Latest posts for the topic "Where to buy property?"

Where to buy property?

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 20:06:40 GMT

We are seriously thinking about going for it and buying a house in France in the mountains. The big question is where? We would want to be quite near a large ski area, but not in the middle of a huge ski resort. A small town would be good, where house prices are not too exuberant.

Any good investment opportunities out there to be had? :shock:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 07:53:43 GMT

The valley towns will be cheaper to live and give you more options. The downside is traffic and smog :( Cluses, Sallanches, maybe Servoz (small) St Gervais possibly?

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 11:34:46 GMT

It's a huge large area from Annecy in the North to Gap in the south. That's not counting the Jura or the Pyrenees.

Would it be a holiday home or a permanent place to live? It probably affects the location more than anything else. Rental investment, summer activities? work opportunities?

You can go a long way south, Nice is only 2 hours drive from Isola 2000.

Annecy, Grenoble, Briancon, Embrun, Gap and all the villages in-between.

Or as Bandit mentions, between lake Leman and the mountains, although you probably won't find a bargain there.

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 12:03:25 GMT

I think we need to know more of your plans on this one Snow4ndit.
Is the idea to run a skiing/holiday business?
Or somewhere great to live where you can ski a bit of a drive away?

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 14:28:45 GMT

Combloux near Sallanches, or St gervais not far off. Nicw ski area and not huge ski resorts either swarming with noisy Brits all clambering for the lifts. . . . lol !

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:49:00 GMT

I always quite liked the idea of Bourg St Maurice.

Easy to get to from the UK by train for friends to visit, has the funicular up to Les Arcs and is a short drive to many other excellent ski areas.

I guess it may be quite expensive though :(

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 17:41:11 GMT

It wouldn't be a holiday home, and we wouldn't be running a business from it.

I plan to start a business which would involve being able to access/commute to a popular ski resort on a daily basis. A half hour drive would be about right. We are also planning on skiing for the rest of our lives so would like reasonable access to a large ski area. (One example being Taninges, which would give us reasonable access to the Porte du Soleil and Le Grand Massif...I think. :?: )

We are obviously in the very early stages of deciding where. So your comments are very helpful.

Maybe "investment opportunities" was the wrong term to use. What I mean is somewhere that will hold it's value 'just' in case we ever want to sell up and come back to the UK.

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:14:50 GMT

How about Orelle, it's got a lift straight up into Val Thorens area. So your commute would be via a lift and a couple of runs.
http://www.orelle.net/index.php?page=slopes_map_orelle_val_thorens
It's 1hr15 from Grenoble and going the other way 1hr20 away from Val D'Isere.
No idea what property prices are like but I suspect they will be low compared to some other parts of 3 valleys.

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 18:52:12 GMT

Taninges,,,a pretty little place ...15 minutes from Les Gets 10 minutes from Morrilon in the Le Grand Massif and hour from Grand bornand and Cluzaz and a couple of smaller resorts like Pras de Lys....but you mentioned that ...Phil and Louise at Chalet Hotel La Terrasse in Verchaix who seem to know everyone around

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 10:21:17 GMT

Here you go Snob..... try this lot http://www.portesdusoleilproperty.com/properties

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 17:44:34 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:Here you go Snob..... try this lot http://www.portesdusoleilproperty.com/properties

Thank you Ian, Can you find me some more, nearer to the grand massif ski area please. :D

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:07:44 GMT

If I was choosing a ski area to move to, Porte du Soleil wouldn't even make my short list.

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:09:45 GMT

If you buy it i will come and stay

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/frenchpropertyextradetails.asp?property=aa3411

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:17:27 GMT

andyhull wrote:If I was choosing a ski area to move to, Porte du Soleil wouldn't even make my short list.

Each to their own.

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:31:27 GMT

daved wrote:If you buy it i will come and stay

http://www.frenchpropertylinks.com/frenchpropertyextradetails.asp?property=aa3411

That one is gorgeous, a bit out of my price range but I have seen a few that I could afford so I am definitely going to be looking for a chalet/house in this area during the next year.

I like the area, I don't want to live in a busy ski resort, but do want to be where there is a bit of life. I need to be able to commute to a big city (if absolutely necessary) and Geneva would be about an hour. I would like to be able to access s varied ski area and both the P du S and the Grand Massif are near so this place is ideal.

I am excited!

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:34:26 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:

andyhull wrote:If I was choosing a ski area to move to, Porte du Soleil wouldn't even make my short list.

Each to their own.

I probably need to give it another go, it's been a few years since we were last there. To be fair Les Gets was great, superb snow and a lovely place to ski, great off piste. But getting from Morzine to Avoriaz was an absolute pain.
I didn't find Avoriaz worth the hassle to be quite honest. Nor did I think the linked areas in Switzerland were up to much.
It rained quite a bit in Morzine, luckily it only effected the lower slopes and up high the powder was great.

