FOOL'S EYE VIEW
Buying A Home Abroad

By Jane Mack (TMFJane)
October 28, 2002

Picture it. It's a warm sunny evening and you're sitting outside with a group of friends and family, drinking a refreshingly light glass of white wine and picking at the olives, chorizo and cheese that are set out on the table. Half an acre away the stream at the bottom of your garden is tripping merrily over the stones and behind you a wild boar stew is bubbling away in the kitchen of your rather beautiful five bedroomed-home.

Let's face it, you're highly unlikely to be in the UK. For a start, most people can't afford a five bedroomed house with a nice big garden and I'm not sure I'd be able to find wild boar for sale on my local Sainsbury's meat counter. The sunny evening is a bit dubious too.

You can get it all in France though. Or Spain or Portugal.

Ever since my husband and I got back from our holiday a couple of months ago, we've been looking at the idea of moving abroad at some point in the next five years. And it seems we're not the only ones. The property pages of the nation's broadsheets are littered with articles about how to buy a home abroad. France and Spain are particularly popular choices for second homes or for permanent residence. Property is cheap and the cost of living is low in comparison to the UK and the thought of getting more bang for your buck is appealing to many. And it's not just retirees – more and more families with young children are looking to escape from Britain.

Our own preference, so far, is France and since this is an area I've been researching we'll stick with that for this article.

My initial impression is that there's a good chance it's doomed to failure. Anecdotal evidence seems to indicate that out of every 100 families who move to France, between a third to half of them move back to the UK after two years.

The main reasons seem to be based on an incredible lack of research before going. I've been astounded by some of the things I've read on various message boards on relevant websites from people who ask things like "We're moving to France next month having bought a house in XXX and have been told we'll need a Carte de Sejour. What is it and how to I get one?" (It's a residence permit, you have to apply for it after three months of living in France and you need reams of paperwork to support your application. This includes proof of income of about £700 a month to show that you won't be a drain on the French social security system).

It's all very well buying a tumbledown cottage with a couple of large barns in an acre of land for £20,000 but people seems to think they'll be able to do them up for even less than that. Not so. Those who've done it estimate that it costs at least three times as much as the purchase price to turn a wreck into the home of your dreams.

The usual plan, naturally, is to turn the barns into gites and live off the income. Unfortunately, everyone's doing it. There are thousands and thousands of them for holidaymakers to choose from and unless they have something extra special to offer, you won't earn enough during the main 12-week season to live on for the rest of the year. The same goes for offering B & B facilities.

People also miscalculate the costs of buying a home. In Britain it's the seller who pays the estate agent, in France it's the buyer. And while we may complain bitterly about how much estate agents charge, the French immobiliers charge much much more. Those fees and all the other associated costs of buying a French home can add as much as 15-20% to the price.

Another reason people move back home is because they find it hard to make friends. Why? It's partly because they've bought somewhere isolated where there's no passing traffic but it's also because they can't be bothered to learn the language. Unless you move to an area that is highly populated with ex-pats you're not going to have much of a social life if you don't learn French. Mind you, I read recently of a small hamlet in the Mayenne area of France where 9 out of the 16 houses were occupied by Brits. Ugh! What's the point of moving to another country if you're not prepared to immerse yourself in the culture?

Paul Owen, the sales director for the UK-based French property agents, VEF, agrees that research is key and he is often staggered at the number of people who try and buy property without doing any. He says his top three tips to potential buyers are:

Get independent legal advice. In France the legal transfer of property is conducted by a lawyer known as a notaire. However, he represents the State, not the buyer or seller.

Check out the area thoroughly, not just the house. It's no good living in a nice house if you find you don't like the local weather, culture, facilities etc.

Speak the language. Even learning a few of the basics will help you to get accepted by the local community.

So far we've not been put off the idea of eventually moving to France – yet! We could live with having to have our chimney swept every year without fail because otherwise our house insurance would be invalidated. And we could live with the strangeness of finding a fire engine on our doorstep when we've called an ambulance - firemen are often trained paramedics. I'm even prepared to try snails (just once!)

Our plan involves buying somewhere that has already been renovated and, if it involves a gite or two, we're working on the idea that it'll only be a small part of our source of income. And as it's all part of a five-year plan we've got plenty of time to do some proper research and to brush up on our French.

More: Investing in Overseas Property Board | Expatriate Investor Board | VEF