"A little drop of Cognac"

The France Show - a great start to the year

2012-01-24T14:31:00.000+01:00

Apologies for the lack of posts lately but it's been a busy start to the year.

Earlier this month I was in London for The France Show in Earls Court. The show happened to coincide with France losing it's AAA credit rating and I wondered if this would affect the mood of visitors to our stand.

The answer was a resounding "not at all".

We had, literally, thousands of visitors over the three days and the ones that I spoke to didn't mention credit ratings, the forthcoming election, PIIGS or the fate of the euro.

Instead they asked me about sunshine, vineyards, education, healthcare and "respect" (of elders, teachers, policemen and each other). It was clear that whilst funding the dream may be proving difficult, the attraction of France remains undiminished.

Within hours of returning home I had picked up two search mandates and have others "bubbling under" which I expect to come to fruition over the coming days.

I'm pretty sure that overall housing transaction numbers will be down this year in France - I'm optimistic though that by increasing market share there will still be plenty of opportunities to prosper.

www.cognacproperty.com

Primelocation property blog awards - placed again!

2012-01-09T16:47:00.000+01:00

It's that time of year again, when Primelocation announce the results of their annual property blog awards.

Now in their third year, the main award has been won previously by yours truly and the much respected property journalist Graham Norwood. This years winner is another journalist, Roger Hunt, you can see his excellent blog here.

I'm delighted to say that A little drop of Cognac was "placed" for the third year running. I wrote "House prices - will Google ruin your dinner party?" back in the summer and the judges decided that this particular entry was worthy of the runner-up spot.

I guess the thing I am most thrilled about is the consistency - a win and two runners-up in the three years that the awards have been running is no mean feat. Being ultra cynical I write the blog in order to win business and to position myself as being an expert in both French property matters and in local issues pertinent to life here in the Charente. The awards give added authority (and perhaps even a much needed gravitas) to what are some quite personal and parochial postings.

Anyway, I'm thrilled that my work is recognised and will do my utmost to justify the award.

Here's to the 2012 competition.....

www.cognacproperty.com

63% of Americans use a buying agent to help find their dream home

2012-01-06T14:26:00.000+01:00

Earlier this week I had a most interesting Google+ "hangout" with some of my colleagues in the FrenchEntrée property finders network.

One of the agents, Sophia, was telling us about her experiences in America where she lived and studied for a while. She was saying that it is the norm for buyers to have representation when looking for a house - it's probably the biggest expenditure they will ever make so this makes perfect sense.

I looked it up and, according to this article in Wikipedia 63% of Americans do indeed instruct a buying agent. The article goes on to say:

"Most Buying Agents specialise in a particular location: a large part of their expertise is derived from local knowledge, personal contacts with local estate agents, and inside-information about properties that are not yet on the open market".

This combination of local knowledge and contacts is doubly important if you are looking to buy a property abroad.

For example, if you are currently living in the USA, Australia, South Africa or the far east there is simply no way that you could expect to fully search the market here, or indeed gather the comparable evidence needed to help you negotiate the lowest price possible.

We are seeing an increasing amount of business coming from international clients and whilst it is hard on my telephone bill it is also comforting to know that we have such a robust and long standing business model.....one that more and more UK buyers are adopting.

http://www.cognacproperty.com/

Knight Frank global housing predictions for 2012

2012-01-03T11:24:00.000+01:00

Regular readers will know that I'm a fan of the research team at Knight Frank and particularly like the way they present their research.

Of course we have to understand that they have an extraordinarily wealthy client base and look at things from a different viewpoint to the majority of other property analysts.

Their 2012 property predictions report says that instability in the Eurozone has led to very weak mainstream housing markets but, perversely, this has helped "prime" markets such as London & Paris.

They forecast that 44% of the worldwide cities they monitor are set to see house price increases.

Several Asian cities are set to see soaring house prices, including price rises of up to 20% in Bangkok and Jakarta, with Paris (yet again), Kiev and St Petersburg forecast to see similar increases.

However, certain cities are pipped to see massive falls, with values declining by up to 20% in Shanghai, Mumbai, Hong Kong and Geneva.

As regular readers will also know I don't have much (any) faith in house price indices - transaction numbers are the only key indicator that really count.

A double digit rise in Paris would mean plenty of misleading headlines about "soaring French house prices" but would be distinctly unhelpful when it comes to matching vendor expectations with reality here in SW France.

It all makes interesting reading if you have the coffee ready and a spare fifteen minutes though.

www.cognacproperty.com

Bring me sunshine....

2012-01-03T08:55:00.001+01:00

Let's face it, one of the big attractions of moving to France is the weather.

Pretty much all of us like sunshine and it's a proven fact that it makes us happy.

Back in the summer I saw this posting on the Leggett Immobilier website which shows that here in the Charente I am getting around two and a half more hours of sunshine per day than I was when I lived in the UK.

The photo at the top of this post was taken on Christmas day - as you can see it was a crystal clear blue sky. Our traditional family walk was taken in just jeans, polo shirt and light jumper (which came off half way round).

We went to visit friends on the cote d'azur for new year and the photo below was taken on new years day.

It's a far cry from my native north-east of England and the freezing cold winters of my childhood.

www.cognacproperty.com

Come and say hello at The France Show 2012

2011-12-14T09:28:00.000+01:00

It's coming up to that time of (the new) year again, where the great and the good of the French property industry get together in Earls Court to present their wares. Of course there's plenty of non property related things to do as well, including wine tasting, cookery exhibitions, a huge French market and pretty girls doing the can-can.

The France Show is taking place in London between 13-15 January 2012 and you can see full details here.

I will be joining colleagues from all over France and you can find us on the FrenchEntrée Property Finders stand which is number 207. Please do drop by and say hello, it always gives me a boost when someone says "I read your blog". In addition you'll be able to talk with a friendly bunch of professional buying agents who, this year, have helped clients buy properties from €40,000 to €4,000,000.

I have been exhibiting at the show for a few years now and it has been rewarding to journey from a tentative "Hi, can you help me, I'm thinking about......" to finding somewhere special for the same people and occasionally even sharing an aperitif in their new home.

Who knows, this year it could be you!

See you there.....

www.cognacproperty.com

French housing numbers v UK housing numbers

2011-11-30T09:57:00.001+01:00

The other day I was asked how many houses were sold in France each year and I didn't know the answer. So I decided to look it up and do a simple comparison between the French and UK housing markets in 2011. Here are the results:

France
Population: 63 million
Size: 551,000 km2
Estimated number of house sales in 2011: circa 790,000
Average house price Paris: €316,900
Average house price regions: €165,000

UK
Population: 62 million
Size: 243,000 km2
Estimated number of house sales in 2011: circa 840,000
Average house price London: €398,000
Average house price England & Wales: €187,200

OK - I know that the UK isn't just England & Wales but these were the figures that I could find easily and I'm only undertaking this exercise as a quick comparison.

French figures are raken from the Notaires de France, England & Wales figures are from the Land Registry, currency conversion rate taken as 1.17 euros to the pound.

A point to note is that the UK transaction figure is the lowest for 40 years (see full story here) while the French transaction numbers for 2011 are higher than in 2010 (see full story here).

However, transaction numbers in France are forecast to fall "significantly" next year according to the Notaires, due to the general economic crisis, CGT reforms and a "wait and see" attitude in the run up to the election.

I'm not sure that we can draw any conclusions from the above other than the blindingly obvious one that 2012 is going to be another tough year for both estate agents and agence immobiliere no matter which side of the channel they are on.

The good news though is that at least I'll have some dazzling stats at my fingertips during the numerous functions and dinner parties I have in the run up to Christmas.

www.cognacproperty.com

2011 French property market review (well kind of)

2011-11-28T09:00:00.001+01:00

Discussing house price fluctuations in the French property market is a pointless and futile waste of time.

Sadly though not a week goes by without someone asking me about them. Of course, they expect an answer and they're looking for a pithy summary not an hour long seminar. So, if you were to ring up and pop the question as we approach the end of 2011 what would I say?

Well, let's face it - the UK probably has the brightest and best paid property analysts in the world (it certainly has the most) with more research than you can shake a stick at but they still can't tell us what the average house price is.

The truth is that national house price movements are meaningless. How can you compare Bridlington with Kensington or Caen with Cannes?

Some French agents and institutions have tried to drill down into regions and departments which is more helpful.

Read this article from the French Property portal and you'll be able to get the thoughts of Century 21, Credit Agricole, Notaires de France the FPI and the FNAIM. If you're looking for statistics then this is a great starting point.

However, the truth is that whilst the booming Parisienne property market may well have massaged the figures to show an overall growth in prices in 2011 this hasn't been the case in thousands of micro markets across France (in my case the Charente valley).

I'm dealing with agents, vendors and notaires every day and I can tell you that prices around here haven't really moved during the last 12 months....if anything they have softened slightly.

The houses that I have acquired on behalf of clients this year have, without exception, been bought at a discounted rate to the asking price. Properties in prime areas have been selling, those in secondary locations have been sticking unless they are very competitively priced.

2011 has been a buyers market and - trust me here - 2012 will be one too. That's all you really need to know.

My best advice....if you're looking to buy in France next year then ignore the statisticians and "market reviews" and appoint someone who knows local conditions to be by your side. They will scour the whole market, sift out the dross, collect the comparable evidence and help you buy the house at the lowest possible price.

They should be able to answer your questions on schooling, doctors, restaurants and the best local artisans too. Local knowledge, you just can't beat it.

www.cognacproperty.com

www.cognacproperty.com - an apology

2011-11-22T15:20:00.001+01:00

My website, www.cognacproperty.com is back up today having been offline for three weeks. In that time any emails sent to graham@cognacproperty.com will have bounced back.

To say that it has been frustrating trying to get my site back up and running is the understatement of the century.

I won't bore you with the details - my language would be unprofessional and out of character - but suffice to say that if you want to register a site with www.freeparking.co.uk you should be aware that they don't have a published phone number or address and that they simply ignore emails and faxes no matter how critical the content or how many times you say please.

And yes, you're right, perhaps I should have checked this back in 2003 when I was registering the domain and no, going with the cheap option wasn't too clever of me either.

www.cognacproperty.com (hopefully)

So the French healthcare system works then...

2011-11-16T09:09:00.001+01:00

Regular readers will know that France regularly tops the list of places that people want to live and that one of the reasons for this is the legendary healthcare system here.

It's all very well reading about this but how does it work in practice?

Well, a couple of weeks ago I was unable to shake off a bad dose of flu so went to my eccentric GP in Jarnac. No appointment just turned up at 9am on a Monday morning.

He got out his stethoscope, cracked a few jokes, told me I had pneumonia, wrote out a prescription, made a phone call and kicked me out.

By 10am I had been to the clinic and had my bloods taken, by 2pm my lungs had been x rayed and a specialist had taken me through the results, checked my prescription and packed me off to bed.

Thankfully no lasting damage and I'm well on the way to recovery.

Impressive service though wasn't it.

Perhaps the next time I'm whingeing about the cost of my "cotisations" I'll remember what I'm paying for and write out the cheque a little less grudgingly!

www.cognacproperty.com

The future of UK property portals

2011-11-03T12:28:00.000+01:00

I'd better make it clear from the outset that I have a bit of a thing about marketing property online....and have had for some while.

Back in 1997 the Chesterton website was chosen as "site of the month" by Computing magazine which opened their story with:

"There are now over 50 estate agents with web sites but Graham Downie offers two reasons why estate agents have been reluctant to embrace the web. Firstly, they've seen it as an area for anoraks. But that has shifted over the past year as other professions, such as lawyers and management consultants, have moved online. It's also fear of the unknown, but that too is changing as clients are beginning to demand that estate agents have web sites."

That same year (1997 remember) I had written to all the other leading commercial property agents suggesting we create an online office & industrial property portal. Half a dozen of us teamed up with London & Regional properties to launch Propertylink which was subsequently sold to RBI to form part of the Estates Gazette stable.

Today, Propertylink is the largest commercial property listing site in the UK.

In 1999 the MD of our residential division and myself persuaded Michael Holmes and the Chesterton Board to invest £500,000 (along with Savills and other leading agents) into a company called Fastcrop. This was the outfit that subsequently created Primelocation. In January 2006 the agents cashed in when Fastcrop was bought by the Daily Mail group for £48m.

