Property Valuation.

[NormanH]

I didn't know that the house was British owned. This makes a lot of sense and I see it replicated around here

The typical scenario is that a British buyer pays over the odds in the first place (but of course will never want to believe it) then wastes a lot of money making 'improvements' to their own taste (fancy kitchens bathrooms etc)  rather than ones which may add  value, such as simply making the place sound with electricity and plumbing to French 'Normes'. Then they expect the buyer to pick up the bill   instead of bearing the loss.

These places linger for years on the market until the seller finally sees sense.

 

[idun]

[quote user="woolybanana"]Be fair, nobody wants to lose 80000. That is a heck of a lot of money. And there is no reason why the owner should accept an offer they consider inappropriate. And if it means they have to wait for a buyer who is prepared to pay what they consider a fair value price, then that is also their choice[/quote]

How obscene house prices are these days. I wonder how many posters would have ever got their foot on the housing ladder if that gap between earnings and prices as been so colossal. I know we wouldn't have.

We know some brits who are wanting to move back and I haven't ask, but I know that they want to get back every last euro they have put in, AND make a profit and I wouldn't be surprised if they do. They are full of BS, but others don't seem to see it[6].

There are plenty of properties up for sale I'm sure that you'll find one that suits at a price that is right.

[woolybanana]

I was told yesterday that banks are restricting mortgage loans to 140000 euros. If true, this would be a massive brake on the economy and property prices.

[mint]

We have had French friends for lunch today from our previous region.

She was my French teacher but, in no time at all, we became friends.  She told me that many, many anglais want to sell up and go back to the UK and she also stated categorically that nothing was selling at the moment.

That is patently untrue but that is obviously the impression she is getting from her students.

Wools, I don't know about the 140k because our buyers borrowed well in excess of that without any apparent problem.

However, our notaire's secretary did say that finance for house purchase was severely restricted.

But I still think that if you have the right property at an affordable price and it's well located, it WILL sell because after all a roof over your head is needed whether there is a recession on or not.

Rabbie, you'd have a pleasant surprise when the right property comes along.  Gosh, I could think of at least 3 or 4  properties that I was dead keen on and now, with hindsight, how glad I am that the purchase didn't go to completion for various reasons!

Keep looking..............it's out there waiting for an owner![:)]

[idun]

Any idea why they want to go back mint, did she say?

I know we moved back, but that was always our plan for retirement, right from the start.

[mint]

Id, she didn't say but, from my own experience, the reasons I hear are along these line:

We now have a grandchild and we don't want to miss its growing up

We want to die in our own country

We want to be with people who speak our language

France is now very different to how it was when we arrived

The winters are boring and there is nothing to do

We want to go back now because we might not be able to do so in future as house prices are rising so fast in the UK

We are now over 70 and it's time to go home

All our friends have gone back

We have had enough of France

That's just off the top of my head but, given 5 more minutes, I am sure I can come up with some more.

[idun]

Now that is quite a list mint, it really is and has amused me.

House prices have not risen everywhere in the UK.

Even though I never did, I realise that some people miss family, for me it was friends, but there again, I now find myself in the situation where I really miss my french friends, life is never 'easy' and compromises have to be made.

It sounds sadly true that some people need to be with people who speak their mother tongue, a good way to miss out on new friends who can become life long treasured friends.

Winters, ROFL, yup, I wouldn't move anywhere in any country without knowing what it is like all the year round, surely it could be equally boring in the UK as France if one is not careful as to where one lives?

Moving at over 70 was not for me, hence our move around 60.

France like everywhere else changes over the years, did  the 'dream' melt away and reality of France emerge, it is just a country, the thing it really has in common with the UK these days is that both leaders are nul!

[Quillan]

I know a few who have left because of climate change over the last three years. They have moved to southern Spain to get some heat. I can quite understand, only 12 deg down here in SW France and it struggled to make 24 yesterday when it should be 40 in August. Still the winters are getting warmer so I guess you save on energy.

Many have gone because of Sterling crashing and French prices going up which has effectively left them around 30 to 40% worse off than when they arrived ten years ago. The other reason is grandchildren I have heard.

