Is Buying a House in France for You?
My 5 Point Quick Checklist
So you are thinking of how wonderful a holiday home in France would be and are interested in learning more? Yes? Well, you have come to the right place!
With any big change or momentous decision it is best to think things through, plan and gather information. I am a list person. I create lists of To Do Today, Jobs for the Week, Food to Buy, Meal Planner, Clothes and Things to Pack, Things to Discuss (this list is to remind me to go through stuff with my husband when he returns from his regular business trips), and so on!
So you get the idea that I really am a list person. Making a list crystallises my thoughts, helps me remember and makes me accountable for my time, finance etc. It makes sure I accomplish the things I want to without forgetting or postponing. It also makes me think about whether something really needs to be added to the list or not. If it’s added it gets done, investigated, researched, paid for etc.
So I have created a list to get you thinking; be honest with yourself by answering the big question: Is Buying A House in France for Me?
My 5 Point Checklist is to help you think of these points as they relate to you and your current circumstances. Everyone’s circumstances are different and it is only you who can answer these points.
1. Location: Is France for You?
Are you passionate about France? Do you read French books, watch movies, listen to the French News, buy magazines, cook French recipes, watch documentaries and wish you were living there, or wish you could spend more time there than you already do on holidays?
Do you gravitate to French history above all other history? Do you hunger to know more about their culture and attend cultural nights already?
And here’s the big one… do you lie in bed at night thinking of all the things you might possibly do or maybe need to change in your life to make a life in France possible? Do you secretly lie awake thinking of just how you could make it happen?!!
2. Financial: Making it a Priority
This is probably the most obvious point of the five. We cannot avoid the fact that an overseas holiday home incurs different costs than a local holiday home. Each home has however a purchase price, maintenance costs, refurbishing and decorating costs, possible renovation costs, and utility bills to be attended to.
The extra costs of buying overseas include travelling from Australia as well as the international monetary exchange rate. Hire car costs can also play a big part in the overall cost of regular travel to your home. In saying this, many large caravans and recreational vehicles are initially costly and luxury holiday homes in Australia may well have a higher price tag than a smaller home in regional France.
Usually any equity in Australian property (residential and investment) will not be taken into consideration by your overseas broker and banker and I could not find any Australian mortgage loan product for an overseas purchase. Do you have financial options? Are you prepared to make any financial sacrifices to see your dream through? Will you work your way through the financial mine field to achieve your goal?
3. Health: What’s your Status?
Do you, your partner or your children have health issues? Do you need access to important allied health services? Would you be able to regularly visit foreign medical practitioners and be understood?
Access to medical practitioners will differ depending on what you require and travel insurance will not likely cover long term issues that have been pre-existing. Tourists are treated differently than residents; the full amount must be paid upfront. However, in some cases the cost of the visit may be claimable from your insurance company. At what stage of your life are you considering this purchase? Are you likely to be able to make many trips to your home to make the financial outlay worthwhile and is your level of physical fitness going to allow you numerous overseas long-haul flights?
4. Legal: Where Do You Stand?
The French inheritance laws have recently changed but, when we purchased our house, any French property assets upon the death of myself or my spouse would not automatically go to the surviving spouse but rather in equal shares to our children. We were comfortable with this and it did not affect our decision to buy.
This French law has seen many homes fall into disrepair as children squabble over whether to sell, renovate or keep their parents home. This is why many stone houses and barns are derelict as the children have not reached an agreement on what they want to do with the property.
So if you are looking at a reasonably priced property intending to renovate it, be aware of the possible issues behind the affordable price tag. This can make for interesting purchases as you obviously need all children to agree to the sale.
French taxes need to be paid on your overseas property and any income earned, should you decide to run your property as a holiday rental when you are not there, need to be declared. You will need a good accountant familiar with international property and tax laws. This is not difficult and it is something you need to attend to.
Are you comfortable working your way through these issues?
5. The ‘What If I Don’t’ Scenario
How grand an experience! Do you think Life-is-Just-Too-Short to not follow your dreams? Would you always wonder about what you could have done, would have done etc if things were different? Do you think you will look back on your life thinking you should have taken the risk?
My husband and I take life by the horns, which sometimes is a bit more than we can handle, but hey, I will never look back wishing I did more. Yes, sometimes it gets overwhelming balancing everything, but we believe life is too short; so why not to fill it to the brim?
