buying property

Looking to buy property ?

Property prices in the Creuse have risen over the past five years but still represent better value than most parts of France and certainly you get a lot more bangs per buck than in the UK and the local taxes are only a small percentage of the UK Community Charge.

For day to day living, electricity is a bit more expensive than in the UK and so electric heating can be prohibitive especially if the property is not well insulated. For central heating, the preferred option if oil (Fioul/Mazout) although wood burning systems are effective if you have plenty of timber although a more labour intensive option . Gas, in rural areas is the bottled variety and can, again, be expensive to run.

Since 2002 quite a few of our visitors loved the area and we are delighted that more than 40 of them have now bought houses in this region some as holiday homes but the majority to live permanently.

Presumably you have done some searching from home and have already looked at the websites which we would recommend, in order of preference they are:- www.notaires.fr, www.fnaim.fr www.vertbleu-immo.com and www.fralimo.com.

When you are here, we would recommend the following courses of action :-

1)Visit the local Notaire in Bourganeuf, a partner called Aurelie deals with property and she keeps details of many more than they have on show on their noticeboard and as a bonus, she speaks english.

2)Look in the local free ad papers, AS Creuse and Le23, both of which are available in a number of shops and offices throughout Creuse and haute Vienne..

3)Look on the Supermarket notice boards and when driving round in the more rural areas keep an eye out for private ‘A VENDRE’ signs. If you see a run down property that interests you and looks uncared for, the best source of information regarding ownership is the local Mairie.

Check that the property has mains drainage or an acceptable ‘Fosse Septique’ sewage system otherwise budget for around 3,000€ for a new one to be installed. Making a lower offer is often acceptable but the odd old fashioned owner may not budge on price. It usually takes from 3 to 6 months from initial offer acceptance to full ownership and sometimes longer.

The advantage of buying through a Notaire is that you will save the agency fee. In our experience, the same house advertised by the Notaire and by an agency can be often up to 3000€ cheaper through the Notaire.

When you do sign for your new house, do introduce yourselves to the local Maire. The French Mairie is not like UK council offices. Whilst they deal with similar issues including planning consent, it is also the local "citizen's advice bureau". The Maire himself or herself is usually approachable and knowledgeable about what is going on in his commune and is usually very helpful in providing advice and assistance. They will appreciate that you have taken the time to introduce yourself.

Please don’t hesitate to ask us. If we don’t know the answer ourselves, we probably do know someone who does.

If you need to look on the internet when here, we charge 1€ per 15 minutes for up to 1 hour at a time. Alternatively, there are internet cafes in both Bourganeuf and Peyrat le Chateau.