The Search is Over!

Remember this house? Could this be the one?

Well it’s going to be mine… once all the paperwork is signed anyway! My first offer was declined, it was a low offer. The asking price with the agents was €81,000, the vendors offered it to me for €75,000 after the exclusivity with the agents ended. I put in an offer of €55,000 and was willing to go up to €65,000. They were holding out for the local Maire to buy the home, but he put in the same offer as me, I think to help me secure the house. I must remember to thank him!

On Friday the vendor called and said I could have the house for €57,000!!! I immediately agreed and now I need to start the process of purchasing my very first house… not only in France, but ever. I did buy a house in the UK back in 1998, but that was a joint thing with my then partner, so this one really is my first house!

Here is a picture of the front, taken from Google street view:

The first job in my new home is to secure the garden with fencing, so that the dog can come and go as he pleases and I don’t need to worry about him. It will be so nice for him to have a big garden to run around in and investigate. It will also need turfing, which is going to be a difficult thing to do in France as it’s pretty rare to be able to buy turf here, and by the time I move in grass seed just won’t take.

So what is there to know about my new village… well it’s a lot smaller than the town I live in at the moment. In 2007 the population was only 256. There is a small church just down the road which dates back to the 11th century, and a lovely little cemetery. Lots of places to walk the dog, and some great views, as the village is on a slight hill.

This is the view from the carpark next door to the Mairie, you can see the church and all those trees in the distance. Might be spending some time up here in the nice weather…

There are no shops, no boulangerie, no pharmacy, so a car is essential. In fact the house I am buying is the old village boulangerie, obviously when the population was a bit higher.

I’ll try and update this blog throughout the process, and hopefully in October/November I will be moving in, possibly sooner if all goes to plan.