[Rabbie]

While I sympathise with anyone who loses money because they are selling property in a falling market I do not see it as my place to pay an overprice for a property. A small amount over the strict market value if I really like a place but not a huge amount over. It is always a risk when renovating a property that you spend more than you realistically can expect to get back in increased value.

At the moment we have decided to see what happens while continuing to look elsewhere. As we are making a cash offer we are not in a position to increase it by much in any case as bridging loans seem difficult to obtain in the UK and in France.

[Quillan]

I could not agree more Rabbie and even if I had the money I wouldn't pay that much over the top either (even if Mrs Q loved the place).

[idun]

As I find prices 'mad' in general anyway, why would anyone pay over the odds for anywhere, 'love' it or not. And I have yet, to have true 'emotion' over a building, bloody hell, it's just a building and will only be a building as long as it stands.

[Rabbie]

[quote user="idun"]As I find prices 'mad' in general anyway, why would anyone pay over the odds for anywhere, 'love' it or not. And I have yet, to have true 'emotion' over a building, bloody hell, it's just a building and will only be a building as long as it stands.


[/quote]people sometimes have to pay over the odds because there are no other suitable houses for sale where they want/need to live.

As we all have preferences as to the sort of house we want we naturally like some houses more than others. If we like a particular house a lot then surely it is reasonable to describe our feelings as "love". I know it is not the same emotion as some of us feel for our spouses but what's wrong with a little exaggeration in our language

[andyh4]

I can relate to a lot of what you write Rabbie.

As someone who has renovated a property to a point beyond what it is worth on the market today, I would not expect a buyer to pay for that, It is renovated to our tastes and needs and an average buyer might well want to do further work to bring it to their needs. However we did not buy as an investment* but as a place we ant to live in and which meets our needs. As such there is an emotional connection with the building and in the absence of another word I guess you have to say "love".

* This seems to be a very Anglo-Saxon thing that the place where you live has to be an investment that delivers profit over time. No wonder so many Brits back home have been so unhappy/dissatisfied since 2007.

[vier9868]

I agree with u....

---------------------

[url=http://www.coquenexus5.com][color=#393333]etui nexus 7[/color][/url]

[url=http://www.coquenexus5.com][color=#393333]coque google nexus 5 lg[/color][/url]

[url=http://www.coquenexus5.com][color=#393333]housse nexus 5[/color][/url]

[idun]

[quote user="Quillan"]

I know a few who have left because of climate change over the last three years. They have moved to southern Spain to get some heat. I can quite understand, only 12 deg down here in SW France and it struggled to make 24 yesterday when it should be 40 in August. Still the winters are getting warmer so I guess you save on energy.

Many have gone because of Sterling crashing and French prices going up which has effectively left them around 30 to 40% worse off than when they arrived ten years ago. The other reason is grandchildren I have heard.

[/quote]

40°in August Quillan? In a heatwave year, yes, I agree, but please please show me where this is 'normal' in SW France. We had french tv for years and years and I always watched the weather, unlike some of my neighbours (french), I actually knew where we were on the map. And we had it hot, sometimes hotter than elsewhere in France during some summers, but in general 29-34 were the highest temperatures in France, and often the lower of those figures.  40° is exceptionally hot.

[Quillan]

Bit like the TV weather at present. Max temp today is supposed to be 26 deg actual temp in the shade is 29.4 and it has not peaked yet (should be around 16:00). Its the first time we have had four days of continuous sunshine without cover or rain although there is rain at night and thunderstorms. It snowed in the mountains yesterday so my guests tell me who came back from Andorra. In August the max temp was 34.6 where it is normally around 39 dipping into the 40's when it peaks. The other thing that tells you it is not so hot is that there have been few deaths amongst the aged this year during July, August and early September. Normally they drop like flies this time of year, I know this as the cemetery is across the road and we normally have one service a week.

[idun]

I feel like I am having my leg pulled. We are talking shade temperatures here aren't we as they do on the weather reports......... and that the Quillan area is as hot, nay hotter than Marrakesh, Tunis or Algiers, even Malaga.