Today, Primelocation is used by 11,000 agents and lists over 850,000 properties.

Of course, it's rather sad (and indicative of something) that I should have played such a role in launching these two giant sites yet remain a penniless and humble estate agent in rural France. At least I'm happy.

So here we are, fast approaching 2012 and what does the future hold?

Well, as you may have read, the Digital Property Group (owners of Primelocation and Findaproperty) have just merged with Zoopla. The big question on agents lips is whether they will retain all three brands as independent sites or merge them into one big super-site to rival Rightmove (findazoolocation.com perhaps).

For what it's worth I think that they will go for the latter. Back in 1996 Property Week ran a story about listing properties on the then fledgling internet and I was quoted:

"Clients are saying they want a single, comprehensive source rather than skipping around".

Fifteen years later I still believe those words to be true. For me the bigger question is whether any new super-site will refuse to take private sales.

Don't forget that I now live and work in a country where private sales form over half of all transactions each year.

Sarah Beeny has scratched the surface with Tepilo but they have a miniscule market share. If findazoolocation.com (or whatever the new super-site is called) were to launch as "open to everyone" then the general public would shout with glee.

The agents though would go ballistic, chuck their toys out of the pram and threaten to boycott it.

It's going to come.

Perhaps not this time..... but if and when Sarah Beeny (Phil, Kirstie or any other high profile "expert" would do just as well) gets the backing of a DPG or a Google who are prepared to invest heavily then UK estate agents are going to see their world blown apart.

"But we've always done it this way" won't cut the mustard....just look at what has changed in the last fifteen years. Who can say where we will be in 2027.

www.cognacproperty.com

Property marketing - is the future black and white?

2011-11-02T14:19:00.002+01:00

Strutt & Parker seem to be getting a decent amount of press coverage today for their announcement that they will be adding QR codes to their sale boards.

"Use your mobile to scan the code and the phone will then show full property details including floorplans and photos, as well as offering the option to complete a short request form for further information or a viewing".

Barton & Wyatt said that they would be incorporating QR codes into their boards & advertising a while back too.

I guess that the question is.... "will people stop the car and get out to scan the code"?

I don't know the answer and have an open mind, only time will tell. For sure they would be very handy for me as I drive down some of the remoter French country lanes and see an "A vendre" sign in front of a mile long drive-way. I also think that video is going to play an increasing part in the way we market property and QR codes could tie in nicely.

What I do know for sure is that "mobile" is quickly going to play a big role in the way that agents/vendors will be marketing their houses. At the moment 45% of internet users use a mobile to connect to the internet and within the next two years smartphones are forecast to reach 90% penetration in the UK.

Don't forget I live in a country where the majority of agents still don't tell you in which town a house is located.

Most do have websites now, but they tend to be steam driven. It sounds jingoistic but it's the agencies with international ownership that are leading the way. As an example, take a look at the map search facility and virtual tours on the Leggett site here.

All food for thought methinks..... please do feel free to leave you own ideas as to the future of property marketing in the comments section below.

www.cognacproperty.com

Lonely Planet votes Poitou Charentes in the top 10 places in the world

2011-10-30T15:04:00.000+01:00

The Lonely Planet "Top 10 places in the world" has just been published...you can see their full list here.

It's probably not too surprising to see the Mayan Route in South America, the tropical island of Borneo, or Queenstown national park in New Zealand listed as the best spots on the planet.

But it may come as a surprise to see Poitou Charentes alongside these illustrious and exotic locations.

Lonely Planet says:

With quiet country roads wending through vine-striped hills and wild stretches of coastal sands interspersed with misty islands, the Atlantic coast is where the French get back to nature. Much more laid-back than the Med (but with almost as much sunshine) and ideally suited to family holidays, this is a place where you can slow the pace right down.

And there are numerous ways in which to do this. You could spend a morning quietly greeting curious ducks as you kayak down the glowing green canals, rivers and streams of the Marais Poitevin. You could cycle over the lazy landscapes of the dreamy Île de Ré or raise a glass in the pretty town of Cognac.

The article ends by saying that we are "woefully under-visited by foreigners".

With an average property price of just €140,000, yet easy access to airports in Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Poitiers, you can see why 2012 may well see an influx of international buyers to our region. Each one looking for their own slice of paradise.

The top pic is the view from the terrace at my parents-in-law who live in "my" village here in the Charente whilst the two above were also taken in our village (midway between Cognac & Jarnac).

We always thought that our secret was safe but it looks as though Lonely Planet has well and truly let the cat out of the bag.

http://www.cognacproperty.com/

Bruno Mars rocks Nantes

2011-10-24T14:00:00.000+02:00

I have always wanted to visit Nantes as it is consistently voted one of the best places in France to live.

So last Friday I took the girls to see Bruno Mars in the Zenith concert hall and we spent the week-end exploring the region (more of which another time).

Nantes centre was impressive - it's clean, attractive and has an upmarket feel about it. We had a beautiful lunch in L'Entrecote followed by dessert in the Haagen-Dazs café. The streets were filled with students and there was a real buzz about the place.

The concert was superb.

It's an excellent venue as it's pretty small (6,000 capacity) and you really feel part of the spectacle. The crowd seemed to consist of middle class teenagers who looked as though they were on a day out from Hogwarts College. I'm sure that one of the girls in the queue next to us was called Hermione - they were polite, excitable and there wasn't a "hoodie" in sight.

I've seen some showmen - including Robbie Williams at the Albert Hall - but Bruno Mars really does top the lot. His vocals were spot on and he was a true pro. His guitar stopped working just before he launched himself into "Marry you" but he just said "blow it" (or words to that effect) and carried on without it.

He also did his best to interact with the locals, despite the language barrier, and he simply couldn't have put more energy into it.

10/10.

If you get the chance to go to either Zenith or Bruno Mars I heartily recommend both.

www.cognacproperty.com

French Magazine - international buyers returning

2011-10-20T08:56:00.001+02:00

Here's a copy of my latest article for the excellent French Magazine.

Read it through and you'll see that there is evidence to show that international buyers see France as a safe haven at the moment and are, once again, back in the French property market.

Analysts at both Savills & Knight Frank have been pushing property over here to their wealthy clients.

I also set out the role of a private client buying agent and explain how a good one could help you save both time and money.

Hope you enjoy it. This month you will see that French Magazine is rebranding to FrenchEntrée Magazine - it's available in all good newsagents and well worth picking up.

www.cognacproperty.com

Guest blog - The lowdown on French house insurance

2011-10-13T10:50:00.000+02:00

Today's guest post is from the insurance specialists at Policy Expert:

As in the UK, if you buy aproperty in France – you’ll need to insure it. As a general rule, purchasingyour home insurance direct from aFrench provider will be the most cost effective way of going about it. However,for some foreign buyers, they may feel a little unsure about buying Frenchinsurance due to the language barrier. For the most part, it works in a very similarway to insurance over here - so don’t feel too daunted by it.

If you’re looking to coveryour French home, here are a few useful pointers that should be helpful:

Common ways to buy

As you’ll find in this country, there are anumber of channels through which to purchase your insurance – here are 3 of themost popular. Firstly, there are the insurance agents (agents généraux/agent d’assurance) whoact on behalf of a particular insurance company to sell their products to thepublic. You may find an agent who is local to your property, making it easy togo in and have a face-to-face chat with them about your requirements. Remember,you obviously won’t be offered a choice of providers and that the price may bemore than if you went direct.

Next, you have insurance brokers(courtiers) who will normallyrepresent a small pool of insurers – thus giving you more choice, but notusually the whole of market. They may not offer you the cheapest deal on themarket but they should be able to find you the cover you need. They may work ona commission structure, so be careful you’re not being unnecessarily oversold.

Finally, there’s the Groupement des entreprises mutuelles d’assurances(GEMA) - which is a non-profit making cooperative of providers who operatewithout intermediaries.

Going direct

Unlike in this country, itseems that the French are less likely to go direct to the insurer – but thisdoesn’t mean you can’t do it. Many well-known insurers such as Groupama and Avivaoperate in France and you can always go straight to the source and contact themby phone or via the internet.

Online comparison

If you’re a fan of online comparison sites and want to go down thatroute – here are three French ones you could try: Empruntis.com, Assurland.comand lelynx.fr.

The process

Much like our UK system,you’ll be asked to complete an insurance application - which is called ‘propositiond’assurance’ in France. This will be in the form of a questionnaire that’s designedto help your insurer establish the amount of risk your property poses to them.It’s absolutely crucial to be accurate and honest with your answers, or yourpolicy may be deemed invalid should you ever need to claim. With that in mind,it may be advisable to get some translation assistance at this point if yourlanguage skills are a bit rusty.

The insurer will then provide you with written details of the premiumyou must pay, the cover you’re buying and any terms and conditions that apply.Again, if you only have basic French, it may be wise to seek a native speakerto run through this with you before you sign anything.

This article was written by Policy Expert who are insurancespecialists, providing house insurance to homeowners in the UK. You canuse their website to compare quotes and buy online.

Why use a buying agent - reason #237

2011-10-07T13:13:00.001+02:00

This is a terrific ad for Google streetview (you should click on it to see it clearly).

It also demonstrates one of the many reasons that you should use a local, professional, buying agent if you're considering buying a property in France.

As you may well know, it's customary here for many immobiliers to give the name of "the next village along" when advertising houses. They don't want other agents to pinch the instruction.

Similarly, private sellers on Le Bon Coin or PAP rarely give out the address of their house.

This means that viewings are often a journey into the unknown.

Mandate a buying agent and they will have visited the property and given you their opinion on it as well as offering you photos, video, google earth imagery, location plan, cadastral plan details and pretty much anything else you want to know.

I can stand outside a house, take a panoramic pic on my mobile, send it immediately by email and chat it through with my client in the space of a minute.

Forget the fact that I know the market in the Charente valley like the back of my hand, will scour it fully on your behalf, will negotiate the lowest price possible (using comparable evidence I have collected along the way) and will be acting solely for you....I think that reason #237 is a pretty compelling one all by itself.

Estate agency is a rapidly changing business, the buyer is king and we need to meet their needs to prosper.

www.cognacproperty.com

How's this for a tidy wood pile....

2011-10-05T14:31:00.000+02:00

Just back from a lunchtime walk in the vines with the senior partner. This month we celebrate eight years of living in the Charente and we were saying how happy we are that we made the move relatively early on in life.

In our previous incarnation she would spend her lunch break stalking the boutiques of Bond Street and Regent Street in search of a new pair of shoes.

Fortunately this is no longer an option (although she does rate Rue St Catherine in Bordeaux pretty highly) and she's perfectly happy strolling through the local vineyards with nary a shop in sight.

She was in seventh heaven today when we walked past this wood pile as she does like things to be particularly neat & tidy, in fact she was most insistent that I take a photo.

It made me chuckle.....oh how our lives have changed since coming here.

www.cognacproperty.com

International property buyers flock to France

2011-10-05T10:40:00.000+02:00

I was up early this morning looking through some of the stats from around the FrenchEntrée Property Finders network.

One noticeable trend is the increase in buyers from around the world. Of course, we get our fair share of mandates from UK residents looking to appoint a buying agent in France but take a look at some of the other countries that our clients have bought from in the last 12 months.

Russia
Thailand
Hawaii
Hong Kong
South Africa
Australia
USA
Canada
Holland
Sweden

If you add in countries that we have current mandates from then this list increases further.

Perhaps I shouldn't be surprised. For any international purchaser looking to buy a house in France it must be a daunting prospect and instructing a professional to act purely on your behalf will be a natural reaction.

Central London is seeing a huge amount of interest from international buyers at the moment - investors see prime property as a safe haven in these turbulent times.

French property offers a similar kind of appeal. The property market here is traditionally one of the most stable in the world and we have an economy that is amongst the strongest in Europe. Both Savills & Knight Frank have recently identified France as a place the world's wealthy want to buy and it's clear from our figures that this is the case.

Our agents work well with vendors, local immobiliers and notaires all over France and another interesting stat to come out this morning was that we have helped clients buy property in a price range that stretches from €52,000 to €4,500,000.