If you are sitting there reading this going, ‘that is exactly what I think’ then maybe Buying A House in France IS for You.
How To Maintain A House From Afar
Are you dreaming of owning your own slice of rural heaven in France? If so, have you wondered how you would maintain a French house from afar? And is the reality as good as you may have dreamt?
I say the reality is even better than the dream and buying our holiday home in France has been one of the most satisfying and rewarding things we’ve ever done. Don’t be deceived though into thinking that means it has always been easy, it has had its challenges, but it has been wonderful and I cannot imagine my life’s book without its ‘French Chapter’.
Because managing a French household from afar can be tricky, I’ve put together some tips to help you wherever your hometown is and how to avoid costly mistakes.
Getting The Financial Details Organised
Being from Australia our home bank would not recognise property in France, so we have a French bank account with credit cards, cheque facilities and internet banking set up. This enables us to manage our affairs remotely. Remote control is mandatory.
Utility Bills and Postal Mail
You will need to be on top of all utility bills otherwise you may find yourself with no water or power when you arrive. We organise for as many bills as possible to be paid by direct debit and for the few that cannot, we use our hometown mailing address rather than the address of the French property. Taking the time to set up debits and change mailing addresses is well worth it.
For the bills that make their way to Australia, I am ready to dispatch them back quickly by having prepaid international envelopes and copies of my Coordonees Bancaires (bank details) to attach to the TIP slip (utility payment slip). By the time we receive mail in Australia it is very close to the payment due date so a quick turnaround is essential to eliminate penalty fees for late payment.
Housekeeping, Gardening and Repairs
Providing Access
Installing a lock box at the back of a house with a full set of keys is an option but we find leaving a full set with our friends works well. I think giving full access to a friend or neighbour is essential as you never know what emergency repair may need to be done, like when we had to have a new chimney flu installed whilst we were in Australia after our chimney caught fire.
Making friends with your neighbours is part of the fun of living in France and an all-round nice thing to do, but it will also ensure you have a set of eyes constantly watching over your house. Some of our best dinners have been watching the sun set with our neighbours over a glass of wine.
Housekeeping Services
Most of us love a clean house but when you may not be returning to your home for a couple of months it really is important. Fridges, toilets and showers don’t go well uncleaned and unused for a couple of months. We also turn off the water and drain the pipes to prevent water leaks and frozen water then bursting the pipes. Turning off the power is another precaution we take – just in case.
We employed a local housekeeper to clean the house on our departure every trip for the first five years when the children were younger, but now we find if everyone mucks in and helps we can do without this service. My suggestion is to contact your local real estate agents as they usually have a list of small businesses that specialise in cleaning, gardening, key storage and even grocery shopping in readiness for your arrival.
Keeping A Garden Under Control
For the first few years we also had our garden maintained as we found after 30 hours travel and three young children to entertain we were not up for the work. We now love spending time each trip trimming, weeding and mowing. We’ve decided against potted plants as they easily die in dry weather and we heavily mulch the garden to reduce weed growth.
I recommend you think about the length of your stay and the work involved, remembering that even disposing of déchets végétaux (green waste) at the déchèterie (local recycling centre) can be time consuming), and weigh this up against the cost of getting help.
Communication
Having a landline installed at the house and connecting the internet has been a fairly recent thing for us. Getting tired of working off dongles, expensive sim plans and searching for free Wi-Fi we’ve committed to an ongoing monthly plan, which while more expensive, means we can arrive and be ‘connected’ immediately.
Kids have now handed in school assignments from France, I’ve kept blogging and my husband has been able to conduct business while based in our little farming village. I suggest at least looking into all telecommunication options at your local Orange store. It may pay to ‘stay connected.’
Keeping A Stocked Food Pantry
Depending on what time you intend to arrive at your maison secondaire (second home), finding stores open to purchase food may be difficult. Our answer to this is to keep your pantry or cupboard stocked with a few cans, jars, pasta, long life milk, Nespresso pods and dried fruit packets so you can whip up a couple of meals until you next head to the shops.
We also keep a small stockpile of essentials like toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, toothpaste etc so these are handy as soon as we arrive at the house also.
So, armed with these tips and knowing that you can successfully maintain a home from afar, buying a holiday house in France might just be one step closer.
