Episode 38, part 2- A little more about a little street in France

renovation, restoration, rumination…

If you are thinking of buying a house in France  I do believe that the head has to be engaged first. A little check list……

1) Budget – critical of course (including running costs & necessary works, improvements, furnishing/fittings etc)

2) Location- and I know that I keep repeating this, but you MUST narrow your search down to the areas you really love before you commit to anything.

3) Aspirations- what do you want from this house, this community, this life?

4) Heart- Yes, it is true, home IS where the heart is and whether you want a holiday escape or something more permanent, you are choosing a home.

So.. my advice is to engage the heart too, it is just as important as the first three!

I have just realised that the acronym /abbreviation for the above reads.. BLAH..BLAH..BLAH……oh dear!

So, did we take our own advice when we embarked on our adventure, well, yes we did to some degree, though we were very naive. Fate took a hand, thank goodness.

You can always give fate a little extra hand by writing down a list of  criteria ( which I predict you will probably ignore).

Decide where you will compromise, can any faults be fixed? Character or modern lines? You won’t find instant perfection unless you have a massive budget, but that’s all part of the adventure!

-from our front door, look left-

What are you looking for? seaside views, country walks?

When we first wandered down our little street we certainly didn’t expect to find a beach at the bottom of it!!

We didn’t expect, as we explored the house, to find that the southern sun streaming down the tiny “Impasse du Jardins” opposite banishes the inevitable gloom of our narrow street and lights up our house.

We didn’t expect to find, as we climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, views of the stunning ring of hills around the village. We have created a whole new view never seen before simply by building the roof terrace!

As our Estate Agent friend said at the time “how did I miss this one?”

There are still gems out there which  will give you priceless quality of life for a small price tag.  Fling open the shutters, give it a chance.

Follow your French dream.