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Hello everyone

Thankyou so much for all your replies to my other thread!

I have narrowed down my property search to the town of Maule and have found a property i love there.

However Maule (78580) has a HLM.  A very small one and another low cost housing in blocks of two and three units else where in the town.

Is this a reason to not buy in the town?  I can see more social housing being erected down the line.  Will this be detrimental to my life and my property value?

a buyers agent told me that social housing was a requirment of nearly every town.

I truly love this house.

But .....

Jay

 

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It's true. Every commune in France has to provide social housing, so if you won't buy because of this you will have a real uphill struggle finding a town that meets your needs.

Our commune has a population of about 55, so no more than 20 or so habitations. Included in that are four social logements - the two halves of the old presbytery, half of the mairie building (these three being the responsibility of the commune), plus another house opposite the mairie which is the responsibility of the communauté de communes.

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There were demonstrations in Quillan 5 years ago because they intended to build something like 20 new houses under this scheme. Now they are built they say they are full of Arabs although driving past every day to get my bread I know its not, in fact I know one woman and her children who live in one because they came from our village and she is a 'white' Parisien by origin. Our small village has social housing be it renovated older houses. So as Will says if you want to move to a village in France then its a fact of life, you live with it or buy rural with just one or two neighbours or even better, none. That's the only way you can currently guarantee you won't have social housing on your doorstep but even then you never know. There is 'out of town' social housing outside Limoux and some on the outskirts of Carcassonne as well, nobody ever thought they would have been built there but they have.
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[quote user="Billycourty"]I am Australian and in Australia yes i would be worried.   [/quote]

Our small commune has social housing and so has every commune round here.  The nearby largest town has a couple of 'estates' also and there's no problem with them.

Jay, being blunt and frank with you, if you're worried about that and your property values France, which as far as my experience goes, the great majority of people don't really have those sorts of hangups or issues especially in the small towns/villages except among Brits, the French tend not to get too stressed about their property values.

If that sort of thing really worries you so much, I'd be considering whether France is the place I want to be - but that's only my opinion.

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Thanks everyone

I know with Maule (78580) if you want to google map it.  That the marie asked to control the level and density of  social housing in the area but the state denied them this right. 

At the moment there is one HLM complex called La cité Dauphine and there is a number of renovated houses with one or two houses flats int he area.

The thing that concerns me is this town is 18Km from mantes le jolie the most notourious HLM in Europe and the train link runs directly there.

this town is also 18 ks from St nom le bretenche where they place another golf course before a social logement.

I like the area but worries me is if they build more hlm cités!  The town has around 6000 people with at least 2000 living in the Dauphine.

I have read a lot of french documents also where the Dauphine residence feel they are not welcome and their feelings not taken into the consideration of the town plan.

The town has put in a cinema and a stadium with the express purpose of trying to entertain the young people of the logements.

So all this sounds like a normal healthy french town to you? I have lived in Boulogne billancourt (92) for 3 years so i don't know anything of french town life.

Tony F:  It's my husband that has begged me to settle in France i would choose Australia any day of the week.

Jay

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I would be more concerned about the fate of people living in bad conditions than the worries of foreigners about the value of their property.

Here is some reading for you:

http://www.vie-publique.fr/actualite/dossier/droit-logement-opposable/logement-social-comment-rendre-droit-au-logement-effectif.html

Then have a listen to Renaud

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CBdKALAnLpA&feature=related

The vocabulary is a bit colloquial so it might help to follow the words here:

http://www.paroles-musique.com/paroles-Renaud-Dans_Mon_HLM-lyrics,p3796

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Our smart 2 year old apartment block is directly opposite some large social housing blocks, with several others around the corner - quite a lot, when I think about it. It was something which concerned us for at least a minute before buying off plan.

We knew the town quite well, although not this particular area 5 minutes walk from the centre, and had a close look around before signing. It's quite smart social housing, and the only issues we have are the amount of cars parked on the grass at a block further up the road, making a muddy mess when the weather's wet, and the general mess left at the recycling bins further up the road.

Some make comment about 'the Arabs' who live there; some Arabs do live there, but they're no problem at all along with the rest of the people living there. Some of them might have resented us in the new Residence, with the 2 years of building mess and noise, spoiling the view they had before it was built, all turning up within a couple of days with large removal vans getting in the way etc. But there seems to be a general spirit of live and let live. We swap bonjours with the older people, enjoy seeing the kids playing football on the grass around their buildings as we come and go etc

I don't much like the sound of the large 'township' mentioned, but if anyone asked about large settlements of social housing locally, our little area would be it! Not a problem to us - or to most in our block, many of whom are foreign - British, Belgian etc. ;o)
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Jay,

From your earlier posts it appeared that the problem was not so much the people but the social housing itself. Most of the time the people in social housing are exactly the same as any other people in France. Even in the large blocks.

The logements socials in our commune are part of Mrs W's remit as a local councillor, so we know something about the subject. Some of the tenants have been a bit irresponsible, and incapable of looking after the house, but these are the sort of people who tend to move on rapidly. Some are totally respectable people. The rest are very pleasant - rather slow mentally perhaps, so cannot get anything other than occasional poorly-paid work, which is most likely the reason why they are in social housing.

So most of the time there is not a problem. There are areas which you probably should avoid and which will be pretty obvious. There is one in a large town in our next département, where a lot of Arabs live. But I strongly suspect that any problems are more down to the inherent dislike of ethnic minorities among the locals than the Arabs themselves. An abundance of racist graffiti is the most reliable indication of an area to stay away from.

