Q & A

Subject: Like to buy a house in France.

Question:

Hello - I lived in Strasbourg, FR for 7 mouths a few years ago, & since have been aching to move back on a somewhat "permanent" basis (i.e. purchase a residence there). I have just begun my search for real estate in Strasbourg, Provence & the areas around Paris & southern France. I've been seeing many homes that are as little as $7,000USD to $30,000USD!!! Is this normal????? Could you give me a clue as to the housing market over there? I'm a single woman, looking for a middle-of-the-road home (preferably older, with character)... Also, could you give me any suggestions regarding what type of bureaucratic procedures I'll have to go through to purchase there? Thanks so much & gros bisoux!

Oy vay - now this is my second question..... I forgot to ask in my last inquiry: What about moving my cats/dog to France & then back to the US every year or so? Is there a bunch of quarantining that is necessary or do I just need to certify, etc. that I've gotten them vaccinated, etc?
As a side question.... is l'Orangerie still as beautiful as I remember????????
Warmest Regards

Answer:

From my experience that is as someone that reads free real estate magazines on a weekly basis, the prices you quote seem to be very low. My guess is they are fixer-uppers or in the middle of nowhere. A general price to buy a livable house in France would be in the $150,000 to $200,000 range, which is in or near some village or town, but not prime real estate. I have been told that to build a house in France the cost is around $150,000, that was about what it cost my brother-in-law when he built a house using the walls of an existing structure.
The rumor that I have been hearing is that Brits and Germans are driving up the price of homes in France; I have no proof but have heard this from more than one person.
My wife and I are about to buy a barn on my in-laws farm in Burgundy and fix it up into a vacation home. So as of yet I don't know what the bureaucratic procedures are for buying a house in France are. But I will put anything I find out on my web site.
As for the bringing dogs and cat into France, as I understand it the quarantining is not very long and the process is not that time consuming. Yes, the Orangerie is still beautiful and makes for a very nice walk. Good luck! Jeff Please let me know how things work out for you.

Here are some French real estate links,
http://www.entre-particuliers.com/
http://www.century21france.fr/
http://www.fnaim.fr
http://www.logic-immo.com/logicImmo/jsp/home.svt
http://www.spirale-prestations.fr/

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