Best Places to Buy a Home in France
Joe Laredo
The Best Places to Buy a Home in France is essential reading for anyone planning to buy property in France, and is designed to help you avoid costly mistakes and save endless hours researching local property prices and availability. It is the most comprehensive and up to date source of information available for anyone wishing to explore the property market in France before buying a home, and also includes important information about local amenities and services. Whether you are seeking a holiday or a permanent home, or buying for investment, business or pleasure, The Best Places to Buy a Home in France will guide you every step of the way.
Download the first 25 pages FREE now (including the Table of Contents), and see for yourself the wealth of priceless information this book contains! It's packed with comprehensive, up-to-date, accurate information, facts and figures, and 'insider’ tips, all written and presented in the ‘easy to read and understand’ style for which Survival Books are famous. Our books will save you weeks or months of research, answer hundreds of questions – including many you hadn’t even thought of – and help you avoid problems and save money!
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Other guides for France
Extracts from the book…
Climate
When consulting climate charts, don’t forget to factor in the altitude of your chosen area – inland high areas tend to be cooler in winter and warmer in summer. For example, when it’s 25C on the coast, it could be a mere 15C 1,000m up in the hills behind. Mountains and hills also attract cloud and rain (and sometimes thunderstorms), while river valleys can be foggy and flat land can be windy (which can be a disadvantage in winter but a boon in summer, when the breeze keeps you cool). Thunderstorms (often violent) are prevalent in the south-east but can cause power cuts and even fires in other parts of the country.
You should also bear in mind both the winter and summer climate of your chosen region, the average daily amount of sunshine, the rainfall and wind conditions. Generally, the eastern half of the country (excluding the Mediterranean coast) experiences sub-zero temperatures in winter and the southern half long periods of temperatures over 30C in the summer. The Pyrenees are an exception to both these patterns. The driest part of France is a swathe stretching from Lille to Nantes; the wettest parts are Finistère and mountainous regions, although these statistics refer to the total annual rainfall and not to the number of days’ rain (rain can come in short, heavy bursts in the mountains).
The orientation or aspect of a building is vital, and if you want morning or afternoon sun (or both) you must ensure that balconies, terraces and gardens are facing the right direction (take a compass when house hunting).
An obvious point, but one that’s often overlooked, is that the climate
largely determines the type of plants you can grow, including grass and vegetables. If you’re a keen gardener, you should make a note of what you will and won’t be able to cultivate in a particular area.
Town or Country?
Do you wish to be in a town or do you prefer the country? Inland or by the sea? How about living on an island? Life on an island is more restricted and remote, e.g. you cannot jump into your car and drive to Lyon or Paris or ‘pop’ over the border into Andorra, Spain, Italy or Switzerland. Bear in mind that if you buy a property in the country you will have to tolerate poor (or non-existent) public transport, long travelling distances to a town of any size, solitude and remoteness, and the high cost and amount of work involved in the upkeep of a country house and garden. You may not be able to walk to the local shop for fresh bread or to the local bar for a glass of your favourite tipple, or have a choice of restaurants on your doorstep. In a town or large village, the weekly market will be just around the corner, the doctor and chemist’s close at hand, and if you need help or run into any problems, your neighbours will be near by.
On the other hand, in the country you will be closer to nature, will have more freedom (e.g. to make as much noise as you wish) and possibly complete privacy, e.g. to sunbathe or swim au naturel. Living in a remote area in the country will suit those looking for peace and quiet who don’t want to involve themselves in the ‘hustle and bustle’ of town life (not that there’s a lot of this in French rural towns). If you’re seeking peace and quiet, make sure that there isn’t a busy road or railway line nearby or a local church within ‘donging’ distance. Note, however, that many people who buy a remote country home find that the peace of the countryside palls after a time
and they yearn for the more exciting city or coastal life. If you’ve never lived in the country, it’s wise to rent before buying. Note also that while it’s cheaper to buy in a remote or unpopular location, it’s usually much more difficult to find a buyer when you want to sell.
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Free PDF Sample
PRICE: £12.95
PUBLICATION: November 2007
EDITION: 2nd
PAGES: 480
BINDING: paperback
SIZE: A5 (210mm x 148mm)
COLOUR PHOTOS: 40