My short list of French areas would be:
3 Valleys
Espace Killy
Alpe D'Huez/Les Deux Alpe/La Grave
Paradiski
Milky Way

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:37:23 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:Here you go Snob..... try this lot http://www.portesdusoleilproperty.com/properties

Thank you Ian, Can you find me some more, nearer to the grand massif ski area please. :D

Your wish is my command ...... http://www.estate-agent-samoens.co.uk/

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 18:42:27 GMT

And a few more

http://www.bmykey.com/en/property-for-sale/Taninges/#mainmap

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 19:04:07 GMT

daved wrote:And a few more

http://www.bmykey.com/en/property-for-sale/Taninges/#mainmap

The first one on the list is one I've had my eye on...I like the look of it very much! That's the kind of thing I'm looking for :thumbup:

Now all I need to do is sell my house! :D

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 19:07:48 GMT

Wow!
Looks lovely......
Plenty of room :mrgreen:

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 19:08:51 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:Here you go Snob..... try this lot http://www.portesdusoleilproperty.com/properties

Thank you Ian, Can you find me some more, nearer to the grand massif ski area please. :D

Your wish is my command ...... http://www.estate-agent-samoens.co.uk/

Nice one Ian, I shall book mark this page.

We'll definitely be doing some research while we're in the area over the winter. Woo hoo!

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 19:32:38 GMT

andyhull wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:

andyhull wrote:If I was choosing a ski area to move to, Porte du Soleil wouldn't even make my short list.

Each to their own.

I probably need to give it another go, it's been a few years since we were last there. To be fair Les Gets was great, superb snow and a lovely place to ski, great off piste. But getting from Morzine to Avoriaz was an absolute pain.
I didn't find Avoriaz worth the hassle to be quite honest. Nor did I think the linked areas in Switzerland were up to much.
It rained quite a bit in Morzine, luckily it only effected the lower slopes and up high the powder was great.

My short list of French areas would be:
3 Valleys
Espace Killy
Alpe D'Huez/Les Deux Alpe/La Grave
Paradiski
Milky Way

Alpe d'Huez was my other choice I love the area. Was looking at nearby towns Bourg d'Oisans and Auris but the ski area just does not compare to P du S (which is, I think, slightly bigger than the 3V).

The 3V are a no no for me I'm afraid, far too expensive, and ugly.

In Tanninges I'd have access to 650 km of P du S in one direction and the Grand Massif in the other direction. Both about 20 minutes I think.

Re:Where to buy property?

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 22:29:39 GMT

Bourg St Maurice (and it's many satellite villages) a proper town because the season is only 5 months! Easy access to Les arcs and Paradiski and so many other resorts. A mainline (ish) rail station direct to London and Paris in the season.
Reasonable access to the French and in Summer the Italian motorway network.

Have a look at http://negoservice.immofrance.com/

Re:Where to buy property?

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 13:57:31 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:

daved wrote:

I am excited!

I'm excited too! For you of course :)

Re:Where to buy property?

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 18:11:57 GMT

Snowb4ndit,
When you went off last season you posted a topic asking for suggestions of things you should take with you.
Despite searching for key words (marmite was one!) I can't find it - so I've tagged this on to the end of this post.
Was wondering - what did you find you couldn't have done without and what was totally pointless?

On topic - I think Taninges might be even less than 20 mins drive from Samoens and the Grand Massif express. It looks like a nice village.

Re:Where to buy property?

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 19:06:41 GMT

Dids1 wrote:Snowb4ndit,
When you went off last season you posted a topic asking for suggestions of things you should take with you.
Despite searching for key words (marmite was one!) I can't find it - so I've tagged this on to the end of this post.
Was wondering - what did you find you couldn't have done without and what was totally pointless?

On topic - I think Taninges might be even less than 20 mins drive from Samoens and the Grand Massif express. It looks like a nice village.

We took lots of things with us and to be honest it did save us quite a bit of money. Heinz baked beans, ketchup, hp sauce and Marmite are all available in the 'anglaise' sections but at extortionate prices i.e. GBP2 for a tin of beans!

There are some things you just cannot get at all i.e. decent tea, at any price so that is definitely a must as well as pickled onions and Branston pickle.

One last thing is that there are shops selling 'saucisson' everywhere you look and the supermarkets are laden with them, but you will not find anything that resembles a good old english pork banger. Don't get me wrong I do love tasting all the different cured sausages of the mountains, but I was very much looking forward to decent sausage when I got home! :shock: :lol:

Re:Where to buy property?

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 19:09:41 GMT

@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

Re:Where to buy property?

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 20:59:14 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

Perfect then.
and not far to places like Megeve and Les Saisies. We did Samoens to Les Saisies in around an hour and a half.

And you're right. Nothing like a good bit of English sausage.....

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 00:10:30 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

I reckon about 5 mins to Morillon is the nearest

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 07:17:37 GMT

daved wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

I reckon about 5 mins to Morillon is the nearest

I think you're right there, because we went along to Morillon in January to ski with Wickers the wicked and his lovely family. Didn't take long at all. (Once we found the correct directions!)