All I can say is that the average summer temperatures have rocketed since the big heat wave of 2003 and the 'smaller' one of 2011.

[Quillan]

Well your not (having your leg pulled). It topped out at 31.7 today although my car (I have just come back from the vets) says its 33. We live on the banks of the river Aude and it can be a bit cooler if the wind is in the right direction. The 'official' temp according to the weather forecast at the moment should be 27 deg (@17:01). At nights it drops to around 10 deg. The temp in Perpignan (just down the road from us) should be 30 deg but my guests have just returned as I type this and it is 39 deg. I don't pay much attention to weather forecasts as in my experience they are often wrong, well round here they are. It may well be due to there being one weather station at the airport in Carcassonne and the other at the airport at Perpignan and I am on the northern side of the Pyrenees, in fact I am at the entrance to gorge that goes through them.

[woolybanana]

Vet give you a clean bill of health, Quillan, nose cold and wet, coat shiny, claws clipped? Did he give you the injections and the worming pills. Take them with a glass of Wincarnis, I should!

[Quillan]

[quote user="woolybanana"]Vet give you a clean bill of health, Quillan, nose cold and wet, coat shiny, claws clipped? Did he give you the injections and the worming pills. Take them with a glass of Wincarnis, I should![/quote]

Twas the cat Wooly. I'm on Bob Martins myself, always a healthy coat and wet nose.

[NormanH]

One of my barrels is not far from Quillan's, but at the moment I am in the warm one, and this afternoon it was 30 by the forecast and 35ish in full sun.

[Britannicus]

If you rely on Bertrand Russell I doubt that anything has any veracity. He it was that visited Russia under Stalin and declared "I have seen the future and it works"

[quote user="NormanH"]One of my barrels is not far from Quillan's, but at the moment I am in the warm one, and this afternoon it was 30 by the forecast and 35ish in full sun.
[/quote]

[Pickles]

[quote user="Quillan"]Well your not (having your leg pulled). It topped out at 31.7 today although my car (I have just come back from the vets) says its 33. We live on the banks of the river Aude and it can be a bit cooler if the wind is in the right direction. The 'official' temp according to the weather forecast at the moment should be 27 deg (@17:01). At nights it drops to around 10 deg. The temp in Perpignan (just down the road from us) should be 30 deg but my guests have just returned as I type this and it is 39 deg. I don't pay much attention to weather forecasts as in my experience they are often wrong, well round here they are. It may well be due to there being one weather station at the airport in Carcassonne and the other at the airport at Perpignan and I am on the northern side of the Pyrenees, in fact I am at the entrance to gorge that goes through them.[/quote]

Midi Libre reckons that October thus far has been very warm in Languedoc-Roussillon, though not apparently beating records.

http://www.midilibre.fr/2014/10/25/en-octobre-l-automne-prend-ses-quartiers-d-ete,1071514.php

[Quillan]

Rain, rain, give me rain PLEASE. Every night Mrs Q sends me out to water the plants and I am getting a bit fed up.

More seriously it has been a glorious October so far. We have had a few days with predicted rain but nothing turned up, I can't even remember when it last rained, end of July, beginning of August perhaps? Strange really as July was one of the wettest on record down here. Climate change, bah humbug, or is it? The last couple of years whilst all you lot up north had freezing conditions with shed loads of rain and snow we were nice and 'toasty' down here. So much so I welcomed the Tempo 'Red' days as they were wasted on me only needing the odd log or two at night on the fire and nothing else. Seems to me that the weather down here is sort of balancing out, warmer winters and cooler summers. Now I have said that of course this winter will be the coldest and next summer will be the hottest. [:@]

[johnnyboy]

We were rather naive when we bought and renovated our place. Just got carried away and also think that we got turned over by the architect/entreprises to some degree! Having said all of that, we now think that the value of our place is perhaps €100,000 or so below what we put into it.

If you take the longer term view though as a friend of ours said, you have to look at it as if you were renting the place. So if we manage to stay here for 10 years say, then we have paid €10,000 per year rent. Possibly quite high for rent, not sure as we don't know any people renting at moment, but its a beautiful place to live so well worth it in our opinion.

Johnnyboy