Looking at the lower figure perhaps it's not just the super rich that know a good thing when they see it.

www.cognacproperty.com

Guest blog - Quick Move Now

2011-10-03T11:48:00.001+02:00

This month I have invited the team at Quick Move Now to present a guide to the top 10 unusual UKmortgages:

1. Muslim mortgages

A large Muslim population in many cities in the UKnow means many lenders are offering Muslim mortgages. These are ones thatcomply with Sharia Law.

2. Unusual home mortgages

Unusual homes such as lighthouses, windmills, barges or even shippingcontainers may need a special type of mortgage. Many high street lenders andmainstream insurers may be loath to take on such business, preferring insteadthe more straightforward flats, family homes and bungalows found in every townand village. As a result, many lenders and insurers will charge a premium tothose opting to live in more individual surroundings.

3. 125% mortgages

This is where the lender will advance funds up to 25% more than the purchaseprice or re-mortgage valuation. The funds are obtained purely with proof ofincome. Applicants normally need a very good credit history. Lenders who offerthis special type of mortgage include Northern Rock, Mortgage Express and BMSolutions.

4. Builder deposit mortgages

This is where a builder genuinely provides 5%-15% deposit without the need foryou to provide one for yourself. This has to be a medium sized local builder ora large national builder.

5. Self certification mortgages

These are designed for self employed people and those who find it hard to provetheir earnings. Borrowers state their own income and the mortgage amount isbased on the declared earnings. Self cert mortgages are open to abuse by peoplefraudulently declaring their earnings to be higher than they are. This is,however, a criminal offence. The FSA (Financial Services Authority) estimatesself cert mortgages make up 6% of the market.

6. Shared equity mortgages

Ideal for first time buyers, shared equity schemes allow people who arestruggling to get on the housing ladder a chance to buy a property inpartnership with the lender or government. Under the Government HomeBuy sharedequity scheme you buy 75% of a property yourself with a shared equity mortgagefrom a select number of lenders and the remaining 25% with the help of a 'topup' shared equity home loan from the mortgage lender and the Government. After5 years, a small amount of interest is payable on the â€˜top-up' shared equityloans which are fully repayable when you sell the property. When you sell theshared equity property you may have to also forfeit a portion of any increasein equity.

7. Shared ownership mortgages

These often occur in partnership with housing associations where the tenantelects to buy a percentage of the house and pays rent on the rest. You may beable to increase your share as time goes by, sometimes to 100%; this is called'staircasing'.

8. Euro mortgages

A Euro mortgage is basically the same as a UKmortgage except it is denominated in euros rather than pounds, and its ratewill be allied to the interest rate set by the European Central Bank. Switchingyour mortgage away from pounds to euros may seem attractive for pro-Europeansor a chance to make some money on the currency markets, but is it worth riskingyour biggest financial commitment? Switching to a euro mortgage for most peopleis a high-risk gamble, which could easily backfire. Currency markets are fairlyvolatile - and you could get caught out.

9. Guarantor mortgages

With a guarantor mortgage a parent or close family member can either cover theshortfall in the mortgage needed to cover the borrowers income or can cover thefull mortgage amount. By covering the mortgage, or part of it, the guarantor isliable to make payments if the principal slips into arrears or defaults. Forinstance, if you earn Â£20,000 you could borrow Â£80,000. If the property youwant to purchase is worth Â£130,000, there is a shortfall of Â£50,000 that theguarantor would cover. The mortgage lender will assess the guarantorâ€™sincome, current mortgage and other financial commitments to ensure that theycan cover the loan amount.

10. Buy-to-let mortgages

Buy to Let Mortgages are mortgages specifically designed for people who want toinvest in the property market by purchasing one or more houses and letting themout to tenants. The Owner is then able to benefit from any appreciation in thecapital value of the house itself. They are also likely to be able to maintainthe property and meet much of the loan repayment from the revenue realised byletting. The buy to let phenomenon has driven house prices higher over the lastfew years while making a broader section of rental accommodation available.Most buy-to-let mortgages are interest only, and the max amount borrowed isusually 80% of value of the property. Rent often has to be 125% of the monthlyrepayment (although this has recently relaxed because of rising house prices)

Quick Move Now are one of the leading house buying companies in the UK.They pay up to 90% of the value of your house and can turn around in as littleas 7 days. Visit http://www.quickmovenow.comfor more info.

www.cognacproperty.com

French Magazine - a trip through western France

2011-09-30T10:03:00.000+02:00

This is a reproduction of an article I wrote for French Magazine this summer.

I took a trip through some of my favourite parts of western France, a couple of hours north of where I live - from La Rochelle up towards Tours.

You'll see that I also took the opportunity to promote this blog by listing it as one of six that cover France and French property - a bit cheeky I know but hey I put a lot of effort in and need the readers!

If you would rather read the article in your browser then just click here.

www.cognacproperty.com

French magazine - six sizzling hotspots

2011-09-29T11:06:00.000+02:00

This is another of the articles that I have written this year for French Magazine.

In this one I identified six towns and cities that I thought readers might find interesting (whether to buy property or just to visit) - they are spread out throughout France but all offer something different.

One of the towns is Segonzac, which is the capital of Grande Champagne and where my daughters go to school. Of course I'm biased but if you are looking in the charente valley then Segonzac is an excellent starting point with easy access to Cognac, Jarnac, Chateauneuf and the other pretty towns in the region.

The article also gives details of the compulsory tests that owners need to complete before they can sell their house.

If you would rather read the article in your web browser then just click here.

www.cognacproperty.com

French Magazine - Top 10 tips for buying in France

2011-09-28T11:17:00.000+02:00

This is another article that I wrote for French Magazine earlier this year.

Entitled "Top 10 tips for buying and selling in France" I tried to pass on some of my experience to readers. That's over 20 years experience of the property industry (with Savills, Jackson-Stops & Chesterton) and eight years of the French property market as a private client buying agent.

If you want to read the article in your browser click here.

Hope you enjoy it.....

www.cognacproperty.com

French Magazine - It's the early bird

2011-09-27T16:52:00.001+02:00

This is the reproduction of an article I wrote for French Magazine at the start of the year. If it's easier you can click here to view it in your browser.

In the article I talk about the best time to view French property and the best time to sell it (not necessarily the same) as well as giving an example of how I sourced two houses for clients before they hit the open market.

I hope that you enjoy it - I have just been sent PDF's of three other articles I have written and intend posting them up in case you missed them first time round.

You can buy French Magazine (now rebranded to be called FrenchEntrée) in any good newsagent or subscribe here

www.cognacproperty.com

France now UK's top 2nd home choice

2011-09-26T12:26:00.000+02:00

Good old Savills.

They have published some research into where UK buyers invest in second homes. You can see their findings here and they open their comments with:

"France has replaced Spain as the favourite destination for second home owners to invest. Its perception of stability, limited house price decline and ease of access help make it a safe bet for UK buyers"

What's more they gave an exclusive preview to respected property journo Graham Norwood and you can read his article in the Daily Telegraph here. An extract I liked was:

"Prices across France fell 20 per cent between 2007 and 2009, but are bouncing back. Estate agent Century 21 reports an 18 per cent rise in Paris last year, while FNAIM, the estate agents’ association, reports five per cent rises across France this year.

“French banks have continued to lend on second homes, stimulating the market,” says the Savills report. Now is the time to buy before further increases".

As regular readers will know I take French house price rises/falls with a huge dollop of salt but I can't help feeling that French housing looks as good as (or better than) just about every other European asset class at present.

www.cognacproperty.com

Viral marketing genius or a "Ratner moment"?

2011-09-26T12:09:00.000+02:00

There's been a buzz going around the UK estate agency industry following a viral marketing capmpaign from upmarket London agency Douglas & Gordon.

The first of what we assume to be a series of "mockumentary's" was released last week and already the Daily Mail are on the case.

Housing commentator Henry Pryor wonders if it will be seen as marketing genius or a "Ratner moment" for D&G in this blog post.

Personally I agree with Henry that it will do D&G far more good than harm. Their target audience are the chic central London upper middle classes and I think that they'll appreciate the parody. Like all good humour it's actually pretty close to the mark and anyone who has bought or sold in Central London will recognise the type of character portrayed.

Of course it will also upset a lot of people (The Sun are on their case too)....but I guess that D&G won't lose a lot of sleep over this. A quick look at their website shows that they have 12 properties under £250,000 (and none at under £200,000) but 84 at over a million.

The biggest winners though will probably be the production company who made it on behalf of D&G.

It will be interesting to see the continued reaction to it - there has already been some adverse comment from competitors but then there would be wouldn't there.

Have a look and let me know what you think....it does contain some strong language though so be careful if playing it in the office or in front of your kids.

www.cognacproperty.com

It's vendange time in the Charente

2011-09-22T10:04:00.000+02:00

Yup, it's that time of year again.

We need to add ten minutes onto the school run because of slow moving tractors and the roads are covered in crushed grapes that have spilled out from the trailers hurrying to take them to be pressed.

We live in the heart of "Grande Champagne" which is 13,766 hectares of the most beautiful countryside on the planet. The people here are renowned as being "laid back" and sleepy and the roads reflect this by being as quiet as can be.

Normally it takes me eight minutes to take the girls to their school in Segonzac but this morning we were stuck behind one of the colossal grape pickers. The country lanes are small, winding and not condusive to overtaking - try it and you could well get a closer view of the ugni-blanc grapes than you really want.

A few years ago we helped with the picking and the machines really are like something out of War of the Worlds.

The good news is that it doesn't wind me up. There used to be a time when the M25 was a major part of my life and I suffered road rage with the best of them. An hour to get from one side of Weybridge to the other and steam would be coming from my ears.

I'm a changed man though.

Now I just wind the window down, take in the distinct aroma of freshly picked grapes, and look forward to sampling the end product!

www.cognacproperty.com

RICS forecasts choppy waters for UK property sector

2011-09-20T14:52:00.000+02:00

Have you seen the powerpoint slides from this presentation that the RICS chief economist gave to a bunch of property bigwigs at Lloyds last week?

If not then I suggest you take a look but do put your tin hat on before you open them up.

The title slide is "Economic headwinds pose new threat for property sector" and here's a selection of subheads:

Reality dawns - deleveraging will depress growth for forseeable future
Economic expectations have deteriorated over the last month
Consumer confidence is heading towards Jan '09 low
In the resi sector activity remains subdued
restricted mortgage lending is not the only problem
pressure on the property sector will continue to grow

The very last slide finishes with the words "European sovereign debt crisis - how will it end"?

Now that's a question I'd pay a bundle full of francs & centimes to know the answer to.....

www.cognacproperty.com

France - where the wealthy want to buy second homes

2011-09-19T15:54:00.000+02:00

Just read another decent bit of research from the Global Briefing team at Knight Frank - "Where the wealthy want to buy their second homes" - you can see the whole paper here.

In terms of countries, France was the most popular second-home choice, accounting for almost a quarter of the properties in the survey respondents' portfolios. This popularity can be explained by the country's many second-home options across all location types. France was the most popular or second-most popular choice in all categories.

Rank	City	Coastal	Rural	Ski
1	UK	France	UK	France
2	France	Spain	France	Switzerland
3	US	US	Italy	US
4	Switzerland	Italy	US	Italy
5	Italy	Caribbean	Ireland	Canada

They say that when investing in property you should always go for the best location you can afford and with an average property price outside Paris of €163,000 it looks like that location isn't just for the uber-wealthy clients of Knight Frank.

Charente gardens bloom in the sunshine

2011-09-19T15:38:00.000+02:00

A few years ago I helped some clients buy the most delightful house, in the middle of the vines on the outskirts of Segonzac. This is a pic I took from the first floor window a while back.

It really is a stupendous location and it always raises my spirits when I drive past or when I visit my ex clients to break bread and share a glass of the local plonk.

It so happens that my wife and her gardening team were at the house this afternoon - cutting the lawns, tidying up the flower beds and pulling the weeds from the driveway. So I took the opportunity to pop across and offer a bit of support, encouragement and advice (the latter never seems to go down well though).

The sun was shining and the house looked a picture - it's at times like this that I love my job. I know for a fact that my clients never would have found the house without me and I'm equally sure (because I have the emails to prove it) that they love the fact that my wife and her team are so diligent and meticulous with their gardening duties.