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 11:00:36 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote:

daved wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

I reckon about 5 mins to Morillon is the nearest

I think you're right there, because we went along to Morillon in January to ski with Wickers the wicked and his lovely family. Didn't take long at all. (Once we found the correct directions!)

And I'm very much looking forward to doing it all again this winter .... now that wasn't too wicked, was it ?? :wink:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 11:13:29 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:
And I'm very much looking forward to doing it all again this winter .... now that wasn't too wicked, was it ?? :wink:

Ian, Ian, oh dear Ian - that so much depends on what "it" was which can be implied but not confirmed from your follow on post.
:mrgreen:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 11:41:06 GMT

OldAndy wrote:

Ian Wickham wrote:
And I'm very much looking forward to doing it all again this winter .... now that wasn't too wicked, was it ?? :wink:

Ian, Ian, oh dear Ian - that so much depends on what "it" was which can be implied but not confirmed from your follow on post.
:mrgreen:

Andy, That would be telling :lol:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 16:56:25 GMT

Ian Wickham wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:

daved wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote:@ Dids1 again...

Yes, The more I look the more I want to go to Tanninges. I think it's about twenty minutes either way to Sameons or Les Gets.

I reckon about 5 mins to Morillon is the nearest

I think you're right there, because we went along to Morillon in January to ski with Wickers the wicked and his lovely family. Didn't take long at all. (Once we found the correct directions!)

And I'm very much looking forward to doing it all again this winter .... now that wasn't too wicked, was it ?? :wink:

I think it's well wicked that we'll be doing it all again! 8)

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 17:18:12 GMT

snowb4ndit, Wickers please ....
This is an open forum - people of a sensitive disposition can view your posts!
:oops:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 17:42:52 GMT

OldAndy wrote:snowb4ndit, Wickers please ....
This is an open forum - people of a sensitive disposition can view your posts!
:oops:

Lol, It is an open forum indeed, it is also a SKI forum. Now let me give you a few clues as to what we were doing, we were in the french alps, it was mid winter so plenty of snow, we were not doing floristry, pottery or skittles. What we were doing begins with an 's' ends with 'ing' and has a k imbetween.

I didn't think people from your neck of the woods were that sensitive...must be the extra fingers. :lol: :lol: :wink:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 17:49:36 GMT

snowb4ndit wrote: What we were doing begins with an 's' ends with 'ing' and has a k
i m nbetween.

I didn't think people from your neck of the woods were that sensitive...must be the extra fingers. :lol: :lol: :wink:

Extra fingers are useful sometimes.
and lots of activities meet the criteria you set out above :roll:
Oh my spare finger corrected your typo :lol:

Re:Where to buy property?

Thu, 6 Oct 2011 17:53:03 GMT

OldAndy wrote:

snowb4ndit wrote: What we were doing begins with an 's' ends with 'ing' and has a k
i m nbetween.

I didn't think people from your neck of the woods were that sensitive...must be the extra fingers. :lol: :lol: :wink:

Extra fingers are useful sometimes.
and lots of activities meet the criteria you set out above :roll:
Oh my spare finger corrected your typo :lol:

:thumbup:

Re:Where to buy property?

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 08:21:21 GMT

I did get a cold bottom, that Scapular is a rascal :oops: :oops:

Re:Where to buy property?

Sat, 8 Oct 2011 14:53:20 GMT

Hi Snowy,

Sorry I'm a bit late to the thread....on the property search side, from a totally biased point of view you can't go wrong with Bourg-Saint-Maurice.

Depending on your budget you can get in at the bottom with a small studio for around 42000 euros, and then from 75000 - 140,000 euros, from here up you can get newly built apartments from 140,000 - 300,000 euros.

On the house/chalet side , a split chalet ( two large apartments sharing one building ) at around 240,000 euros, and house and chalets from around 270,000 upwards. There is a nice one for sale if I win the lotto tonight with 4/5 beds plus it's own self contained 2 bed apartment for 520,000 euros.

Bourg-St-Maurice is served directly in the winter via Eurostar, SNCF etc , and is linked into the Les Arcs ski area via a 7 min funicular train ride to the lifts at Les arcs 1600.Also within 35 - 50 mins drive you have La Rosiere , Ste-Foy , Tignes , Val D'Isere and at the other end of the valley the Trois Vallee's ski resorts which are approximately 50mins to 1hr away.

BsM has some of the best restaurants in the Alps ( just my humble opinion ) and as BsM is a traditional working town you do not get stung for eating out at resort prices.....it's still possible to have a four course evening meal with wine , digestive ( brandy , cognac, genepi etc ) and coffee for between 20 to 40 euros per head, or you can have good wholesome mexican, cantonese , italian etc from 12 - 22 euros per head.

All in all a great place.

Best of luck

jon.

Re:Where to buy property?

Sat, 8 Oct 2011 17:29:33 GMT

Thanks jonny :thumbup:

BsM is definitely on my list of places to get a good look at. I'm now going to go and do the lottery...See if I can get this house buying done a bit quicker! :lol: