Phillip Temple

You are looking at around 5,000e/m2 for a 30m2 one bed with 8m2 terrace in a residence with pool in Golfe Juan. There is no particular % of asking, it very much depends on each case. If the price is below then I would not negotiate too hard as there is a major shortage of properties under 200k around here at the moment. I sell any decent property in that price range within a couple of days of it coming onto the market. If you feel it is over-priced then put in a low offer. You may well lose it to somebody that is prepared to pay over the odds but that is better than paying a price you aren't comfortable with. I only deal with apartments in Nice, so cannot comment specifically on Golfe Juan, but can tell you that yield should be at least 5%. Any less and you are getting a poor deal. Get 7-8% and you have a bargain. Usually it falls in between. The property management companies usually take around 25% of revenue for seasonal rentals. Some may claim less, but they hide the extra by for example billing cleaning on top. Did you choose Golfe Juan for any particular reason? I could understand if for personal use, but it seems odd to pick a rental property in an area that's absolutely dead outside of July/August. Phillip.

davig is correct in saying things haven't really changed in getting a mortgage. The same rules are in place, you can borrow up to 85% of the purchase price and repayments cannot exceed 1/3 of your NET income (ie after tax and outgoings such as credit cards and other mortgages). Interest rates have risen quite a lot, from 3.2% around 4 years ago to 6% today. However, he is not correct that it will be impossible to sell via an agency as property here is selling via agencies quite happily. The overall number of people selling has fallen drastically, hence the FNAIM warning a large number of estate agents are going bust. I do not know about the Narbonne market, being based in Nice, but 146k sounds a good price point for both locals and foreign buyers. It sounds like you have the right approach, publicising via both agencies and private means. The agencies should be charging 5% inc VAT but maybe if you have a difficult to sell apartment they can get away with more. Put it with at least half a dozen different agencies, creating a mailing list and mail them each week asking how visits are going, and then after a short while threaten to cancel the mandate unless they publicise it online (eg via seloger). Also advertise in the Narbonne freebie papers, something like ParaVendu. I also think creating a web page for the property is a worthwhile idea but your gumtree advert is already very good and will hopefully do the job. Phillip.

Hi Felix, contact me via the Med In Heaven web site. I know more about the Nice market than anybody else, including the estate agencies. I also know all the Monaco estate agents, but buying in Monaco is very different. There are certain laws you need to be aware of. We can meet up either in Monaco or Nice on Tuesday late afternoon for a drink if you like? I will be more than happy to tell you everything you need to know. Phillip.

Maitre can apply either to a lawyer or a Notaire, neither of which are qualified to judge whether you are of unsound mind. Your personal relationship with your family does not have any effect on your legal rights so it sounds like a bizarre bullying tactic. I would not worry about what has happened until now as the French inheritance rights are quite fixed. No will can supercede it and you would have to explicitly waive your rights which you obviously have not done. I would strongly advise getting your own Notaire, rather than a lawyer, who will be able to help enforce your legal rights. Keep the lawyer on stand-by in case your father's Notaire has done something legally dubious (this is rare) as one Notaire will not want to act against another Notaire, however you are unlikely to need your lawyer. Keep a file with all letters received but do not write any more yourself. Pass all the paperwork onto your Notaire and let him take care of everything. If you receive any more calls or letters then write a simple letter stating that all your French property affairs are handled by your Notaire (give name and address). Send this letter registered delivery to the recipient, and also pass the receipt and a copy of the letter to your Notaire. If the property is on the French Riviera then I can put you in contact with a Notaire that will look after you. Contact me on 0208 002 8712, or via our web site http://www.medinheaven.co.uk/. Best to do that first week of September as all the Notaires are on holiday at the moment. Best of luck, Phillip.

Hi rosebarn, it would help everybody if you could tell us where your property is. picnic makes the rather random prediction that prices are going to drop 15% then start going up again in 2 years, but from what I have been reading each area in France is reacting differently. The Cote d'Azur seems to be rising very slowly, yet in the south-west I have been reading of a standard offer being 20% below asking. Your anecdotal evidence could help us get an idea what is happening in your area. I know the developers in my area have been reacting sharply. An HSBC report I read recently predicted new builds were in over-supply by about 15% and were expected to drop in price by 10% by end 2009 until the excess is soaked up. All the major players renovating apartments in Nice sold all their products months ago and are not doing any more. In fact they are trying to offload the last of their products 'as-is' in their un-renovated state. Now would be a good time if anyone wants to take on a 'project' as (i) you could pick up a good deal off a developer and (ii) you are no longer in competition with the local developers as un-renovated products come onto the market. Phillip.

I work for one of the English-speaking property services in Nice, Med In Heaven. Personally I think Nice is going to be slow but steady over the next year. The English are the main foreign buyers here and the drop in sterling has had a strong psychological impact. We have less enquiries than usual at the moment and some clients are hesitating as they wait to see what the sterling will do next. However sales remain relatively steady and prices are still creeping up. I would say our clients have evolved from a split between investors looking to buy-to-let and those wanting a second home toward more the latter. librarising mentioned that the rental prices they saw years ago still appear to be the same today. I feel this is true for long-term rentals and it seems immune to the laws of supply and demand. A good long-term rental property is actually quite hard to find here. They are definitely being depressed by low wages and high unemployment. Most foreign buyers do seasonal lets as you can rent per week what you would normally charge per month for long-term (plus you avoid the problems caused by French law over-protecting long-term tenants). There was a burst of buy-to-let coming on the market a few years ago and it is more competitive than it used to be, but despite that one rental agent I was chatting to last week told me he was so over-booked he started charging summer rates from February and was still fully booked until October. Possibly other agents will have different stories as the quality varies greatly. Some are just downright lazy. Would I recommend currently investing in Nice? I would say yes only in that I do not see that much has changed for those that wish to invest in here. People that buy here tend to because they like the place. Those wanting high capital appreciation will invest in higher-risk countries such as Bulgaria. It does not give the best yield in the world as regards rentals, it is pretty average. However it gives reasonable returns on both, and is safe and steady. I would say that if you like Nice then it is still a safe investment you can thoroughly enjoy, prices will slow but I doubt they will drop, and can let out easily whenever you need to cover costs. Take your time and try and pick up a bargain. I do not think the market will really start picking up again until after September, when English investors have seen whether sterling has stabilised or not. Do not be afraid to put in a low offer and make the owner sweat a bit. The agencies are starting to panic a bit here and will be anxious to make the sale. You can use this to your advantage. Finally do not take an estate agents word on whether somewhere is a good buy to let here, talk directly to a rental agency that you would actually use for a realistic appraisal. Feel free to get in contact with us if you have any questions. Phillip.