The loi SRU says that in communes of 3500 inhabitants (1500 in Ile-de-France) which form part of a town of 50,000 or greater population, 20% of the housing must be low-rent. So maybe you should avoid cities. Social housing can be provided publicly, privately, or by housing cooperatives.

It's an interesting fact that in France as a whole, social housing represents about 7% of the housing stock, yet 70% of the population is eligible to rent social housing.

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Thanks Will.

Yes my problem is the look of the tower blocks not the people in them.

I have noticed some graffiti around town but it seems to be tags and not any racial slur.

The people that live in the tower blocks are your average french families.

Down the road a ways there is Les mureaux which has a large diverse ethic group.

I love the town and it is perfect as it is.  It's just the town is under going some major changes.  The house i love and we will have a 25 year mortgage on and at least live there for the next ten years of my live and my children's childhoods

has a magnificent view.

Just down the road from this house is a large very old furniture factory. 

This house is in walking distant to the schools and the centre of town, supermarket,  thats why i like it!

It's also where they are trying to putting more social logements because it is in easy access of all town facilities.

I have read the town plans saying they don't have room for any large low rent residences and will be continuing to add low density low income housing to provide for maule's needs.

There is another house we like across town and far away from where they are currently putting low income logements but right next to the college.  It backs onto a forest and then a field.

The house is unloved though and will need worth.  The land size is twice the size.   The First house 30 years old and in as perfect condition as the day it was built.

I just don't want a ugly tower unit block springing up beside me even if the queen of England lived there.

So does anyone know if i can find out if this is going to happen in the next ten years or no one can tell?

Cordialement

Jaymee

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I understand your concerns, Jay.

The best thing is probably to ask at the town hall (mairie) which will have information about what is planned for the commune. Although 10 years is a long way ahead, they should have information about more immediate plans.

For the sort of tower block development you describe, particularly if there is a likelihood of increasing the North African immigrant population, there would certainly be considerable local opposition, in the form of marches and demonstrations. Look for reports in the local papers.

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Will wrote   

      "Some are totally respectable people. The rest are very pleasant - rather slow mentally perhaps, so cannot get anything other than occasional poorly-paid work, which is most likely the reason why they are in social housing."

Will, did you actually think about this comment before you  commited it to paper ?  [+o(]

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It would be ashame if this post had to be taken down due to mudslinging.

I truely feel that social housing has an influence on property prices, either augmenting it or decreasing it. 

There is no racism or hidden agenda behind my original post only an honest dislike for the look of HLM towers.

I didn't think i would be the only non french person who would agree with that statement but the world is diverse.

I think many people thinking of buying in the Il De France would be interested in the in sites of people who have brought property adjacent to HLM residences in order to factor in the price they should pay.

People should not judge others or read slurs in simple questions.

Jay

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Perhaps the problem is that people are using the same thinking or logic as you would in the UK or in this case Australia and France (and some other countries) is different.

Its a different 'problem' but might in a way explain the difference. Some English people I know who live on the third (and top) level flat in Quillan were appalled that permission was granted for a shop at the rear of the property was granted permission to build a flat above it (without being consulted or asked). People in the flat would be able to see in to their flat, there is about 20/25M gap between the two (that's a guess at the distance but its something like that). They believed that this flat, which blocked their view of the mountain's, would reduce the value of their property.

They believed that they could get compensation equivalent to the loss in value or get the flat taken down. They thought the first thing they should do is get agents to visit and value their flat. Much to their surprise the first couple of agents said it made no difference. They then proceeded to 'work' their way through all the agencies in Quillan hoping to find one that said that the construction of the flat opposite devalued their property. All the agents said they same, no it didn't. They went to the DDE and complained as well and the only result was that the DDE made the owners of the new flat put up a screen (made out of bamboo but that's really not the point) to block the view between the two flats so neither could look in to the other. They obviously were 'thinking in English' as such a construction, if permitted, in the UK may well have effected the value of their property where as it does not appear to be the case in France.

In the OP's case I don't think they will ever get a cast iron guarantee that there will never be any form of building or construction in the future, as the old saying goes, never say never. Should they built flats or whatever at a later date I don't think it there will be an immediate devaluation of the value of their house but if they feel uncomfortable then the solution would be to sell and move as and when that happens. Alternatively if it really is of great concern buy in a different location.

As for who you can ask I would think the mayors office and the local DDE office but then the answer would be only valid at the time they asked, who knows what will happen in 5, 10 or even 20 years in the future.

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It summed up quite well the majority of the inbreds in my village, we dont have any HLM's being a small village, most properties are rented from private landlords and quite frankly calling them even a logement de fortune woud be breaking the trades descriptions act, the camp at Sangatte has some better baraques and the occupants have a better comportment, its a vicious circle,landlords that dont give a flying **** and tenants that destroy the properties and wage war amongst themselves and on their neighbours.

Adjoining my village is La Cité nouvelle HLM of the neighbouring town, they are very nice houses (built in the 60'sand 70's I estimate) and the whilst the majority of the people living there are either chomeurs, RMI'sts or SMICists they have a real pride in their properties and also in themselves, it really shows, they look down on the inhabitants of my village!

A question, do tenants of HLM housing ever get the right to buy? or to put it another way do the properties ever become privately owned?

I ask because once I have finished creating the flats in my property I dont really want to remain living in one of them but to live in the nearby HLM cité would be really appealing

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