Ownership!

After all the effort of pursuing the immobilier and the Notaire since April 2006 we went to France expecting there to be yet further problems and therefore hold-up. But nothing of the sort happened. Instead the week has gone quite smoothly.

The first hurdle was to open a bank account with a French bank. In this we are very fortunate that there is a bank which has recognised the influx of Brits and set up a special division to deal with them. So we had an adviser who spoke good english and took us efficiently through the process to set the account up. In her own words, the French love their bureaucracy, and I had to produce twelve different bits of paper to prove that I wasn't trying to launder money and am a solid citizen! No matter, the account has been established so that I can use this to make life much easier in dealing with French builders, etc.

Next was the signing for the house itself. Again we are fortunate in that the seller was English but speaks good French added to the fact that the Notaire had studied in the USA and also had good language skills. So the process was efficient and at the end of it I have the vital bits of paper that prove that I own the house.

The major disappointment for this visit relates to the question of submitting the plans for the renovation. It's clear that we shall have to spend some time working out how we are going to do this. The main issue being the costs of using a French architect with the scale fees that they are likely to charge. Some research needed here!

But progress at last after all this time. The whole visit proved to us that being in this area is what we want. The weather was simply stunning - shirt-sleeves in the middle of January. We met many really helpful and pleasant people who are keen to share their local knowledge. And the house despite all the problems that it poses - look at the selection of internal pictures to get an idea - is still an exciting prospect.

The Story so Far

Back in early April 2006 we visited France yet again to search for a house to buy. The idea was, and is, to have a ‘project’ to keep me busy and out of mischief once I had retired. Towards the end of the stay we visited an Agence in Mirepoix and were offered a rather wrecked looking property many miles away from the Agence. Their concerns as to the safety of the property led them to insist that I sign a disclaimer relieving them of any responsibility should I be harmed during a visit to the property – it did fill us with confidence!

The next day we visited the old farmhouse at Arné and in the ‘flesh’ it proved to be as battered as the pictures had suggested. It has not been lived in for at least thirty years, has no running water, electricity or sanitation and parts of the roof are falling in. If you look at the picture above you can see some of this. But, it has prospects! The Pyrenees can be seen, the other views are good, it is in a village just five minutes walk from the bar/shop. We decided that we would make an offer and hastened back to the Agence in Mirepoix as swiftly as we could.

There then followed a period of waiting as the seller had other people visiting the house at the end of April. They clearly were more put off than we were and so after a bit of haggling our offer was accepted in early May. I signed the Convention de Vente and paid the necessary deposit. All therefore so far so good.

However, the process then seized up almost completely as the legal work took an age. I sent requested documents, which seemed to suggest that real progress was being made, in late summer. Letters and e-mails have been exchanged fairly regularly but progress has been painfully slow.

Finally we are at the point where I can sign the Acte de Vente and the house will formally be ours from mid-January. It is from this point that the fun really starts as we shall need to work our way through the bureaucracy surrounding a Permis de Construire and the installation of a Fosse Septique as well as finding the local builders who can assist in turning the house into something habitable.

Follow our progress through this blog and laugh, or possibly cry, along with us!