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In May this year I was planning to start offering property for sale through a very reputable agency in the South of France – Coast and Country – who I have worked with before and find completely reliable and honest. If you have followed some of my blogs in the past, you may know that I have a very low opinion of most estate-agents on France and especially some of the rogues and rascals I have found in Pezenas. Unfortunately the few honest and reliable agents are going out of business in this area, leaving mostly the rascals, so if I am to help people find homes I must start listing properties and selecting them myself. I have been waiting for the agency to get a new website operating for me – I have been waiting five months now, so it is time to give up on that plan and make my own sites for them again. I have started on this at SouthernFrance , a site I planned to use as my newsletter and blog archives, but this will be put to better use for property. I have also restarted another website which was once the definitive site for Fractional Ownership of property in France at HarmonyOwnership – there is a lot of work to do on both sites, but I have a list of properties to add and will be getting out from next week to get the listings on. A lot of guests staying with us at Villa Roquette are looking at property buy – I help a lot with the planning and save a lot of time by advising on services in villages, transport, accommodation and the value of the properties they are looking at – several guests have purchased property in Languedoc this year and have become friends – in other cases I have been able to show the problems and point out the lies told to them about the resources. In one happy instance I could show, through the plans and deeds, that they in fact owned property next to their home they did not realize they had purchased. This is all part of the service for our guests – so if you are thinking of buying property in Languedoc, particularly in the Herault stay with us and perhaps I can help you realise your dreams.  Secret House not listed and Impossible to Find |
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Tag Archives: Real estate
Guest Blog on Villa Roquette
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A new website offering a booking sharing service InCircleRentals included us in their blog today – interestingly they got the facts right, so I wish them well 🙂  'Poppy' Double Bedroom in Villa Roquette |
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Property Study in Languedoc
Many guests who stay with us in Villa Roquette are thinking seriously about buying property here in Languedoc.
It is easy to see why, the climate is wonderful and the quality of life is very good.
I am building a new property website to help sort the “wheat from the chaff” in the area around Montblanc and all seven communities in the Pays du Thongue which are; Abeilhan, Alignan du vent, Coulobres, Montblanc, Puissalicon, Tourbes and Valros. These are among some of the most beautiful villages in France and have a history going back thousands of years.
But how does a visitor find the right property? Staying with us for two weeks, or even longer, will only give time to see a handful or houses, being enticed hither and thither by local estate agents all fighting to sell the same properties.
The Internet is the starting point now for most people looking , but the descriptions are vague and optimistic, the photos are often misleading and nowhere will any problems, defects or legal wrangles be stated.
The fact is that most properties, certainly the interesting, bargain or special ones, will never get to being advertised on the Internet. Those that are are often overpriced based on the naive assumption that overseas buyers will pay more for the older properties.
Often overseas buyers can see the potential of a classic stone property where local families prefer new homes on tailored housing plans. But there is one good reason for this.
The older properties cost a great deal more to refurbish and renovate and usually need a lot of work doing – rewiring, plumbing, roofing, insulation heationg etc etc. This can often (usually in my experience) cost more, perhaps several times more, than the purchase price.
I am only going to offer for sale properties I know to be good value and/or which will match the wishes of the buyer.
I am also offering everyone a new service, to study and appraise any property, not just the ones I will be offering. This study is in four parts.
1 – A photographic study of the property and the local area – warts and all – with comments based on my many years of experience renovating old local houses.
2 – An full objective report of the actual condition of the property, room by room, covering defects, potential problems and comments indicating remedial actions, costs and solutions.
3 – A subjective report based on my personal opinion of the property related to my understanding of what the customer is looking for – this takes into account the use, is it an investment, permanent home, plans to rent etc
4 – A follow up if more information is needed, talks to the local authorities regarding certification, services to be connected, rights of way and advice for any clauses needed for the contractual terms etc.
I am only making a modest charge for this work of 230 euro (including all costs and taxes).
I can also act for a buyer and negotiate with owners or other agents for them meet with the Notaire and go through the purchase completion to save a buyer flying to France for the formalities – charges depend on time taken but any fee would be agreed in advance.
I am correctly and legally registered in France for this type of work and have many years of experience dealing with real estate business locally (the good guys and the real rascals)
Thinking of buying property in Languedoc – Contact me