Searching for Property in the French Alps

Luckily the snow line was quite high when I arrived at my new temporary home in the dark as otherwise I may have struggled to make it up the steep, windy road to the small hamlet above Aigueblanche, on the road up to the Valmorel ski resort. However, two days later it was a different story with a foot of snow falling overnight.

I had already made contact with a couple of agents while I was down in the Pyrenees area and so once settled into the new apartment, I arranged viewings. Over a period of a couple of weeks I saw around ten to twelve properties, ranging from chalets you could move straight into, mountain houses requiring a fair amount of work, new apartments and older apartments in need of some TLC. I discovered the lovely little house I had seen on the internet was not accessible from around November through to April and had no electricity or mains water so struck that one off the list.

I was seriously tempted by a lovely stone house in a mountain hamlet about a 10 minute drive from the ski town of Bozel. It had the most magnificent open plan kitchen and lounge with old fashioned fireplace and wooden beams. However upstairs needed some serious work and there was little outside space. And I decided I would really not want to do the wiggly single lane road in snowy weather or each time I wanted to get a baguette.

The only other property that really ticked all the boxes was a large apartment close to the centre of the town. It consisted of the basement level with two garages and two smaller rooms, then on the first floor a 3 bed apartment and then a plot of 300sqm out the back. It was a good price for the location, right in the heart of the town and 5 minutes walk from the free ski bus, yet in a quiet neighbourhood. And it had a garden for the dogs (although would need fencing) and was perfectly habitable if a little tired.

A couple of weeks after arriving in the Alps I put in an offer slightly below the asking price on the apartment and it was accepted. As an added bonus the owners agreed to rent me the apartment until the sale was completed and so me and the dogs moved in at the beginning of February.

So far the buying process in France is straight forward and thorough. Initially a ‘Promisse d’achat’ was signed, which although not legally binding, is something in writing where the buyer agrees to buy and the seller agrees to sell for an agreed price and dates are put in for anticipated completion. Then various checks are done, including electrical and gas checks, checks for asbestos, details of general heating costs and all the information is gathered together by the notary. Around two weeks after agreeing to buy the apartment I signed the Compromis de Vente, which is the preliminary contract and paid a 10% deposit. A few days later a van load of furniture arrived from the UK and I was all set in my new home.