ONCE UPON A TIME - part 1

We had visited the Limousin region many times on holiday and this is where, in 1998, we began our search for a new home. The thought of looking anywhere else never occurred to us - we had visited many regions of France but the Limousin stood out as one of the last enclaves of the "real" France. Despite having visited this beautiful region so many times, we had never actually ventured into La Creuse. Oh what we had missed! This hilly region of dense forests, lakes and streams was a real eye opener - the scenery is simply magnificent, and because the area is so sparsely populated (the second largest town has a population of only 12,000) then old traditions and values still remain to this day. So here our search began.

Most normal people would take at least a month trying to find the right property, in the event we took just two days! We used the services of an English company to help find the property, something which we would probably not do were we to ever do this again. Still, the first time can be somewhat daunting and in the event we did find the place pretty quickly, so there was a saving on time and return visits. Swings and roundabouts.

So, after two viewings of the property (always advisable to see it at least twice before making a commitment), a bit of haggling over the price and some addtional land that we wanted, the deal was done. We returned to England and the contract arrived a few days later. Once signed then we were committed. Nowadays there is a 7 day cooling off period. but still none of the hassle of worrying if someone is going to come in with a higher offer. In our case it would have been unlikely anyway. The property had been empty for 50 years and on the market for the last 6 years - probably because of the combination of size and poor condition - however for us it was just about right.

There are two pitfalls which many people fall into. The first is choosing something too large - although property was (and still is) comparatively cheap, renovation costs can be enormous unless you have the time and skill to do it yourself. Even using this approach you can reckon on spending at least the same amount as the cost of the property on renovation - estimate two to three times as much if you are using tradesmen. The second pitfall is the insatiable desire to have a lot of land. Land needs to be maintained (even forest), so unless you want to spend your entire life on a tractor, then shy away from anything over a couple of acres unless you can find someone to rent it out to.

Three months later we returned to France for the final signing - a very formal affair - but quite enjoyable. It was the first time we had met the vendors, who lived in Paris. Maurice and Giselle were a charming couple who have a summer house near the property. They were an invaluable source for the history of the property which had been in Giselle's family for generations. In fact most of the people in the hamlet are related, and many had lived in the property over the years.

The choice of Notaire generally rests with the purchaser as it is he who normally picks up the cost. It is worth noting that you can choose any notaire you wish, from anywhere in France. Armed with this knowledge you may as well search out one who speaks English if your French is not good. As usual we didn't find this out until later, however we did have a translator with us at the time. So having signed on the dotted line, we left the Notaires office, drove our Landrover and trailer up to the property and opened a bottle of champagne.

To say the condition of the property was poor would be an understatement - the details from the estate agent described it as "basic", which is estate agent speak for "no-one in their right mind will buy it". Surveyors are not common in France, the normal approach is to ask a builder to inspect the property and assess the work which needs doing. There is a charge for this, which is normally refunded if he is given the job. We had spent an entire afternoon clambering (somewhat precariously ) around every nook and cranny in the property delicately poking and prodding everything in sight, so in our case I didn't bother - I could see how bad it was, I didn't need to pay someone to confirm my worst fears!



(The farmhouse in better days. The photograph was kindly given to me by the lady who sold the property to us. It is an old photo of her family (Courty) and was taken in 1903. The cart still exists and is in reasonable condition in one of the barns. An old tipper, it still works perfectly although needs some renovation - when I get the time!)





On the first day of our arrival, our immediate neighbour somehow managed to knock on the door without it collapsing and introduced himself. Knowing our situation, and probably thinking we were both a little crazy, he offered the use of his water etc. if we needed it - we certainly did. We had no water, electicity, sanitation or telephone - a situation which was going to last a bit longer than we anticipated. However, the warmth of the welcome more than made up for these minor shortfalls, and Regis and his family were to become very good friends in the years to come. Bouyed up by such a friendly welcome, that night I offered to empty the portapotty!