[Wannabe]

Agentimmo, on May 7 2009, 10:41 AM, said:

If the man is self-employed and not a forced seller, then he's going to take his time. Check with him every 3 months to see if he relents....but don't contact him during the summer as he's probably expecting some bids at this period as this is very much the most active time of the French market. Sept/October is when reality tends to set in.....

Unfortunately he's just retired as the village plumber. Sold his business to a large outfit in Saintes (17).I get the impression he's willing to let it sit around for quite some time... Bit of a shame really as it is a good sized building (350m2 over 2 floors) and a large plot (5500m2)

As for you initial offer...yes, that figure seems about right. But only if you really want to buy in the next 6-9 months. Patience in the French rural/semi-rural market pays. Come the end of 2009, when all these Brit owners still can't sell after > 1 yr on the market, they will drop the price. And the exchange rate will play a part. 3 months ago, it was near parity. Now the rate has risen 10% (reducing any currency profit by 10%). If the pound continues to strengthen, sellers might be prepared to cut further to ensure a sale at a "better" rate. If we get back to £1=1.25€, that's quite a hit.

Very true - my local English plasterer has given up the idea of selling and moving further south to the Biarritz-Pau area. He's now thinking of offering on the wreck that stands next to his place in order to rebuild and rent out.

As an aside, what sort of value would you put on a woodland plot of around 2500m2 which is heavily overgrown? We have one that adjoins our land and it would be great to buy and use for recreational purposes. Also, it would turn our large L-shaped plot into a nice large square one...

[donquixote44]

Hi

My family have wanted to move to France. Wife is 1st language french speaker, mine OK and we wanted something in the SW. Not too rural but with a little bit of space for the kids. Can save a bit of money as lucky enough to not have mortgage payments to worry about in the UK but was wondering about the market. Can anyone give me advice on this? I'd be looking to spend 200-250K max. There is quite a bit online but really unsure! If anyone can help with any detail I'd be most grateful!

Thanks

Erwin44

[whiterabbit]

donquixote44, on May 8 2009, 02:40 PM, said:

Hi

My family have wanted to move to France. Wife is 1st language french speaker, mine OK and we wanted something in the SW. Not too rural but with a little bit of space for the kids. Can save a bit of money as lucky enough to not have mortgage payments to worry about in the UK but was wondering about the market. Can anyone give me advice on this? I'd be looking to spend 200-250K max. There is quite a bit online but really unsure! If anyone can help with any detail I'd be most grateful!

Thanks

Erwin44

You really need to go and rent for 6 months first, don't buy anything without doing this first.

[Agentimmo]

whiterabbit, on May 8 2009, 03:05 PM, said:

You really need to go and rent for 6 months first, don't buy anything without doing this first.

Agree 100% with that advice, mon ami.

Also, for the original poster, he could have a look at the other French property thread on this topic

http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/forum/ind...showtopic=68107

He'll get a lot of useful info from this link.

[donquixote44]

Thanks for all the good advice. I'll take a look.

Best wishes

Erwin44

[this_prisoner_is_opting_out]

Smog, on May 6 2009, 03:50 PM, said:

One really telling sight was a home-made "for sale" sign for a 4 bed detached villa on 25 ares between St. Maxime and Grimaud - now if people are resorting to this for "prime" property like that it must be getting bad.

This isn't unusual at all on the continent. Did it last year myself, put the sign up at 7am, first phonecall at 9am! Why pay agent's fees?

[Smog]

this_prisoner_is_opting_out, on May 9 2009, 06:30 PM, said:

This isn't unusual at all on the continent. Did it last year myself, put the sign up at 7am, first phonecall at 9am! Why pay agent's fees?

I've lived in France for 6 years and its bloody unusual around my parts, in fact, unheard of.... the sign I saw was in a very up-market part of the CDA, was speaking to some people who live in that area at the weekend, even the die-hards are accepting drops of 15% which will only increase come autumn.

[Yakubu22]

Hello everyone,

I'm completely new here and had a general question. Given the decline in French house prices generally recently, how has Nice fared?
Has anyone noticed a slowdown and is there a rough % change in the average price.
I'm interested in buying around the Vieux Nice (or touristy) area and was looking at studios or 1/2 bed aparts. Given what I have read from some of the bears on this forum I am interested on what people think i should do (ie. should i wait till the end of the year to buy and what average % discount to ask for off a property)

Very grateful if anyone with experience/knowledge could reply.

Thanks,
Y

[felix]

Yakubu22, on May 12 2009, 12:14 PM, said:

I'm completely new here and had a general question. Given the decline in French house prices generally recently, how has Nice fared?

You are not the only one interested!
Home owners better not know this, as none of them is willing to drop their prices yet.
Most people I talk to (that do not want to sell their own property), tell me to wait till October.
You will read similar stuff on this forum.

[Yakubu22]

Thanks for that! One of my follow up questions was going to be is there a Land Registry type database were stats are published from. I now know this is not the case.
I know loads of immobilier websites for the Nice area and yes prices do seem very expensive.

Do people know if sellers (in the Nice area) are more willing to negotiate and offer reasonable discounts from their list price?

Also, does anyone know if there are any Bank/Euro mortgage lender websites that allow you to see what mortgage rate/terms are avalaible? I've been on BNP Paribas but cant find any of their rates publsihed for any of their mortgage products.

Thanks again

[Agentimmo]

Yakubu22, on May 12 2009, 02:13 PM, said:

Thanks for that! One of my follow up questions was going to be is there a Land Registry type database were stats are published from. I now know this is not the case.
I know loads of immobilier websites for the Nice area and yes prices do seem very expensive.

Do people know if sellers (in the Nice area) are more willing to negotiate and offer reasonable discounts from their list price?

Also, does anyone know if there are any Bank/Euro mortgage lender websites that allow you to see what mortgage rate/terms are avalaible? I've been on BNP Paribas but cant find any of their rates publsihed for any of their mortgage products.

Thanks again

Give the EA a miss. Go direct to the seller.

WWW.PAP.FR

then click on the English language flag.
Any prices you see can/should be negotiated down. Start at -30% and see how you fare.

[Yakubu22]

Agentimmo, on May 12 2009, 02:42 PM, said:

Give the EA a miss. Go direct to the seller.

WWW.PAP.FR

then click on the English language flag.
Any prices you see can/should be negotiated down. Start at -30% and see how you fare.

Thanks, I have already seen that site. But it is very useful! You really think sellers will negotiate that much from their list price?

Any ideas on if there are Bank/Euro mortgage lender websites that allow you to see what mortgage rates are avalaible?