Buying property in the Dordogne and Charente

BUYING PROPERTY IN THE DORDOGNE AND CHARENTE

Buying property in the Dordogne and Charente * selling property in the Charente and Dordogne * advice and help from estate agents based in the Dordogne and Charente regions of France

WHAT TYPES OF PROPERTY TO BUY

Most people will have their own thoughts and criteria, however a few words of assistance, having seen many Clients ideas change part-way through their search....

A holiday home should be of a size whereby a holiday can be enjoyed, so buying a sizeable garden with all its maintenance could be a mistake, for you don't want to have to spend all your holiday cutting grass etc!
Buildings have to be maintained, so a quantity of outbuildings with indifferent roofs & dodgy stone walls may come cheap, but could run away with money to keep them from falling over.
For someone coming from parts of overpopulated England, a house in rural France can be attractive, but caution on not getting too remote. The dream of a French idyll is not to ever see another person or to have to drive for 20 minutes each morning to buy the Baguette!
Equally, a full-time home will invariably need more recreational space, and storage/garaging etc.

PROPERTIES IN THE CHARENTE

The typical "Charentaise" style house is built from a relatively soft white Limestone, often cut into sizeable blocks. Sometimes the whole house is constructed from these blocks, sometimes they are used only for surrounds of doors, windows, & corners, with rough stone infill. Larger properties are commonly long and low, and outbuildings can be sizeable.

PROPERTIES IN THE DORDOGNE

The stonework on a typical "Périgordine" style of house gradually changes to more beige or brown harder ironstone, and the further south into the area one goes, the more the style becomes "Périgordine", with lower roofs changing their pitch on the extremes, like a Chinese hat. These roofs, with their Dormers now often conceal rooms formed within the old grain-storage attics, impressive oak roof structures within.

MOVING TO THE CHARENTE & DORDOGNE

We mention elsewhere in these notes accessibility to this area. However note that in our experience, Clients use "budget" flights for short visits etc. For main holidays & longer visits there always seems to be people, baggage, house contents etc to bring over not to mention wine to take back! Driving down is then the preferred option and this area is within a sensible days' drive from even the furthest of the Channel Ports.

For those moving more permanently, England is easily accessible for those trips back to family & friends.

There are various reference books about living in France, containing very good information. However, we advise you to read such books bearing in mind some element of sensibility and being "streetwise", for whilst the precise letter of the law may say one thing, in practice it won't work, and common sense must prevail, for change-over of numerous items is not instantaneous. As an example, taking your car to France: theoretically you should advise VOSA that you are exporting your car on a certain date and your V55 & number plates are then handed in. However on arrival in France you will need number plates to drive the car and for re-registration on French plates they will require the V55! One can extend such theory/reality scenario to car insurance/ UK Bank accounts/ Credit card companies/DHSS etc!! The bottom line of many of these is that on informing them that you are "emigrating", they will want whatever returned/repaid or whatever before you go, and in reality, you will not have put in place alternatives. Not suggesting anyone undertakes "illegalities" only to think ahead, and take matters slowly.