Bobh

Dicks not beng incorrigable (beyond correction). Interject (interpose, (remark etc). He's merely being inter alla, to intervene and live up to his name  no doubt.[8-|]

[quote user="sweet 17"]bobh may i ask what exactly it is that you are drinking?  whatever it is, i suggest that maybe you have had a glass or two too many!  i can only work out SOME of what you are saying and i know I haven't been drinking this evening [/quote] Coming from the East end we do have our own peculiar and very colourful language cockney as indeed you probably do on the other side of he Severn Bridge. (I spent a number of years there and had difficulty with the language there too)  I was trying to interject a little humour. Oviously that failed and brought out the nit pickers and language officianados. For that I apologise profusely. So Sortie, reccy, insurgence anything but soirre would have done. It looks like it got some of you excited as well, watch that blood pressure!

I really must apologise to all the PC and obvious exponents of the English language (ancient and modern) that seem to frequent this forum. What ho.! In reality me and the missus nipped over the flannel and took a butchers at the gaffs and drums 'round the Sarf o' France.  We met up with a few fig and date agents and soon discovered it wasnt the quality but the width they were more interested in flogging. So we intend to shoot back over in a little while and hopefully find our dream gaff without the added encumberance of an imobile imobllier. He aint heavy hes an imo. Fanks a bunch 

[quote user="P"]Bob We avidly viewed immos websites on the Internet and made frequent visits. With the vast majority, reality seemed to be different - i.e. the description and photos did not really convey what the property was like. We found a website that handles a lot of properties for agents to be very good - www.bluehomes.com. Normally there are many photos of a property (20+ in some instances). The agents are a mix of Brits, French and Germans. I must add that our property did not come from this site, although one did come very close. We met with some French agents who did not speak English but with our basic French and gesturing we got by. Personally, I think we did it the right way - get out there and look on your own. By planning you can see a great number of properties. With some we went back in evenings etc to look at the area etc. The agents will switch on to what you are looking for and try to show you what they think you want. Beware though, some will just show you anything. It sounds as though your experience was like one of those TV programmes - we have shown you 4 properties now which one do you want to buy. Paul [/quote] Thanks Paul, Absolutely and your reference to the TV programmes really made me laugh. We didn't refuse anything because of the smelly socks or the garish wallpaper. [:D] I do think for the most part the immos have undergone perhaps a reality bypass and did just look through the lists and come up with 2 or 3 properies in the right price range without too much thought. We will do this, we are determined and Im sure that we will ride the learning curve and end up with the home of our dreams. Period style character and right price with all amenities in the warm.

[quote user="Teamedup"]What does SOIRE mean?[/quote] Soiree (my machine is not set up to add accents) swahr'a.   a) private evening party esp.with music . Believe you me, the only thing missing was the music. (As well as the singing and dancing.) I may have mislead or been misunderstood regarding or referencing the lunches. It just seemed that the appointments with the agents coincided with or around lunchtime. (Fortuitous or not?) When on one or 2 occasions the immo utilised the lunchtime to set up appointments with vendors, why they couldn't have done this prior to meeting them, i dont know? Whilst others enjoyed the plat du jour with us. Another told us to go to lunch after a 1 hour journey to keep an appointment (Grrrr) We do intend going back to seek out a suitable property and have explained to one immo that we are only 45 mins from Stansted and ultimately only a couple of hours from the Languedoc generally to be able to come over with a couple of days notice if the need arises. I thank those that replied with the sites of private sellers. We are experienced in purchasing properties (in the USA) and also highly aware and yet not too happy about the enormous hikes in fees (commissions) that can accompany the negotiations. I want to avoid the following scenario if possible. Cost of home $450,000 and the agents commission on that sale was $38,000  Thats a lot of money for very little work believe me. If I can avoid something similar in France then a happy bunny I will be. Everybody is entitled to a living and provididng they work hard at it and provide a sterling service they will acheive their goals, but for the others they will not get it off my back!