It's not all "a bed of roses" living out here but sometimes I honestly feel as though I'm the luckiest guy on the planet.

www.cognacproperty.com

Retiring to France? Join the queue....

2011-09-08T09:33:00.003+02:00

I've just picked up this story from the Daily Telegraph with the rather dramatic headline of:

"Expat pensioner exodus: would the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights".

It's clear that many people of (and coming up to) pension age are looking into a move abroad. The pensions guy from Standard Life is spot on though when he says:

"Retiring abroad is a dream for many people, but does require careful planning and advice. Many people think living abroad is cheaper than living in the UK, but this isn’t always the case".

As with anything you really must do your homework if you want your move to work. There is a small but relevant number of expat retirees in my part of SW France and it's always sad to see people arriving with high expectations but then struggling because they haven't done their homework.

The good news is that France is a pretty attractive destination (and not just because of the sunshine, scenery, pace of life, healthcare system and local plonk).

As Leggett Immobilier's respected Chief Executive, Trevor Leggett, says:

"The new wealth tax rules coming into place are making France one of the most attractive destinations in Europe, as the threshold for this tax (ISF) is increasing from €800,000 to €1.3 million. Households with assets of between €1.3m and €3m will be subject to a tax of 0.25% and for assets over €3m the tax will be 0.5%.

There has also been one recent change to the law on Capital Gains Tax.

Previously, a reduction of 10% per year, beyond the fifth year of ownership, has been applied to the gain calculated. Therefore, sales made beyond the 15th year of holding the property had been fully exempt from CGT and social security contributions.

Now though, the tax due on the sale of these "non primary" residences will be calculated in accordance with the "Indice du Cout de la Construction" (rate of building inflation) at the time of the sale - taking into account the year you bought the property".

Certainly my experience has been that our move to France has exceeded expectations and we have been truly happy here. If you're thinking of something similar though you need to take off the rose tinted spectacles and make sure that you have planned thoroughly. A good starting point is the excellent retirement section on the FrenchEntrée site - you can see it here.

Just for a moment forget location, location, location and think research, research, research.

Bon courage.

www.cognacproperty.com

A lazy Sunday in the Charente

2011-09-07T13:32:00.000+02:00

It was back in 2003 that we upped sticks and moved into a gite in the middle of a vineyard in a tiny hamlet called Mainxe.

We soon made friends with the headmaster of the small local school and learned that he was also President of the aero-modelisme club. He led us behind the school playing fields into the vines.

Lo and behold there was a 200m tarmac runway, with wind sock where, each Sunday, he (and other enthusiasts) fly their model planes.

Every summer they have a big show where hundreds of people gather to watch a day long display - as well as to eat, drink and generally have a good time. The highlight for us has always been when they load up the planes with sweets attached to parachutes and the local kids stand on the runway and try to grab the bon bons as they fall to earth.

This year they had the champion of France give an acrobatics demonstration which was, even to my untrained eye, pretty impressive.

My two girls have now outgrown the sweetie grab but we did all enjoy the egg chasing.

The organisers loaded half a dozen eggs into the planes and then dropped them in by parachute. A motley crew of spectators were given frying pans and set off chasing them through the vines (it was a windy day).

It was the kind of afternoon that Peter Mayle would have written about and people would have thought he was making it up. It was simply delightful and the perfect way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Vive la France....

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking for gardening services in Charente?

2011-09-06T14:35:00.002+02:00

Here is a 100% biased critique of a job recently undertaken by the friendliest and most professional gardening services in the Charente.

I recently helped some Australian clients buy a beautiful old townhouse not far from me here. The house is wonderful but the gardens are something else indeed - simply spectacular.

They're also lacking in TLC (overgrown and in a right old state might be a better way of putting it).

My clients asked my wife (you see, we're fans of full disclosure on this blog) to help and they agreed that she would tackle the lower level "rose garden" first. They dug out the beds and the cracked crazy paving, put down weed matting and imported stones from a local quarry.

I went back to see them last week and they had been transformed. I know that I am biased but seriously she (and her two helpers) did the most amazing job as you can see from the "before & after " pics below.

So, if you're looking for gardening/property management services in Cognac, Jarnac, Segonzac or any other town around here then you could do a lot worse than calling 05 45 32 46 41 during office hours and asking for Juli-Anne.

Gardening - it begins with day break and ends with back ache...

www.cognacproperty.com

Don't move - the baguette is fully loaded

2011-09-06T14:05:00.001+02:00

I read this interesting report from Agent Genius earlier this week.

Entitled "One in four male realtors are packing heat while on the job" it highlighted the light years that separate life in Urban USA and life in deepest rural Charente.

If the research is to be believed then 15% of male estate agents in the US carry a gun and 10% carry a knife for protection. I'm guessing that the stats are a bit distorted but even so it makes me grateful for the life we have out here.

I'm not naive and understand the risks that (particularly female) agents take - I was at Savills when Suzy Lamplugh went missing in 1986 and fully support the brilliant work done in her name by the Suzy Lamplugh Trust.

Life is, thankfully, slower & safer here.

I did a quick straw poll of some of the local agents I deal with in and around Jarnac. All carried a mobile phone with them but the most dangerous weapon that anyone admitted to was "yesterday's baguette which I left in the car by mistake"....

www.cognacproperty.com

French house prices rise for 5th quarter running

2011-08-29T16:02:00.000+02:00

The latest French house price figures are out from the FNAIM and they show a further rise in prices this quarter of 3.3%. The "year-on-year" rate of house price inflation currently stands at 6.8%.

You can see a snapshot of these figures from FrenchEntrée here or you can see the FNAIM report (in French) here.

I'm guessing that these figures actually come as a surprise to those of us on the ground who still consider that we're in a buyers market. Of course, the FNAIM stats are only taken from their members - they don't include transactions from immobiliers who are not members, nor do they take into account private sales which count for as much as 50% of the market over here.

What we do know for sure is that the French property market is historically robust and not inclined to great shifts in value either way.

If you're looking to buy property over here you should view it as a long term commitment, undertake plenty of research and not see it as a way of making a quick buck....no matter how attractive the headlines (or view from the bedroom window).

www.cognacproperty.com

£77,000 premium to live near the best schools!

2011-08-29T14:32:00.001+02:00

Fascinating article in The Independent today which you can read here.

Primelocation.com argue that people pay a £77,000 premium if a house is in the catchment area for a decent school:

"For many years now the challenges of the catchment area-based lottery for state schools have vexed millions of parents across the UK," says Nigel Lewis, a property analyst at PrimeLocation.com. "Our research highlights how much it can cost to get your child into the ideal school".

My old friend from our days at Savills, Henry Pryor, says:

"In some parts of the country the premium could be more than the £77,000. For example, in parts of Camden where I have a client looking to spend up to £1m, one side of the road can be as much as £100,000 more valuable because it is in the prescribed area for a good school".

Staggering isn't it and a sad indictment of modern life in London.

"The average cost of a house near one of Britain's top 50 state schools is £298,378 – 35 per cent above the UK average asking price of £221,110".

Just a cheeky thought but this is what that £298,378 would buy you in the catchment area of the terrific school in Gondeville (pictured above):

www.cognacproperty.com

20 top property blogs from "Quick Move Now"....

2011-08-11T17:36:00.000+02:00

....another day another spot of recognition for A little drop of Cognac.

This time it's from UK company Quick Move Now who are the UK's leading home purchase specialists.

They kindly told me that this was "one of the first websites to be featured on the list – we recognise its position as an industry leading property-related website".

Praise indeed, perhaps even a tad over the top.... but, hey, who's complaining?

You can see the full listing of 20 blogs featured on the Quick Move website here.

My personal list would also have included:

www.propertynewshound.com

www.hclp.co.uk

www.privatefinance.co.uk/mepasite/24/Blog.aspx

www.rightmove.co.uk/overseas-magazine

If you have any others to add to the list do please let me know.

www.cognacproperty.com

Property Week - Twitter top 100

2011-08-05T16:25:00.000+02:00

I was thrilled to see that I have made the Property Week Twitter "Top 100".

It's a listing of the 100 most influential property folk online and includes agents, developers, journalists, public bodies and other luminaries.

I'm particularly flattered as I'm the only nominee from France....and a small town in the rural south west to boot!

Recognition like this (and the prestigious Primelocation blog awards I received in 2009 & 2010) are important to my business.

You see, trust is a major issue for any international purchaser of property in France. The laws are different, the language is different, market data is difficult to come by and finding the "right" house on the internet is nigh on impossible.

Magazines and websites are flooded with people offering a "free" property finding service....hmm, let me think, will they show you everything that's on the market or just the tiny percentage of houses that they have been promised a commission from?

Awards like this - alongside high profile individuals such as Graham Norwood, Giles Barrie, Peter Bill and Andrew Waller and blue chip names such as Jones Lang Lasalle, Cushman & Wakefield, CBRE and the RICS - go a long way to establishing that trust.

Of course, 25 years property experience and eight years local knowledge of the prettiest villages and the best houses, restaurants, schools, notaires, agents and builders helps too.

So, merci beaucoup Property Week and keep up the good work.

www.cognacproperty.com

Win a house worth €200,000 in the Martell promotion

2011-08-02T09:30:00.000+02:00

I have just read this article in Harpers Wine & Spirits review saying that this month Martell are launching an on-pack promotion offering consumers the chance to win a "luxury" home in the Cognac region.

"Special promotional packs of 35cl, 70cl and 1L Martell VS will be available in off-trade channels offering consumers the chance to win a property worth over £200,000.

Senior brand manager for Martell, Pernod Ricard UK, James Robinson, says: "This neck tag promotion offers a truly unique prize that will drive rate of sale by creating increased stand out on shelf, while also reinforcing Martell's French heritage and quality credentials."

I went on to www.martell.com to try and find out some more info about the competition but got bored trying to navigate around (yes I watched the compulsory video and "found" the access code).

I know I'm knocking on a bit but it seems to me that their Marketing Director is more interested in winning awards for creativity than actually providing information for his customers. It reminds me of the "Toucan" Guinness ads which won loads of awards but were dropped after sales fell substantially....it's probably the same guy who has created the Martell site.

Anyway, best of luck with the competition if you decide to enter....

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking for property on the Ile de Ré?

2011-07-27T09:50:00.000+02:00

If you love France but have never been to the Ile de Ré then you have missed a trick. It's a pretty island linked by a bridge to La Rochelle and a favourite haunt of wealthy Parisiennes. Many of our French friends also like to spend their summer holidays there...despite the fact that it's less than two hours away.

I had the pleasure of meeting Jacqueline & Brian Miller recently and they reminded me how much I like this area known as "the French Hamptons". They have just joined the FrenchEntrée property finder network and know all the best spots on the island.

If you go to their excellent blog "Ma maison parfait" you can see this post which spills a few of the islands many secrets. I particularly like this quote:

There are cycle routes throughout the island, miles of sandy beaches and pine forests for when you would prefer a shady place to enjoy a baguette, cheese and a bottle of the local wine. The island has strict planning regulations so the tallest buildings you will find here are lighthouses with the other buildings being mainly white-washed fishermen’s cottages with white, grey or green shutters.

If you'd like to know more about buying property in La Rochelle or on the Ile de Ré then you can contact Jacqueline and Brian here.

Just don't forget to invite me over to share the local wine and baguette in the sunshine....

www.cognacproperty.com

How to buy a vineyard....

2011-07-19T14:07:00.000+02:00

There's an excellent article in Country Life this week about how to buy a vineyard, you can read it in full here.

They identify two types of purchase - the full time commercial venture and the hobby.

The choice between commercial and hobby winemaking boils down to how much risk you're willing to take (it's very difficult to make money from a vineyard, warns Jo Leverett of Savills), how much time you have (hobbyists can outsource virtually all production, says Andrew Thomas of Strutt & Parker), and how much money you can spend (equipment and staff costs need to be factored in, among others). It will also dictate which type of property you need to buy.

Some of you may remember that last year I was mandated to find a chateau & vineyard around Bordeaux and I wrote about the difficulty of valuing a vineyard, including this summary:

I have a very good friend who is cellar master at Polignac which is one of the leading brands of Cognac. For ten years he was also the cellar master at one of the leading Bordeaux producers in the Medoc. He tells me that while he is perfectly capable of tasting and testing the existing wine stock he would not be able to give an accurate forecast as to its worth - that's a different job entirely.

