I've just been reading the "Wanted House for sale" thread and it gave me an idea...
How about a dedicated place on SFN for members to advertise (entirely FOC) properties for sale and wanted? Or even properties to be exchanged or swapped? If this proves popular we can look at placing the threads in a dedicated part of the site but for now please simply add your properties in the blog post below. That way we can gauge the amount of interest.
This service is for private sales ONLY. It doesn't necessarily need to be your property - it can be your friend Suzy's nephew's cousin Fred's house but....NO agents please.
Don't forget to add nice photos and as much information as possible and keep it in ONE post - that way you will get much more interest.
Hi there. We are selling our house (with a new agent) and he already has 2 very promising potential buyers. As soon as we sell it (in the UK) we are looking to move to France and rent long term until we find a suitable property. Minimum 6 months maybe up to 1 or 2 years. The region we are looking in is from Duras - Bergerac - Villereal - Cancon region. We are familiar with these areas and are looking for somewhere nice with schools (the house can be remote as we are remote in the UK with the nearest shop, etc. over 5 miles away). Does anybody know of a house that may meet our requirements? We have 2 small children, 1 year and 3 and a half years. We are in the process of opening a bank account on line and are just sourcing all the details required (I may be posting questions soon!). I have reviewed information over the last 2-3 years so am quite aware of the 'pros and cons' but all information gratefully received. Many thanks - I look forward to hearing from you.
We will probably have our spare small 3-bed cottage available to rent through the winter here in Poitou-Charente....what is the going rate for this at the moment for ,eg, a 6 month max let?
Hi Vanessa, we have our UK house for sale and would be interested in a long term rental (6-12 mos) while we house hunt/do work on new house, as soon as we sell up in the UK, keep me posted please.Liz
I would say yes - if you are ready to sell ie no unfinished jobs / decor etc
Village properties are a very good option for a holiday home if the village has shops & the all important boulangerie .
You may also attract full time residents who need a smaller easy manageable house.
Lots of people are looking at the lot area (pardon the pun ) as an alternative to Dordogne.
AS well as the agency route you may consider le bon coin which has been very well discussed on forums like this , but only if you are confident talking on the phone in French and are wily enough to weed out the timewasters and dreamers.
Are you in Dept 46 ? which is your main nearby town
Hi Steve (Cormack) We are just south of you in the Lot ... and interested in selling our village house. Do you think it's worth marketing at the moment?
Firstly I should point out that i work in Estate agency with Leggett mainly in Lot et garonne / very south Dordogne and am happy to help anybody in this area with a valuation or any advice on how to effectively market their property.
James - I would say from my experience that you will have a busy sub forum as property is a subject that attracts like few others , I cant however see this developing into anything that will become very relevant to buyers therefore the vendors become disatisfied and will not pay ...
Marketing to the buyers is the challenge and no doubt a costly one , also the buyers are looking to visit multiple properties in their chosen area which again is your challenge in terms of getting enough property on the site very quickly.
Competition is massive.
I pick up mandates all the time from private ads where the owner has paid X euros to go on say green acres or french property.com etc and then after the initial period is up they dont renew as they are not getting enquiries.
Despite all the hype about the euro and UK buyers returning to France it is still very very tough on the ground and buyers are so focused on value and what they get for their budget that any vendor who makes the mistake of being too rigid on price will find they are simply crossed off the list .
I should also say I am not a spokesperson for estate agents or Leggetts .
I am not averse to paying a fair and reasonable amount "for services received" and that has previously included commissions, commitment fees, completion fees and other guises. The component that is really required is "value"...if we are talking about a 'property site' or an estate agent it only really matters on results achieved. Without going into too much detail, that relates to objectives set i.e. ratio of viewings attended vs buyer attained. Anyway, I would welcome more info from Simon who mentions that he specialist gites marketing skills (that's not exactly what he said) since we need to find q buyer quickly - and we are happy to remunerate. I am available to chat 04 67 76 03 37 - Montblanc chambres d'hotes. Regards, Greg
James through my enquiries I’ve been referred to www.housesoninternet.com.com who have an interesting pricing proposal recognising prework of website entry while still retaining a % from any sale generated. I also like their ability to translate one’s entry into other languages as my house is in an area popular with Begians and Dutch.
