Searching for Property in the French Pyrenees
I began my search for property in the Pyrenees area almost as soon as I arrived. I made appointments with a number of agents to see property in different areas. I was looking for a 2 or 3 bedroom property with some outside space for the dogs, not too remote, easy access and within around 30 minutes of skiing.
The first area I visited was around Bagneres De Bigorre, south of Lannemezan. The main ski area in the region is La Mongie. After meeting with an agent in the town and discussion requirements I set off to explore the area and view a few of the properties mentioned from the outside. I decided first to drive up to the ski area. It was a long drive through a number of villages and then several kilometres up a winding road to the start of the ski area. There was a collection of apartment blocks and the usual
assortment of ski hire shops, cafes and bars. As the weather closed in I headed back down to the valley and turned east to search out a few of the properties the agent had told me about, but found myself lost in amongst forests, tiny winding roads, small farming hamlets and feeling a very long way from civilisation. After around 3 hours of negotiating single track lanes I managed to find my way to the main road and head back home. At that point I decided that even if I managed to find a property I liked in the region, at a decent price (and most were still around 150,000 to 200,000 Euros for ones requiring a fair amount of work) it was going to be at least a 40 minute to an hour trek up to the ski lifts.
A few days later I headed over towards Foix and Tarascon to see property in that area, much closer to Andorra as well as the ski areas of Ax Les Thermes and a few other small ski stations. It was a very beautiful area and Tarascon was a lovely town. But again none of the properties were really what I would call close to the ski areas, and the you were still looking at around 200,000 Euros or more for something that required substantial work.
I decided to concentrate on the area closest to Luchon and the Super Bagneres and Peyragudes ski areas close to the Spanish border. I knew the area a little better having stayed there in a fantastic English run guest house for a week in late Spring 2009. It seemed to offer good access to the skiing as the cable car goes from the valley bottom in Luchon, so no long drives up the mountain, there are a few smaller resorts in the immediate vicinity and Spain is literally a few 
minutes drive away. Yet property prices were still much more than I had expected with small apartments in Luchon going for close to 100,000 Euros and larger two to three bedroom apartments commanding upwards of 160,000 Euros. I viewed a property about a 20 to 30 minute drive from Luchon that had been well renovated by a British builder but still required finishing work and had no land for close to 200,000 Euros. I may have been tempted if they price was around 150,000 Euros but for the size of the property and the fact there was no outside space and required some work to finish, I felt it was a little more than I was willing to pay.
If you started looking a little further away from the ski areas, maybe a 45 minute drive, you could certainly get more for your money. And being that little bit further away from the mountains, the views were magnificent. I viewed a stunning property in a small hamlet just a few minutes drive from St Gaudens, it came with close to 20,000sqm of land (although a local farmer appeared to have grazing rights) and was a large, traditional property with barns and outbuildings. It was for sale for sale for around 250,000 Euros but required quite a bit of work, with the roof needing completely repairing above one room and there were some suspicious cracks in places.
But as of yet nothing had really captured me. I loved the traditional style, the shutters, the stone and tile floors, wooden beams and massive fireplaces but still really wanted to be close to the skiing and lively atmosphere of a ski resort.