Similarly, one of the chateau's that we visited is the former home of one of the world's most famous post impressionist painters. What kind of value does this add to the property?

So, at the end of our lunch we decided that any valuation has to include a combination of balance sheet analysis, collective expertise and comparable evidence...but it's also going to include plenty of shoulder shrugging and a dash of "je ne sais quoi".

With plenty of interest from Russia and Asia as well it seems that country estates, fisheries and vineyards could retain their values as well as any other property sector over the coming years.

www.cognacproperty.com

EU forces "U turn" on French health ban

2011-07-15T14:27:00.000+02:00

So runs the front page headline in the latest issue of The Connexion newspaper.

The story kicked off back in 2007 when the French government suddenly decided that it no longer wanted to pay for health care for pre-retirement expats from other EU Member States. This had a huge impact on thousands of people and the resultant media storm was quite some thing.

This weeks U turn means that early retirees will now get access to the CMU although full details still seem unclear.

In an email today staff at The Connexion said:

More details are emerging about how early retirees can regain access to state health cover in France. The French government has published a circular with guidelines applying to expats who move here before state pension age and are not in work.

It clarifies the different ways in which an inactive EU citizen can legally live in France through French state health insurance "in certain situations".

The circular explains that access to the CMU (couverture maladie universelle) will be studied on a "case by case" basis and applicants will have to satisfy the authorities that they have sufficient income.

France was forced to change its policy of denying state healthcare rights to early retirees after the European Commission intervened. The commission is keeping a close eye on how the new rules are applied.

We will have a full analysis of what the new rules mean in the next issue of The Connexion, out on August 1.

This is not a subject that I'm expert in (nor do I ever want to be as it seems ultra complicated and specialised) but if you think it affects you then the one thing I would say is for goodness sake make sure you seek the advice of a professional.

www.cognacproperty.com

Conquering the infamous Col du Tourmalet

2011-07-07T12:35:00.000+02:00

"Vous êtes des assassins! Oui, des assassins!'

So said Octave Lapiz when he won the Tour de France in 1910 after staggering up the Tourmalet.

It's a ridiculously hard climb as, at 2115m, it's the highest road in the central Pyrenees and the most famous mountain in the history of "Le Tour".

So it's hard to explain why, last Saturday, I set off from Lourdes on my tatty old mountain bike to tackle this monster. Accompanied by a group of friends who had cycled with me down from Bordeaux I had no idea what was in store.

The previous night we had all talked about the need to be mentally strong . One of our party asked how much - on a scale of 1 to 10 - we "wanted it".

My companions all said 10 without hesitation but I gave it a half-hearted 6. The truth is that I'd achieved my objective already (getting half fit and reaching the Pyrenees in the first place).

We left Lourdes along a stupidly pretty cycle track with the mountains in the distance. By the time we reached the foot of the Tourmalet in Luz St Sauveur I was already sweating hard.

Just the 19km's to go then at an average slope of 7.5%.

Two of our party shot off - these were the serious cyclists on proper road bikes who wanted to beat the clock.

This left Paddy and I. We have been friends since meeting up at Portsmouth Poly in 1981 and he's the strongest guy I know - both physically & mentally.

My old bike is a disgrace, but his is worse. Better still he was dressed for a swift jaunt along the side of the river Charente. Every cyclist we saw (and there were plenty of them) was slim, wiry and dressed head to toe in Lycra, with matching helmets, gloves and backpacks stuffed with energy bars.

Paddy was in his football shorts and tee shirt (which he took off halfway up declaring the 33 degree heat as "getting warm") - his pockets would have carried some kind of sustenance if they hadn't had holes in them.

I surely would have quit halfway up but for the fact that he'd cycle ahead for a few minutes then turn and come back down the mountain for a chat and some encouraging words.

Three quarters of the way up and I'd run out of water and steam was coming from my ears. I collapsed in the shade of a tree and confirmed that I was ready to die.

"Don't be stupid" said Paddy and he cycled off to fill up my water bottle from a mountain stream, what's more he was whistling when he came back....damn him.

Three km's from the top and Chris arrived with the back up car to say that the others had reached the top and were cheering us on. How can you quit when you have friends like this?

So.... I picked up my broken, 6'2", fifteen stone, body and re-mounted my bike.

"Oh yeah" chortled Chris "They told me to tell you that it gets steeper at the end, up to 10.2% for the last 500 metres".

Thanks.

The rest is a blur....pretty much the only thing I remember is the photographer at the top of the mountain who almost fell off the edge when he clocked Paddy coming up, still whistling, in third gear and looking for the world as if he could do it again without breaking sweat.

There's a big monument at the top and there were a hundred or so people milling around. A few came over to examine our decrepit old bikes and my father-in-law (who has been training me for the last year) shed a discrete tear or two, while simultaneously trying to revive me.

It was, without doubt, the biggest achievement of my life. My thanks go to David Battersby, Chris Stacey, Steve Heywood-Jones and Paddy McMahon - it was an honour to share this moment with you.

“Endurance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it is to the one who endures that the final victory comes.”

www.cognacproperty.com

Living in (or moving to) France - some tax tips to consider

2011-07-05T11:07:00.000+02:00

French taxation policies seem to dominate headlines at home and abroad lately. Thankfully President Sarkozy has scrapped his daft idea of taxing second homes but nobody really knows what he will come up with next.

Meanwhile there are certain steps you can take to minimise liability.

The team at FrenchEntrée have put together a whole host of useful articles and briefing papers in their tax zone and I've taken the liberty of recreating this article by the excellent Duncan Camppbell of Siddalls.

Tax tips for UK residents moving to France:

1. Before you leave, make sure you complete the Inland Revenue Form P85 to inform them of the date you leave the UK. They will finalise your tax affairs.

2. Obtain a forecast from the Department of Work and Pensions of your entitlement to a state pension and if you need to make additional class 3 contributions to obtain your full entitlement. Note, however, that anyone retiring after 2010 may get a surprise. The qualification for a maximum pension reduces from 40 years full NI contributions to 30 years. Do not overpay!

3. Consider taking any tax free cash commutation from your pensions whilst a UK resident. Since the start of 2011 lump sums taken from a UK pension scheme are taxable in France.

4. The tax benefits of holding stocks & shares ISAs and cash ISAs will no longer be available to you once you are French resident. You should therefore consider realising any gains, free of UK income or capital gains tax, before you make your move. There are re-investment options available through other deposit and investment products which are more tax-efficient for French residents.

5. There is no substitute for taking advice from qualified advisers who are regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority and are familiar with taxation and investments in France and the EU. This is to ensure you are taking advantage of all windows of opportunity, i.e. maximising your French IHT exemption limits whilst still a UK resident.

Tax Tips for UK tax residents in France:

1. On becoming a French tax resident it is your responsibility to make yourself known to the tax authorities and to declare fully your income, capital gains and wealth. Once you have made your first return they should automatically send you a form in future years.

2. Ensure you each top up to the maximum your tax free accounts which are Livret A (€15,300) and a Livret de Développement Durable account (€6,000).

3. Take steps to keep your taxable income to the minimum by placing surplus funds in tax efficient investments. Investment income is liable to income tax, social charges and if you do not qualify may also be liable to contributions to the French healthcare system.

4. French inheritance tax may not be as bad as you fear. The allowances for assets passing to children may be lower than the UK but so are the rates. There are ways of reducing and possibly removing any liability to French gifts tax and inheritance tax on assets passing to children.

5. "Do as the French do". They take active and sensible steps to avoid unnecessary taxation. Seek advice from persons authorized in France who have access to a variety of solutions and not just one product.

Like anything else in life you should take professional advice - it will save you time and money and give you peace of mind.

www.cognacproperty.com

From Bordeaux to the Pyrenees - cycling through SW France

2011-07-04T13:59:00.002+02:00

As regular readers will know four friends and I have spent the last few days in the summer sunshine, cycling down through SW France from the centre of Bordeaux to the dizzy heights of the Pyrenees.

In itself this isn't an especially great achievement - particularly as there's a few hundred people spending the next month covering far greater distances at a much higher speed in pursuit of a single yellow jersey.

However, I'd be grateful if you could make some allowance for the fact that we're not really cycling afficionados, or even halfway fit...we just fancied a challenge for my forthcoming 50th birthday.

We set off on Wednesday from the centre of Bordeaux and took the excellent cycle track "Route Roger Lapebie" to get us into the countryside before turning south to the famous town of Cadillac.

The next couple of days took us down through Mont de Marsan and on to Lourdes. En route we found a whole host of outstanding bars & cafes serving some seriously good food. We also had a rather childish (but fun) game where we'd sprint for all the town signs that we happened upon.

On the second day we somehow found ourselves entangled with three local riders, beautifully bedecked in club colours and bowling along at high speed.

We tagged on to the back of them and, of course, eventually came across a sign. With about 400 metres to go I pulled out of the peloton, went round the three lycra clad locals and made a mad dash for the line.

To say that these young guns were not happy to be overtaken by a chunky, middle aged man on a thirty year old mountain bike is a gross understatement.

With a roar of "merde alors" the three of them set off after me, closely followed by two of our party who also wanted the glory of our "stage win".

This meant that six of us were line abreast, roaring down a country lane, with the three locals bewildered as to what was going on but going hell for leather as they feared their pride was under attack.

As it happens I was soon over-run and it was my father-in-law who grabbed the glory....we skidded to a halt at the first cafe and left the three club cyclists scratching their heads as to what had just happened, while pedalling furiously in case we tried to catch up with them again.

The countryside through Aquitaine and the Midi Pyrenees was glorious with a wonderful contrast between the blazing yellow of the sunflowers and the succulent green vines.

On Saturday morning we set off from Lourdes for the infamous Col du Tourmalet, all 2115 metres of it.

It was such an adventure that I'm going to write a separate post about it but suffice to say that we weren't disappointed by the challenge it posed.

All in all it was a terrific way to celebrate my 50th and it only re-emphasised to me what a wonderful country France is and how many hidden gems there are in even the tiniest villages.

www.cognacproperty.com

French X Factor - Brit makes the final two

2011-06-22T08:54:00.001+02:00

I'd wager a good deal of money that you've never heard of Matthew Raymond-Barker.

Yet last night he made it through to the final of X Factor 2011.

He's a 21 year old student from Mitcham and he's going to get my vote in next Tuesday's final, live on M6.

There's something delicious about X Factor in France. It's not as glitzy as the UK version and the singing & choreography is often naive but at least it's honest.

No clearly scripted spats between Louis & Cheryl.

No hyperbole from Simon ("in anybodys money that was a world class vocal.....better than the original").

They've had some decent guests this series too, from Lady GaGa and James Blunt to The Black Eyed Peas and, of course, Johnny Hallyday.

Next week the invitees are Beyoncé and Bruno Mars but I hope that they are upstaged by M Raymond-Barker. My guess is that you never will get to buy his records outside of France but his story is still quite remarkable. He's conquered the nation and millions of teenage girls think he's more hip than Justin Bieber.

Bravo Matthieu et bon chance......

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente - the second sunniest part of France

2011-06-17T10:02:00.000+02:00

A few years ago I wrote an article for French Property News saying that I lived in the second sunniest part of France.

Since then I have taken huge amounts of stick every time a little, white, fluffy cloud has the temerity to tiptoe into view. Clients, friends and neighbours all take great delight in reminding me of my words.

Well, after the hottest spring since 1900 they're all changing their tune now and begging for their sun baked potagers to be watered.

Recently their collective rain dance bore fruit and the photo above was taken in his garden by my good friend, and ex client, Andy and stolen from his excellent blog "Prunings from the vines".

Just to rub salt into the would I've found a map showing sunshine levels across France which prove, once and for all, that a career in the met office beckons if ever I decide to quit the world of international property.

As Steve Martin so famously said:

"A day without sunshine is like....you know....night".

www.cognacproperty.com

France expects an increase of 31% more UK tourists this year

2011-06-15T08:47:00.000+02:00

There was an interesting piece in The Observer last Sunday about the further rise in popularity of France as a tourist destination from the UK.