Our lump of a beloved son is renting our Edinburgh flat at present, and not yet in a position to purchase either it or his own, so for the next 3 years minimum we're stuck with the status quo...on the plus side Edinburgh is very popular and increases in value year on year despite downward trends in the rest of UK.
It's not feasible for our elderly relative to come here fulltime and enter the system, and just as parenthood and the unexpected strength of feelings and ties of that love took our breaths away, it's the same for their children, too. In both cases we'd been warned of the feelings and hadn't fully taken on board it's consequences. Better than the other way round, I guess!
If you sell your UK place soon, before any possible (?) downturn ( or hike in the interest rates, as this will eventually come), you stand to make a good profit....I sold my mid-terrace in S.London/Surrey borders at the end of March 2014 (got two offers on the same day and I thought I was selling at the top of the market). If I had been able to wait another 4/5 months, I'd have made another £50,000 ! Crazy prices.
I had a 'health crisis' over here (shortly after coming over) and spent time in hospital in Bergerac and subsequently went home for a follow up- op. in the UK.
All a lot of unforseen costs (so a big loss to my small renovation budget..drat !)...but at least I know about the very superior healthcare v the UK.....
Can't you persuade your elderly relatives to join you out here ? I'd hate to sacrifice the weather(and other things) in the Dordogne to that of the UK.....
As for the pull of grandchildren...doesn't affect me.....When babysitting (occasionally), my brother's very cute and well-behaved kids....(now much older, so they may come out and visit me).....it was always with a sense of relief that I handed them back. As a secondary school teacher, I've had my fair share of contact with interesting young people, but so far, I'm not missing it.
Neil: that may be how things are done in the UK (I have no idea - never worked there) but in France I can tell you that I instruct the notaire to draft the compromis de vente with no clause suspensive requiring a mortgage. The buyer is confronted with this in front of the notaire. If he wants a mortgage at the last minute ... then he has to come back another day... and the vendor has time to think about it and ditch the buyer.
Thanks for noticing - this site is work in progress at the moment so not advertised anywhere yet!
We have followed several agents advice - we are registered with 7 agents - as to the price which is flexible but we have found that French viewers don't seem to want to negotiate the price or is this just us?
One of the agents showed us how he calculated the price based on the square meterage, age and general condition plus the extras - location (if we were 5kms further south and therefore nearer Pau, the property would be marketed at 10,000 euros more), land size, view of the Pyrenees, etc. Property's here tend to be more individual as they are not built in vast numbers on estates by the big developers as in the UK so it is difficult to gauge the 'right' price.
Simon, how many times on selling houses in the past, eight in the UK, have I been told that the purchaser is a cash buyer and accepted a lower offer, only to find that when it comes to contract time the solicitor turns round and says that they need a mortgage.
Dib-Dib, Hilary ! If/when we do sell here it's with the intention of a downsize to holiday home, and combine the value of our UK place (rented at the mo) with the overspill of euros to re-purchase in UK. Here we tend to meet the usual list of things UK folks want to buy if not wishing a reno ( and personally I think the reno market is done and dusted for a long while, as the choice ones that could offer a lovely price have gone, and the cost of work and meterials have well risen), as in stone farmhouse/longere type with views but private and southfacing, well situated, large, would easily make a gite attached,etc, and we've found most immos work to a dimension scale when calculating, as most properties are not like their neighbour in comparison (especially in interiors), and from pics one pretty stone farmhouse can look like another, but be in a horrible setting, half our size and basic inside... It's really difficult to therefore 'shop' off the net!
Luckily we don't need to be in a hurry to sell. We had a double health crisis a while ago concerning an elderly relative that has by some miracle worked out fine, but grandchildren now beckon like sirens, and no-one warned us of the sheer 'pull' of that!! We'd love to keep our home here as a holiday home, but it's a bit large for that down the years unless other family is also using it, as a new spinal diagnosis inevitably means managing less as time goes by...T'was ever thus :-)
I was thinking more of myself (if I ever need to downsize), enabling the housing market in older trad. properties more buoyant and getting a better price ......not in terms of returning to live in the UK.
That is something that I have no intention of doing (not even if hell freezes over)...
So getting more euros for sterling is better for the Brits wanting a place in France and so people here are more likely to shift their unwanted French properties in a shorter time and should also be able to get a better price for them.