You know where you want to buy a property in France’s south west and you know how much money there is to spend, but how do you make that final choice? A chateau in the Dordogne, a river side cottage in the Gironde, a mountain retreat in the Pyrenees, a bungalow near the sea?
I suggest that before you even start looking seriously you decide what your priorities are. Is the house to be an investment property, a holiday home to rent out when you aren’t using it, a business base or your new full time home? Is this a new job in a city such as Bordeaux with all the advantages that such a vibrant city life may bring?
How fit are you? Some of those mountains, beautiful though they are, can be a little awkward for ancient knees and you might do better to consider somewhere where the terrain is a little kinder if there are to be daily walks with a dog or trips to the boulanger.
Do you want to live in a town or large village, or perhaps a sophisticated city such as Biarritz with its casinos, golf course and some of Europe’s finest beaches? Is children’s schooling a consideration or do you want an up and running business from home? The answers to all these questions will affect your choices as well of course as the contents of your bank account and personal taste.
Do be as flexible as you can. Your agent may have the perfect place for you, but as yet it is a choice you hadn’t even imagined – a former police station perhaps or a water mill, even the village school – all these have become beautiful and loved homes just like the one you are going to find any day now.
Get to know your agent well, preferably a bi-lingual one who can guide you though all the steps required, answer all your questions and knows the notary. Let them know your preferences. They will be used to dealing with Brits and have an understanding of what is important to us – whether it be a lawn, insulation or proper plumbing. They can speak clearly to you, but also to sellers, builders, notaries and all the rest. Make it clear how far you are prepared to compromise - the number of bedrooms perhaps or the size of the garden, and also the points on which you are not able to be flexible - your upper price limit or the distance to the nearest school or medical facilities. The more they know the more likely it is that when a certain property in Aquitaine comes on the market they will say to themselves ‘This would be perfect for So and So’, a viewing is arranged and you fall in love with your future home.
Don’t fall head over heels though, not until everything is signed and sealed, but once the keys are in your hands it is perfectly all right to do so.
At home in Aquitaine