The (incredibly clumsy) headline was "Families rediscover French holidays as Arab spring and taxes take their toll" - you can see the full article here. It goes on to say:

The average price of a holiday in France this year is £554 a head, compared with £978 for Italy, which has seen a 15% rise in bookings. The steepest falls in bookings have been in Tunisia and Egypt, by 16% and 30% respectively because of the political uncertainty. More expensive destinations, such as the Caribbean and the US, at an average cost of more than £1,200, have also proved a turn-off in straitened economic times.

France is the world's number one tourist destination, with almost 80 million visitors last year – more than 10 million of whom were British. Philip Westerman, 30, from London, who has been to France "more times than I can remember", puts food, culture and identity at the top of the list of reasons why he can't stay away.

These statistics don't come as a surprise to me as there really is something special about this country we now call home.

I shall listen out for more British voices during my weekly visit to the local market and to being accosted in my local bar with the oft asked "On holiday? How long have you got left...."

Hopefully a long time yet.

www.cognacproperty.com

House prices - will Google ruin your dinner party?

2011-06-14T10:19:00.001+02:00

Way back in the dark ages, before I "saw the light" and gave up all kinds of power, money and status, I used to host, and be invited to, some excellent dinner parties.

Over a decent rack of lamb and bottle or two of St Emillion the conversation would inevitably turn to house prices. Of course everyone would have an opinion as to where we were in the property cycle and for how long the boom/crash would go on for (no-one ever talks about periods of stagnation).

Many of my friends were also in the property industry and would be happy to quote figures from one of the myriad conflicting housing reports and indices (government, agents, developers, banks, industry bodies et al).

The historic beauty of these reports is that the analysts and research teams always contradicted each other - leading to an endless supply of data to stimulate debate and conversation. You could say what you want and always be able to find some obscure stats to back up your argument.

Now though, it looks as though big, bad Google could well end the debate and put all those well paid analysts and researchers out on the street.

No less an authority than the Bank of England has a whole section in their quarterly bulletin about using internet search data as an economic indicator. You can read the article here.

So...can Google predict house price movement?

Well, the Bank of England are, typically, cautious about giving us a one word "yes" but they do say that search data outperformed other traditional economic indicators. Their researchers found that searches for "estate agents" tended to peak a month ahead of rises in house prices.

We've been waiting for centuries for a single, authoritative house price index....we still struggle to say with certainty what house prices have done in the past.

Can Google now skip a step and tell us what they're going to do in the future....

www.cognacproperty.com

Proposed tax on French holiday homes

2011-06-07T09:36:00.002+02:00

There's been quite a lot written & said about the proposed new tax on French holiday homes.

Last night I read a new "global briefing" from exclusive agents Knight Frank which was so good that I thought it was worth sharing. You can read the full paper here.

In essence we have two forms of "council tax" in France, taxe fonciere and taxe d'habitation - both of which are calculated on a property's rental value. Even when taken in combination these are usually well below the equivalent tax you would pay, for example, in the UK.

The proposed tax would equate to 20% of the valeur locative cadastrale (VLC) - a theoretical rental value of the property set by the local tax office - and would apply from January 2012 if approved by the French parliament this summer.

If you read the Knight Frank briefing paper you'll see that, even if approved, the new tax will have a relatively marginal effect. They give an example of a tax of €280 pa on a property worth €700,000 (well, it is Knight Frank!).

Indeed, with new changes (already ratified) to the wealth tax then France is looking an increasingly tax efficient country to retire to.

It's nice to see that the chap from Knight Frank finishes with this, bullish, sentiment:

"With the anticipated weakening of the exchange rate now more likely than ever, we expect British buyers to return to the market".

I have always liked those nice folk at Knight Frank (even going back to when there was still a Mr Rutley) - let's hope they're right with that final prediction.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS DAFT IDEA OF TAXING SECOND HOMES HAS NOW BEEN SCRAPPED - 20 JUNE 2011

www.cognacproperty.com

Top tips for buying in France

2011-06-03T08:58:00.000+02:00

Set out below are my top 10 tips for those looking to buy a house in France this year.

1. Identify your preferred location:
France is a huge country offering seaside resorts, skiing, cheap equestrian property with acres of land, plush penthouses in Paris and much more. Find your ideal area before beginning your house search.

2. Write down your "brief":
If you're vague with agents then don't be surprised if what they show you doesn't take your breath away. The more thought you put into your brief the better the results.

3. Make sure you see a good cross section of the market:
You'll find that some agents are friendlier and more knowledgeable than others but you're buying a house not on a blind date. Agents can only show you what they have on their books. Also, don't forget that every second house purchase in France is actually a private sale but do remember that this route isn't for the faint-hearted and carries plenty of risk if you don't know what you're doing. If possible use a buying agent (see 10).

4. Get your finances in place:
It's pointless finding a little gem if you're not in a position to buy it. This is a simple thing to do and will save masses of heartache.

5. Check out www.immoprix.com:
This site shows average house prices (and price fluctuations) from around the country.

6. Don't deal with an unlicenced agent:
There are still plenty of sharks around. Ask to see their carte professionelle or you could get your fingers burnt. There are thousands of professional agencies offering an excellent service - make sure you use them. If in doubt go to http://www.fnaim.fr/ where there are plenty of friendly & efficient immobiliers to choose from.

7. Use a good notaire:
Quality differs among notaires and you 100% have the right to choose (don't be told otherwise), ask around and find one you are comfortable with.

8. Try and collect as much comparable evidence as you can:
Houses are notoriously difficult to value in France and it's often the owner who sets the price. Visit as many "similar" properties as you can and use this comparable evidence to help negotiate a good price.

9. Don't be greedy:
It's tempting to get more land than you need (you'll live to regret it) or to buy a house with masses of barns (roofs cost a lot to repair). If in doubt take your time to really think it all through.

10. Use a buying agent:
Let's face it you may well not be fully conversant with the language, laws, process and local area. Buying a house is a huge commitment and a good buying agent will save you time & money as well as give you peace of mind. Not sure where to look? Try here.

Bon courage....

www.cognacproperty.com

Cognac Gym - Club Championship: And the winner is......

2011-06-02T19:13:00.000+02:00

I know that most people read this blog for insights into the French property market but tough - if a father can't take pride in his daughter's achievements then it's a poor show.

It's a bank holiday in France today and I've spent most of it with my family watching my youngest compete in the Cognac Gym club championships.

There were four disciplines: Bars, Beam, Vault and Floor. Her strongest by far are the bars and she was happy that she was drawn to start with these.

The Downie family held their collective breath as she started swinging and then disaster struck as she fluffed a hand adjustment and lost both momentum and, surely, her chance of gold.

She's a fighter though and the next three disciplines went well with a huge backflip on the vault that Beth Tweddle (her heroine) would have been proud of.

We had to hang around for an hour and a half before the Palmares (awards ceremony) and we waited nervously to see if she had clawed her way back onto the podium.

The MC took centre stage.

"The 2011 club champion of level EG4 is...........DOWNIE Katie".

He even pronounced her name properly.

The stadium erupted (well there was warm applause anyway) and Katie stood on the podium to receive the gold medal, with the broadest smile imaginable on her face.

No national anthem I'm afraid.....probably for the best though.

Now, if you're reading this Lord Coe (well, you never know) - how about reconsidering my application for those four tickets to the Olympics next year?

I'm warning you, if you don't come up trumps then I'll tell her to represent France in 2016 :-)

www.cognacproperty.com

Two new French property finders join the team

2011-06-01T16:06:00.001+02:00

I've just finished training two new buying agents who have joined the French Entrée Property Finders network.

Jacqueline Miller has set up "Ma maison parfaite" and will be covering the Ile de Ré, La Rochelle and Vendée coast. It's a simply stunning area that I know well and I'm sure that she will be a real asset to the network.

Further south, Jacqueline Hanks has set up "Southern Dordogne property finders" and, again, it's an area that I know. Indeed it was a golf course & chateau for sale just outside Bergerac that first inspired me to think about moving to France. Jacqueline is a French national and knows the market intimately.

I wish both of them luck.

If you'd like to know more about how you too could join the network then you can get a full prospectus by requesting one from Sian@frenchentree.com

www.cognacproperty.com

Education in France - a teenage perspective

2011-06-01T15:42:00.000+02:00

I've just read this excellent blog post from one of me fellow FrenchEntrée property finders.

Val Walmsley runs Poitou Property Services and recounts a conversation she had with a young lady who came to France at 14 and who has now passed her Bac.

I really liked this quote:

“Moving to France…”,she said,“…is the best thing my parents have ever done for me. My life is far richer. I’ve learned a new language,I have great relationships and I love life here. I’ve been pushed to extend my limits and am really proud of what I’ve achieved”.

As regular readers will know, our experiences of the French education system have been largely positive with small class sizes, plenty of discipline and caring teachers.

I say "largely" positive as I wasn't particularly happy last week when our 12 year old came home and said she was going on strike for a day and was going to spend the day listening to Justin Bieber & Katie Perry instead of conjugating verbs and learning about French history.

I've managed 49 years without striking and wasn't too chuffed with her militancy but she explained that the PTA weren't happy that one of the classes was going to be cut and - being France - they had organised a strike to solve the problem.

Ho hum.

www.cognacproperty.com

House prices in Poitou Charentes

2011-05-25T10:32:00.000+02:00

I was writing an article for the excellent French magazine (available in all good newsagents) yesterday and spent some time trawling through the house price indices published by the Notaires de France.

It struck me that average house prices fluctuate greatly throughout the region and here's some examples that I thought you may find interesting, drilling down from the region to the area around Cognac itself:

Poitou Charentes - €158,700

Charente - €124,300
Charente Maritime - €197,100
Deux Sevres - €109,800
Vienne - €140,600

Angouleme sector - €125,900
Cognac sector - €124,300
Confolens sector - €113,100

If you have ten minutes to spare and want to interrogate the figures further then go to http://www.immoprix.com/.

Have fun.....

www.cognacproperty.com

UK housing market - excuses, excuses, excuses

2011-05-23T10:33:00.002+02:00

Forget the omnipresent "location, location, location" it seems that "excuses, excuses, excuses" is the new catchphrase to describe the slump in the UK housing market.

The Guardian ran a story today entitled "Housing slump? blame the weather" with the subhead of:

"Warm weather, a succession of holidays, plus the royal wedding … they're all getting the blame for the spring housing slump".

Miles Shipside of Rightmove says that transaction volumes will remain low and Martin Ellis of Lloyds says that the underlying trend in house prices continues to be one of modest decline.

Actually I'm not sure that there's any need for excuses at all.

Property is a cyclical business - I first came into the industry in the early 80's and this is my third period at the bottom of the chart.

It says something in the Bible about seven year cycles of feast and famine and, whilst it's not an exact art, it's clear that property values follow a cycle too.

Here's an excellent article from Money Week in 2005 forecasting the latest global economic collapse and saying that the cycle is usually around 18 years.

As it says - house prices can’t rise indefinitely for the simple reason that at some point they become unaffordable.

The author does say:

"There are usually 14 years of rising prices followed by four years of recession across the broader economy".

Hindsight shows the slump starting in 2008 and we're now three years down the line.

So maybe we should just realise that regardless of weddings, sunshine and cheap deals to the USA, property prices are going to remain depressed for a little longer yet.

A brave man would say that now is just about the perfect time to invest.

As sure as anything the roller-coaster will be picking up speed again at some point in the near future.

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente life - time to sniff the flowers

2011-05-17T12:02:00.001+02:00

Some of you may know that in my former life I was lucky enough to have two jobs simultaneously.

First as Group Marketing Director and secondly as the Director in Charge of Chesterton's head office in Brook St, with around 200 people in the building. I think the latter role was given to me as the Chief Executive knew I had a father from Scotland & mother from Yorkshire and would therefore keep a tight rein on the purse strings.

My office used to look out over Claridges and it was a pretty spoiled life.

I had a PA who used to organise my diary, a team of people making sure the office ran smoothly and an accountant to help me add up the numbers.

If my computer started behaving badly I'd pick up the phone and someone from the IT helpdesk would arrive before I put the phone down. I could eat in the Excecutive dining room (choose the menu even) or send out for sandwiches.

Life is so, so different now.

I work by myself from an office in my garden - make my own coffee, type my own letters, get my own baguette, install my own ink cartridges and wrestle with my own Livebox.

