the right property for my clients.

While the basic job of the estate agent in France and those in other parts of the world is essentially the same, in practice the role, workload and responsibility can actually be very different and there are reasons why agents here charge a higher commission:

Firstly, French estate agents do more work for each sale than their foreign counterparts and have a legally defined role in law which often includes drawing up the official Compromis de Vente before passing it to the Notaire and thus they have far more legal responsibility. In France, the agent also has a much closer link with all parties and has liability working as a professionally intermediary, liaising between them to make sure that the Notaire can process the sale efficiently and will even be there at the final signing to help with translation and to advise on the legal formalities and iron out any last minute problems.

Secondly, French estate agents have a much closer relationship with the seller and will work very closely with them and spend a great deal of time marketing their property over many months. In many countries, the agent will often carry out just one visit to a property to take all the initial details and that might well be the end of their direct involvement with seller with most subsequent communication taking place by phone or email. In France on the other hand, the agent will personally do every viewing with any potential buyer and once things come to negotiation stages, many of the agents I work with actually go to see the seller face-to-face to discuss each offer and the terms at each stage. Often however,  even after all this work and outlay of time, the agent is quite likely to see the sale go to another agent while they ultimately earn nothing for all their time and effort.

Thirdly, the French move house less frequently than in many countries so the volume of transactions is much smaller but the French population is dispersed over a much larger area than say Britain which means that accompanying buyers on viewings is vastly more time-consuming and expensive for agents here than it would be in the UK. Furthermore, it can also be a very frustrating job because an agent can only sell the property they have on their books so, however good and helpful they may be, if they get a potential buyer looking for something they just do not have for sale, there is very little they can do. Conversely, in my role as property finder, at least I am able to work with lots of different agents as well as Notaires and private sellers so that I have a far wider pool of properties from which to track down the perfect house for my clients.

Fourthly there are a far greater number of checks and tests that have to be done on a property in France before it can be sold and much of this extra information has to be organized and collated by the French agent. The proper checks have to be carried out for asbestos, lead, beetle and termites as well as tests covering such issues as electrical and gas connections, septic tanks and energy efficiency. Plus, most of the agents I work with will help the new owners with the reconnection of services such as water and electricity and remain available to answer questions in the days or weeks after the final documents have been signed.

Finally, it is always worth always keeping in mind that the majority of agents you will deal with in France are actually Agents Commercial which means that they are effectively self-employed and so do not receive a regular salary - the commission they make on a property is all they earn – and in reality it is often far less than the stated commission because this is then shared between the owner of the agency and their colleagues. Plus, pity the poor agents that work with me as, more often than not, I ask the agents to lower their fees in order to reach the best possible deal for my clients and hence they earn a lot less than their advertised commission on any sale I bring them. So it can be a thankless job and, despite what you might hear, I certainly do not deal with many wealthy french estate agents driving Mercedes.

So this is by way of a thank you to all the agents who have helped me find some fantastic properties for my clients this year. I look forward to working with you in 2012.

What is it about France?

In the last few weeks I have been very busy with clients out here viewing their short-lists of properties I have found for them and they all want to know what it is that makes France such a great place to live. This is a difficult question to answer because there is not really just one specific thing that I can tell them; it is more a question of lots of lovely aspects of living here which add up to what for us is a very good quality of life. So I thought I would run through some of those little things that have made up my week this week and most weeks and never fail to remind me what it is that is so lovely about living here:

1. Yesterday, after two days of rain I opened the shutters to blue skies and fresh snow on the mountains.

2. And it was Wednesday so I got to spend the afternoon with my children (no school in France on Wednesday afternoons)

3. My neighbour turned up with a huge pumpkin she thought I would like (and lots of suggestions as to how to prepare it!)

4. Today I got to sit outside in the sun and eat my lunch – working day or not, the French live to eat not to work (and it’s still possible to have a great three course meal for around 10 Euros)

5. The local towns have just started putting up a few Christmas trees and the local school children have begun to make decorations for them. This is as about as commercial as Christmas gets around here which is just fine by me.

6. Everywhere I’ve been today, I have bumped into somebody I know and they all are happy to stop and say hello. I also know all my neighbours by name and they know me which is probably one of the reasons we feel part of the community here.

7. When I went in to buy my baguette this morning, everyone in the shop said bonjour, au revoir and wished me a good day. It was the same in the bank, the chemist and at the children’s school.

8. And when I pick my teenage children up from school, their friends come up and peck me on the cheek. Girls do the same when they greet each other and the boys shake hands. My younger children kiss their teacher hello and goodbye. How civilised.

9. Most days I get to walk the dog in the fields behind the house – today I saw two deer, numerous red kites and kestrels and a red squirrel. Sometimes we spot eagles, owls and even once a pole cat. The farmers don’t use pesticides here and we have predominantly meadow, full of wildflowers and wildlife.

10. The ski resorts are about to open and soon we will be able to spend our weekends on the ski slopes.

11. Nobody locks their doors here

12. The owner of the cafe where I often have my morning caffeine shot, told me that my coffee was on him today.

13. I can do most of my weekly food shop at the local market where everything is uncertified organic (not ones for bureaucracy here!), very fresh (hours old, not days or even weeks) and very local – everyone at market comes from within a few kilometres radius.

14. Everything shuts on Sundays – family and friends are king here not the supermarkets

15. Oh and I get to look around lovely houses and explore new areas on a daily basis and meet lots of interesting people.

There are many many other reasons that make me happy to live here but these are just some of the small events that make up my week and make me smile.