My wife and I have just returned from an exploratory trip to The Languedoc. First impression? Yes that will do nicely. The climate was mild and pleasant mid Feb early March. The people that we came into contact with very friendly and extremely helpful despite our lack of fluency with the language (however we did try and got by, proud of that actually.) My only disappointment was the house hunting itself? We thought we had taken care of that before we left the UK, having contacted a company in Docklands and arranged to meet with their representatives on particular dates we thought that they might have taken the time to seek suitable properties for us to view prior to arrival. After a day or two to acclimatise and orientate ourselves we, went into Pezanes and met up with the agents agent. We then spent 2 hours in the office going through the various properties that he had managed to put into a file. Then we went to lunch and then we went to look at houses. (At last!) Of the 6 we whittled it down to 3 (Price and not the actual accommodation etc being the overbearing factor on the agents part I think.600.000+) We had requested 1 large property or 2 smaller properties with enough room to hold 6 persons without getting under each others feet. (My wife and I ) (My Daughter and her husband and their 2 children). The first property was an ex Chambre d' Hote in the middle of nowhere could have doubled up as Bates Motel in another life. The second a beautiful Maison de Maitre of 32+ rooms (2/3rds habitable and with so many original features it was like a history lesson in 1845 living), the 3rd another Maison de Maitre approx 1/3 the size of the previous home this time with a pool. All in the 650 to 750 range. We repeated the excercise in the Oriental Pyrenees (Having taken the 2 hour drive and the obligatory lunch) we saw 2 houses. What a waste of a whole day. This went on for another couple of days and after almost 3 weeks we had seen 8 houses not a rewarding experience but an experience all the same. My question is. Is there actually a tried and tested method of seeking purchasing a house in the area without the performance and friend of a friend and another 20% commission chucked in for good measure. Is there a site or does anybody know of anywhere where private sales take precedence over big eyes.    

Hi, We are currently contemplating purchasing a home in the Herault district of the Languedoc. One house in particular takes our fancy a Maison de Maitre in a village. The home was the former home of the Notaire. Would it be too cheeky to ask for a reduction in Notaire fees as in theory or even practice I will eventualy paying the price plus the fees to the same person? Is this ethical or does another Notaire have to perform the duties and sale etc? Best wishes Bob

Thanks for the tip re climate change. We are hoping for somewhere quite temperate. So snow is definately off the menu Brrrrrr as is Le Mistral Im warned. As we will be spending the rest of our lives there we would hope to find the right place. This is not a vacation home. We have 3 of those in Florida. Thanx Bones  

[quote user="Poolguy"]These pool would be rather expensive it would seem to me. Is there a reason for example that you would choose this option rather than a Liner pool - I would have thought that the later would offer you more pool for your money. If you want some specific help on your choices then by means contact me by PM. Andrew [/quote] Do they not have "Gunite pools" in France?  The 3 pools I have are all made from this material and are very servicable (maybe they are peculiar to the states, I wouldnt know! Each is freeform with spas and one has saline sanitized (free chlorine)this one is by far the nicest pool to swim in and I certainly would recommend this system over the regular chlorine pool)

If thats the case then so much the better. Love the warmth. 23deg. Ooo suits me sir! In November we were in Florida and one evening met a brass monkey with tears in his eyes. Maybe this is something to do with global warming?  

[quote user="Fluffy Kitten"]It's £2 cheaper from the manufacturer! And £5.50 less on delivery charges! Bob - can you use the link creator in the reply box rather than post long URLs as they play havoc with the page width. [/quote] Apologies but I did and it didn't. Once again sorry.

Or good old Ebay. http://cgi.ebay.com/

Hi Pads, Sorry for being so vague. Old as oposed to new build, something with character, history. Income wise it would be pin money for ourselves (retired at 49 worked long enough ) Probably more for the siblings. For my wife and I we would like a 3 or more bed house (personally a Maison de Maitre would suit me) Village or semi rural but within striking distance of life. Golf courses bonus.and if it has possibility of income from Gites etc added bonus. My daughter is a major events designer so computer access a must. Her husband is a London Cabbie so he can commute.(rail or air) Either to live with us in larger house or a seperate home again 3 bed min. Price ranges seperate 400K (Euro) or combined (800K) Hope that assists.

Hi All, Although the title might seem like an introduction at an AA meeting I can assure you that I am familiar with forums and their influences. My wife (Jacquie) and I have decided that we would like to take the plunge and move to the Languedoc region (partly because of the weather, health reasons, prefer to play golf in the sun) my daughter and her husband and 2 children will be joining us so we are going to require either 1 big property or two medium sized homes (with an income would be good) although I have retired. We plan to make the tentative steps in February (17 through to 11Mar) on a buying rece, (want to see the area in the bad weather/cold time)if anybody could advise us or would like to act as mentor then we would be ever so grateful. We have been holidaying for the past 15 years in Florida where we have 3 vacation homes but we feel that that particular area of the globe is not for us. (Homeland Security and Brits) Mickey Mouse or not! We will be driving down and obviously will be looking for some accomodation for approx 3 weeks (4 adults) as well preferably Herault (being central)? I am not soliciting estate agents this is a genuine call for assistance. So if anybody can assist please contact me by either email or PM. Bob [:D]