The Dumb Way To Attempt Buying A House In France
Buying a house in France is a serious business for anyone. Whether you're selling up lock, stock and barrel and moving to France permanently, or you're well-off enough to be looking for a French holiday home, the expense is still great.
So why do we notice so many individuals treat buying a house in France with so little brains? It's not a pair of shoes - you can't take it back if it doesn't fit right!
Yet frequently we hear the same nightmares. Someone who has bought a French house without thinking and is now beginning to find problems. Who are these individuals? They must be quite rich to just wander around buying French property as the fancy takes them.
The crazy thing is, nothing could be further from the truth. Often - in fact more often than not - these are people putting their life savings, their whole future, into their French dream house.
And a shocking number of them haven't got a clue. They've done very little research, they don't speak any French and they've sought no professional advice.
Then when things go amiss they start whining about the system, the language, the French, the agent... just about anything and everything is to blame bar themselves. They treated buying a house in France like purchasing a lottery ticket and now they're complaining because their outside gamble didn't pay off!
Now maybe you think I'm being a bit far-fetched. I'm not. I know people who you would think of as extremely sensible and careful who signed an agreement to buy a French property while on vacation. They weren't even looking for a home when they left England but they fell in love with the place.
What they were shocked to find was that by the time they got back to the UK ten days after, getting out of the deal would cost them 12,000 Euros.
I can give you another example of a couple who bought a French property to live in part and turn the rest into gites. They wildly underestimated the renovation costs (because they didn't ask) and now live in a place that needs a new roof. They can't finish the work so they've only got small pensions to live off. The house is in a bad way so they can't afford to sell and return to England either.
It's all very unfortunate, really. I hear one of these horrors about every other month and it's such a pity. Now I'm no saint, I've made plenty of errors myself living over here and renovating an old French property, but luckily my misjudgements have been only minor because I've undoubtedly checked and double checked the large things.
Which is, when you strip it back to basics, all everyone has to do.
The French property market offers a wealth of opportunities and buying a house in France is neither particularly tough nor particularly involved. The problem is that unless you're French or you've had French property before it IS new to you. There will be things you haven't though of before. There will be things that don't go quite according to plan.
The main thing is to get a degree of knowledge behind you. Search the internet, buy a book or two, ask questions - and don't leave off until you're comfortable with the answers.
France is a great place to live but it's not dreamland and miracles don't happen. If you rush around blindly in the French property market you will find trouble. Do your homework wisely and buying a house in France will be a delight - which is what it should be and what I wish for everyone who comes here.
About Author:
Jeff Seems is an Englishman living in France. He is author of The French Property Buyer's Guide which is vital reading for anyone thinking of buying a house in France.
|