This morning I have been writing to the Prefecture and photocopying lengthy contracts. I cursed when I saw it was 11.30am as the post office closes at mid-day and there's no magical "out tray" that empties itself at night anymore.

Wearily I licked the envelopes down, sighed at having to drag myself out of my comfy chair, picked up the dogs lead and set off on the 150 metre trek into the centre of my village.

On the way I bumped into my neighbour Yves and spent time chatting with him about how the lack of rain was affecting his potager. Three people tooted and waved as they drove by. In the post office the lady behind the counter spent 10 minutes talking about Sarkozy's new tax plans and the royal wedding (still).

Coming home I wandered into my garden behind the church and sat on the grass eating cherries I'd picked from the tree followed by strawberries, raspberries & redcurrants that were ready in my fruit patch.

The dog sprawled alongside me, hoovering up the cherry stones and letting out a half hearted woof if the birds came too close.

Hmm - I thought.

London was terrific, it's the greatest city in the world and if you want to forge a career in property there's no place better.

But as Walter Hagen* so famously said:

"You're only here for a short visit. Don't hurry, don't worry. And be sure to smell the flowers along the way.”

And at the grand old age of 49 I've come to the conclusion that he was absolutely right!

www.cognacproperty.com

*Walter Hagen is the world's third greatest ever matchplay golfer. Bettered only by Seve and my mate Chris.

International buyers return to the Charente

2011-05-11T12:38:00.002+02:00

I'm meeting a client tomorrow to hand over the keys to this beautiful old Charentaise masterpiece.

I thought that I had bought some houses with incredible views over the vines before but this one absolutely takes the biscuit. It's a cracking house in a prime location and I think that we bought it at a bargain price.

Regular readers will know that after the 2008 banking crisis things became tough in the property industry. International buyers simply dried up and went from plentiful to non existent.

The tap has been turned back on though and the purchase of this house and some of the others featured recently have led to my best Q1 figures since opening up business here back in 2003.

I'm hopeful that this is a "trend" rather than a "blip" but only time will tell. Certainly the house price indices are encouraging as is general press coverage.

According to my colleagues in the FrenchEntrée property finders network transaction volumes across France are still patchy although a couple of them have seen similar starts to the year as myself.

Long may it continue.

www.cognacproperty.com

Cognac Blues Passions confirm 2011 line-up

2011-05-11T12:22:00.001+02:00

It's my favourite festival of the year.

The week of Cognac Blues Passions is always terrific fun with artists and visitors from all over the world creating a unique atmosphere in my home town.

I don't care whether it's BB King in the park or an unheard of band in the street there's something about live music that stirs the soul. Watching The Comittments perform on an island in the middle of the Charente, overlooking the Courvoisier chateau is still the finest concert moment of my life.

This year the festival takes place from the 5-9 July inclusive and acts include ZZ Top (blues?), Jamie Cullum, Texas, Moby and many others.

Book now as it's always popular.

See you there.

www.cognacproperty.com

Britons eyeing up European property bargains....hmmmm

2011-05-10T14:29:00.000+02:00

Just seen this article in the Daily Telegraph. An extract says:

"Eight out of 10 Britons looking to buy a holiday home abroad are interested in those European countries which have been hit worst by the recession.

Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain are now lumped together under the unflattering acronym of the PIIGS. They’re up to their eyes in debt and, in the case of Portugal, Ireland and Greece, they’ve had to be bailed out to keep them afloat.

So 82 per cent of Brits interested in buying abroad in the next 12 months are looking to these countries in the hope that prices have hit rock bottom and they can pick up a bargain".

Sorry but I simply don't believe that.

It might be that people are idly looking at houses in these countries - just as I have spent more time than I should looking at some of the "fire sale" property in the worst hit US states. http://www.property4peanuts.com/ is a particular favourite.

But just as I wouldn't dream of buying anything in the slums of Detroit, Miami, Baltimore or Atlanta (I've seen The Wire) I tend to endorse the view of Mark Bodega of HIFX:

“The one country they are returning to is France whose property prices were least affected. French property buyers tend to be more affluent, older clients and having held off for the last few years they are beginning to dip their toes back in the water as retirement waits for no man (or woman)".

Ultimately, France has a long and unique relationship with the UK and buyers are comfortable with everything here from the climate & scenery to the decent wine and gentle pace of life.

Buying a home overseas is a major step and both the heart and head should be consulted or you'll end up with a "pig in a poke" that you'll regret buying forever.

Vive la France!

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking for a house to rent in the Charente Maritime?

2011-05-10T14:07:00.000+02:00

Talk about organised.

I first spoke to Jason & Jane at the end of last year then met them at the France Show in January. They had always wanted a second home in France and mandated me to find them something beautiful.

They came across at the start of February to see what I had found and picked up the keys last week to a fantastic house close to the coast (followed by an extremely enjoyable lunch I'm glad to say).

Yesterday I had an email from Jason saying "check this out"

http://www.charentemaritimegite.com/

I can assure you that while it looks good in photos the reality is even better.

So, if you're looking for a holiday home to rent in the Charente Maritime this summer your search could be over!

www.cognacproperty.com

Cycling through the Charente countryside

2011-05-10T08:50:00.000+02:00

Regular readers will know that in a couple of months time I am embarking on the longest cycle ride of my life. Starting in Bordeaux, myself and four friends will journey down to the Pyrenees and then attempt to cycle up the infamous Col du Tourmalet.

I'm currently "in light training" as my father-in-law likes to call it. As a talented amateur cyclist he has been put in charge of making sure that I don't disgrace myself.

Sadly though there are a few issues:

(i) I have led a sedentary life for 49 years and I'm both overweight & unfit.
(ii) I'm going to be making the journey on my 20 year old "sit up and beg" mountain bike. The brakes don't work, only one of the three gear rings works and it's still caked in mud from a one off whirl round Richmond Park with my mate Chris in 1992.
(iii) I'm lazy and think that Sunday mornings were made for sleeping in.

So I wasn't impressed to be up at the crack of dawn last Sunday and setting out on a 70km ride.

Father-in-law had broken it down into three stages.

Firstly we set off up into the hills around St Preuil and Bouteville. Stunning scenery but not easy to climb.

Then came what he calls "speed work" where we kept going back and forth across the river Charente in the beautiful villages of Graves, Vibrac and Bassac.

Finally came "the grind" where we cut through Bourg Charente and up the long hill past Cognac golf course and then back down into Jarnac.

Three hours fifteen minutes later my legs were screaming but I was able to collapse into a heap. I then spent two hours just watching muscles I didn't know I had dancing around in my thighs.

Town houses in the Charente - such good value

2011-04-28T16:32:00.000+02:00

I have posted before that I think the best value for money around here are the town houses in Jarnac, Chateauneuf and Cognac.

It's simple really - international buyers pay premium prices (unless they use me of course) and drive prices upwards.

They also tend to have a similar brief - a house on the edge of a small village (with bar & boulangerie), plenty of land, views over the vines and a short drive to a big town with commerce.

Very few want a "lock up & leave" townhouse with courtyard or garden and right in the heart of the shops and restaurants. I can't really get my head around this as, for a holiday home, or French living in general, it seems the ideal thing. Still, it's not my money, nor my dream - I just get paid to turn it into reality.

So it was particularly satisfying that my recent Australian clients fell in love with this magnificent town house which is in the very heart of Chateauneuf. The split level gardens are pretty spectacular too.

It needs a lot of TLC and we have had an RICS qualified surveyor crawling over every inch of it. But it came through with flying colours and I think the price we got it for is exceptional value for money.

It's another one where I'm hoping to be invited to share the odd beer or two in one of the many garden areas when they are completed.

Long live the town house!

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente houses: projects that won't ruin you....

2011-04-11T13:51:00.001+02:00

Just read this little snippet in the Telegraph about "wrecks that won't ruin you".

It got me thinking about some of the cracking houses that I have seen recently on behalf of clients, some examples pictured below. I particularly like the top one - it's not a wreck by any means (far from it) but it has some terrific barns to renovate and an old tumbledown house in the 1 ha grounds that's just crying out to be rebuilt.

There still are some excellent bargains to be had around here for those who have an appetite for renovation.

Be warned though that many bite off more than they can chew. Make sure that you have funding in place for both the purchase and the restoration and that you have a trustworthy project manager with a little black book full to the brim with good local artisans.

Bon chance.

www.cognacproperty.com

House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms - what on earth!

2011-03-29T12:12:00.001+02:00

House prices: Ireland slumps, France booms

This ridiculous headline sits atop a story on todays This is Money site, you can see the full article here.

"....there was better news for those who have bought second homes in France, with house prices in the country actually rising by 9.5% during 2010.

The more conservative French mortgage market means that house prices have been hit less hard by the credit crunch than in some other countries".

As someone who lives & breathes the French property market the thought that the UK press are calling it "booming" seems too stupid for words. Yes, it may well be picking up but to call it a boom is simply unreal.

Hype like this may well be great fodder for the London dinner party circuit but it does nothing to help us poor souls who make our living in France. The local agents have enough trouble getting vendors to put houses on at a sensible price as it is. Over priced houses will lead to lower transaction numbers and a stalling market....no thanks.

You can see the Knight Frank press release here. I have no idea where they got the 9.5% rise figure from but it's surely skewed by the central Paris market and isn't indicative of the other 94 departments in the country.

If you want to see some useful stats on the market then look at the Notaires figures and "drill down" to the department you're interested in.

Any sensible commentator will tell you that France is a series of hundreds of different markets and that the totality may well see some small growth in house prices this year but it's likely to be at or below inflation levels.

So please all you sub-editors and headline writers out there.....don't hype our market.

www.cognacproperty.com

French holiday homes - is it "le recovery"....The Guardian 26/3/11

2011-03-26T09:02:00.000+01:00

There's a nice story in The Guardian this morning which I'm delighted to say features a couple of quotes from yours truly.

Written by respected journalist Graham Norwood the sub-head is "Britons who own a French holiday home have had to weather a much gentler downturn than in Spain – and house prices may now be on the up".

You can read the full story here.

I'm not convinced that we are going to see substantial changes in price (in either direction) anytime soon over here but I definitely stand by my quotes that transaction numbers of international buyers are on the increase again.

I think that we may see a small, single digit, increase in prices reported for 2011 but as I have said so many times before stats like this are pretty meaningless.

France is a series of hundreds (if not thousands) of micro markets and scientific valuation techniques are non existent. The owner says how much they want and the agents add their fees on.

If you're thinking of buying in France then for goodness sake take the advice of someone who lives, works and breathes in their local market.

Meanwhile I'm waiting for a few of the 1,130,000 Guardian readers to get on the phone and brief me to find them a holiday home in the Charente!

www.cognacproperty.com

Looking at houses for sale in Cognac? Don't miss the boat....

2011-03-15T13:08:00.001+01:00

This entry is inspired by an article I'm writing for the excellent French Magazine (available in all good newsagents price £3.99).

In my last article for them (March/April edition) I was giving some general tips on buying & selling property in France. This next piece though will be a more specific "call to arms".

You see I'm writing this on the back of having helped clients find, and have offers accepted on, two absolutely spectacular properties in the last couple of weeks.

Both houses had been on the market for a fair while and I feel that we have bought both at an excellent price. On one of them I know that the owner has since had agents knocking on their door saying that they have clients lined up should the sale fall through.

I know that I'm a small "one man band" and not a particularly useful reference point for how busy the market is but I have plenty of searches to do over the coming months.

I also talk to plenty of local notaires and agents and the general consensus seems to be that I'm not alone in my thinking.

The upshot is that if you've been thinking of buying a property in France then there are many indicators showing that now is a good time to be doing so. The Notaires de France seem to think so, the FNAIM definitely thinks so and if I lick my finger and stick it in the air I'm inclined to agree with them.

He who hesitates misses the boat and gets stuck at Dover....

www.cognacproperty.com

Gareth Bale animation

2011-03-14T17:47:00.001+01:00

I don't often put posts in about my beloved Tottenham Hotspur as I'm aware that it could well put off potential clients who follow any other teams.

This animation was simply too magical not to be shared though.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Top 10 things I love about our life in the Charente

2011-03-14T14:39:00.000+01:00

I've just finished reading the Chris Evans book "Memoirs of a fruitcake". I happen to think that he's a broadcasting genius who pretty much invented the format that all breakfast shows now seem to take.

He starts each chapter with a top 10 listing and it got me to thinking about the aspects of my life here in rural SW France that I most enjoy. Some of them would be possible in the UK too.....just sadly not if you happen to be commuting up to the West End with the senior partner of a leading property consultancy demanding his pound of flesh each day.

So here goes:

10. The weather. It's the 2nd sunniest part of France and that little yellow ball in the sky tends to make me happy.

9. The landscape. What's not to like about rolling hills full to bursting with vines & sunflowers.

8. Reading L'Equipe each morning in my local café...and teasing the owner about the rugby when England win.

7. The schooling. So far so good - sadly the girls are saddled with my DNA (and subsequent lack of academic ability) but the schooling is excellent and they're thriving.

6. The dinner parties. Beef from the Limousin, wine from Bordeaux and the company of some of the friendliest people on earth. It helps that a few of them own their own vineyards!

5. My job. Driving through the vines and coming across houses that have stood proudly for hundreds of years. What's not to like?

4. Being able to eat a sandwich outside in my garden that costs a few centimes to make, rather than raiding "pret a manger" and paying fifteen quid to eat lunch while reading two page memos.

3. Cognac town itself. Blues festival, lunch at Chez Claude, walking along the river, going to the cinema on a rainy Saturday in winter, taking the kids ice skating....it's a charming town and I love it more each day I live here.

2. That we eat together "en famille".....every single night of the week.

1. The fact that I know the names of all the children in my youngest daughters class and most of them in my eldest daughters too. I've even been known to take the odd hooky day to go on day trips out with the school.

Sorry if this comes across as "smug" at all....it's not meant to. Without the experience & money I gained over those 20 years in London then the move wouldn't have been possible.

I just wanted to share some of the best bits about life out here and say that if you're at all tempted to quit the ratrace and do the same thing then it truly can work.

www.cognacproperty.com

Some other great French property blogs....

2011-02-23T17:17:00.000+01:00

Fresh on the back of being shortlisted in three of the four awards run by Primelocation for property blogs I reckon that my friends at FrenchEntrée should run a similar awards scheme for blogs about French property.

There are plenty of good ones about and to get the ball rolling take a look at some of these:

Let's start with "A view from the foothills of France" where Nadia Jordan combines crisp prose with some stunning photography. Her post "All in a days work" about a hooky day off work certainly made me jealous.

Take a look also at "Half way down on the left hand side" which gets my vote for the title alone. Val Walmsley is just setting out in the world of blogging but will be one to watch.

Rebecca Russell is a seasoned professional (it's a compliment Rebecca, don't shoot me) and this shows if you read her musings on "Cote Abode" - want to know about life and property in Nice then this is the place to go.

Just a short way along the coast in Provence you will find Neil Ranadé and "Provence property connections" - his posts are always thoughtful and well written - take a look at his writings about art in Provence.

"A word from Calvados" is another that I like - Janine posts infrequently but her thoughts are always worthwhile hearing and accompanied by interesting snapshots.

I have mentioned before that I follow Alison Morton's blog "Loire Thouet property search" - not the catchiest of titles but a real goldmine of information and written in a very professional manner.

Finally, if you still have time before you get back to work, take a look at "Perpignan Post" where Caroline Hill gives us an insight into her life down near the Spanish border.

So there we have it....a magnificent seven if ever I saw one. Why not take a stroll around some of them and say hello.

I probably should disclose my interest here in that they're all colleagues of mine in the FrenchEntrée property finder network but, hey, you trust me by now surely.

www.cognacproperty.com

Education in the Charente - Monty Python style

2011-02-23T16:41:00.001+01:00

Earlier this year our President, Nicolas Sarkozy, declared that he wanted French children to learn "the language of Shakespeare" from the age of three. Since coming to power he's been encouraging schools and colleges to embrace English and most of my French friends with children think this is a jolly good thing.

So, a couple of weeks ago my eldest (age 11) was very excited to learn that she was going on a class trip to the cinema to see an English film with French sub titles - she had been told that it was a classic comedy.

When she got back I asked her what she thought:

"Well, it was a bit gory and all the French kids kept laughing in the wrong places because the sub titles didn't follow the plot at all - but at least all the boys now know a new selection of English swear words and are having great fun in the playground"

Turns out they'd been taken to see Monty Python & the Holy Grail. Certificate 15 and pretty difficult for an 11 year old English girl to understand the 35 year old, offbeat, sense of humour let alone a class full of French kids who have only just got to grips with the correct spelling of "Tuesday" or "February".

Having God represented by an animated version of WG Grace for example is unlikely to strike too much of a chord in a country where cricket ranks below conkers as a national sport.

Hmmm - 10/10 for the idea sir but 2/10 for the execution.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Charente property - some fine examples

2011-02-16T13:45:00.003+01:00

I'm often reminded by my colleague Guy (MD of FrenchEntrée) that photos of lovely properties for sale are one of the best ways of attracting visitors to a website or blog. He should know as his website gets around 1.5 million page views every month!

People in the industry call it "property porn".

Sadly, as a buying agent, I find properties "to order" for my clients and I don't sell houses. This means that I don't have a regularly changing portfolio of houses to show off and will always struggle when it comes to ranking highly with the search engines.

This thought struck me recently as I was driving round with some clients and showing them some simply stunning Charentaise houses. Property in the Charente is amongst the finest in France, the local stone is creamy and particularly attractive in the sunshine, even in deepest winter.

So here's a small cross section of some of the houses that I have seen recently - hopefully it will give you a flavour of what you can expect if you are searching for a home here, these houses happen to be in the €300-500,000 range.

No confidences betrayed, all are being actively marketed (apart from the beautiful house above which has just gone under offer to a client of mine!).

And if it helps attract a few visitors to my blog then so much the better!

www.cognacproperty.com

Primelocation blog awards - move over Tiger

2011-02-09T16:17:00.000+01:00

The results of the 2010 Primelocation blog awards have just been announced and what a winner they have chosen.

Propertynewshound is written by award winning journalist Graham Norwood and is in a different class to my occasional ramblings which scraped home last year. As Graham said when he heard of his victory:

"Thank goodness that idiot in Cognac will have to keep his split infinitives to himself from now on....who cares about the French market anyway."

Actually he's probably only thinking that. What he did say was:

“So much property writing, by industry professionals and journalists, concentrates on the most exclusive homes. They are fantastic but I wanted my blog to look at other issues, too, in a way which informed and entertained, and sometimes infuriated."

Seriously though, I'm genuinely delighted to have been shortlisted in three areas - best blog, best individual entry (for this) and users favourite as I'm aware that this year the competition was of an extremely high quality.

Any golfers among my readership will know of the tradition in the US Masters - last years winner hands over the green jacket to the newly crowned champion.

I'm the other side of La Manche from Graham and Primelocation don't present green jackets (although they do generously give Habitat vouchers) but I'm sure you get the picture.

My congratulations to a worthy winner and a hearty suggestion that you follow his blog in 2011.

www.cognacproperty.com

Bourg Charente - the jewel on the river

2011-02-03T09:59:00.000+01:00

Bourg Charente is a cracking little village on the banks of the river Charente between Jarnac & Cognac.

It holds a special place in my heart for many reasons (it's stunningly pretty, has a Michelin restaurant, great cycling tracks with fond memories and much more).

It's come to mind this morning for two reasons.

Firstly, ex clients and now good friends Andy & Sarah have written about it on the brilliant blog "Prunings from the vines" - you can read the post and see the pictures here.

Secondly, ex clients and now good friends David & Lorraine are coming out to their house in Bourg Charente tomorrow for one of their frequent visits. We've only known them a couple of years (and sadly they're both from the dark side and hold season tickets at the Emirates) but we've already shared many a bottle of decent red and plenty of laughter - I can't wait to see them again.

I said in my last post that sometimes I think that I have the best job in the world and when I think of new friends like Andy, Sarah, David & Lorraine it has introduced me to then I know I'm right....

www.cognacproperty.com

The changing face of house hunting

2011-02-03T09:34:00.000+01:00

I've been busy the last couple of weeks with two different sets of clients over from the UK.

Both couples were charming and, after three days in the car together visiting far flung parts of the Charente (I leave no stone unturned in my searches), I got to know them all quite well....conversation naturally meanders across many topics although rugby did seem to be a common denominator.

Yesterday I had a long conversation about the opportunities available to househunters in these fast changing times. It was a lively debate and we all agreed that the customer is king and that it's the buyer who will drive through the changes.

Then I read this article in the Telegraph, written by Graham Norwood, one of my fellow nominees for the Primelocation blog award. I heartily recommend that you read the whole article but, for me, this bit stands out:

Could apps give me more information than I could get in person from the small town’s seven local estate agencies? Yes.

Take the Rightmove app. It displays all the homes on its website within a chosen radius of where I stand.

Its interactive maps allow me to walk up a street and literally look at the house whose details are in front of me on my mobile screen – I do not need to register with any estate agent first and I can spot if the pictures of the property exclude the dodgy-looking shop next door.

Of course, there are literally hundreds of new property related apps that give you more information on a house and its neighbourhood than you could possibly need.

The three of us, in deepest rural France, decided that the Rightmove stance of not allowing private sales would have to be broken at some stage. If you stop your car in a neighbourhood you want total information of what's for sale not partial. So whether it's Rightmove relaxing its stance, a competitor coming in or a simple aggregating site we decided that there will, one day, be a single online source of all property listings.

We couldn't really understand the rush from single agents to produce apps showing their listings (other than PR or a short term ego boost) but decided that there would perhaps be opportunities for niche agents to do so.

All of us agreed that there's still a role for the estate agent and it was flattering that my clients described it as the service I was offering them.

Doing initial legwork and then using my professional background and local expertise to help in the decision making process (which goes beyond the individual property to issues such as selecting the right location, advising on local restaurants, doctors, schooling etc) and in buying their favourite house at the lowest price possible.

The internet has changed the way we live and work....no-one can say where it's taking us but I'm 100% sure that the guy with the money will have a bigger say in our destiny than the person with something to sell.

Who knows. I've had real fun over the last couple of weeks though - sometimes this is the most enjoyable job in the world....

www.cognacproperty.com

Google retreats with a bloody nose

2011-01-27T14:17:00.001+01:00

Rightmove shares soared today as Google sheepishly announced that it was binning its property maps search.

You can see the full story in Estate Agent Today here but they say:

Google Maps is to drop property, less than two years after the launch that threatened to change the entire property portal market.

The search engine giant had offered the service for free but blamed low usage.

In a totally unexpected move, which this morning its own press office did not know about when we asked them for a comment, Google announced that the property search feature will be dropped in all the countries where it operates, including the UK, on February 10.

I was never privy to any of the meetings that Google execs held with leading UK agents but I can't help but feel that they have cocked up badly.

With such a high percentage of all property searches beginning with the buyer tapping some kind of search criteria into Google they hold a unique position in the market place. They have a trusted brand and, presumably, some of the brightest people on the planet working for them. They have the opportunity to create something special that revolutionises our industry and shapes the way that we buy houses in the future.

As I say, I don't know the Google property team, nor their mid to long term ambitions.... but I do know that I could name half a dozen property marketing professionals who would be able to haul them up off the floor.

With or without my help as a recruitment consultant I get the feeling they'll be back before too long.....

www.cognacproperty.com

Shortlisted for Primelocation blog awards again!

2011-01-27T13:53:00.000+01:00

Thrilled.

The shortlist for this years Primelocation property blog awards has been published and I'm on it again.

This year I'm up against even stiffer competition including top journalist Graham Norwood and his blog Property Newshound. Graham writes for all of the quality dailies and often champions the need for clarity and quality in property PR and reporting. He gets my vote.

Also shortlisted is the excellent Melanie Backe-Hansen and her blog for Chesterton Humberts, The house historian. Melanie also writes regularly for Country Life and she too would be a deserved winner.

Sadly both Graham & I are bringing up the rear in the public poll but to be truthful I'm proud to be nominated alongside such true professionals.

For a "one man band" buying agent who doesn't even live or work in the UK I'm happy with my lot.

I was a bit miffed though when my lifelong friend (and best man at my wedding) Chris cheerily told me that he'd cast his vote.....for Tracy Kellet and her buyingagent blog!

www.cognacproperty.com