A House in Brittany... Buying into a dream... and providing for a rainy day...

12,000 English Pounds got us this place in 1999!

Though, of course it NEVER rains in Brittany! But that's probably as true as the one about how it ALWAYS rains in Manchester!

The first thing to say is... we have been very, very lucky with property over the years. I'm not sure that I should carry on buying lottery tickets... because I'm certain we have had a lifetime's luck in the surprisingly few houses that have marked out our lives. In 1999 we bought, in addition to our house in West Sussex, what is known as a 'Corps de Ferme' in Brittany, in the northwest corner of France. We had been on a couple of viewing trips and seen some frightening stuff, some total ruins where a complete rebuild would be the order of the day and, on one occasion, whilst holding on to the local Immobilier's details which showed a reasonably maintained and attractive looking property we drove round and round the village for so long that the locals were gathering and commenting, beginning to point and some even wave each time we passed by... It was only on the ninth circuit of the winding lanes that we realised the house we were looking for had recently parted company with its roof since the agent's photo had been taken. So we drove off slightly deflated to our Chambres d'Hote for the last night before our journey home. The lack of a roof put that house outside our comfort zone from a level of renovations point of view, although at £9,000 it did tempt someone else just a few days later!

...The price looked like a typographical error....
No! just another barmy bargain!

But little did we know that Le Ros, our 'Body of the Farm', would fall into our lap on that final night of our third Brittany viewing trip - when bad things, like the lack of a roof or being threatened with a shotgun by a shy and retiring would be vendor (we didn't have an appointment to view) were becoming commonplace so, when our BandB host suggested we go and visit a neighbour (half a mile away) who had just returned from exhibiting at property exhibition in the UK it seemed like a no-brainer... we turned up with wine aplenty and Micki and I curiously earmarked the same three properties from the fifty houses on offer. and one in particular. We should I suppose sign up as contestants on Mr and Mrs. We have always shared the same taste, in fact often would choose to launch into the same subject at the same time with the same point to make... That's what 46 years together will do!

 

So, at 9am on the following day, we were in the courtyard of an18th Century Farmhouse with 3/4 of an acre of land with three barns, a well and an ancient bread oven. The price of this gem was just £12,000. This was looking like another easy decision. There is little doubt that if this house were to be picked up and dropped in the Home Counties it would not disgrace the pages of Country Life at an asking price of a quarter of a million or more just for the opportunity of developing its potential. Nowadays? The mind boggles - but this is the nature of the economics of cross channel house purchase. Our BandB host had loaned us a large scale map in order that we should find this remote gem more easily and so we felt we should return it as it was on our way back toward the port. Rather than just accept his map Rick encouraged us to play the video we had just shot of the house and, when it came to an end - he said, "so how much is this place?".... "Twelve thousand quid" I said. "So obviously you're going to buy it then!" He pointed to the fax machine... gave me a pen and paper saying - "If you offer the asking price the place is yours". He pointed to the Notaire's fax number on the details (I know... 'fax' - well it was a few year's ago!). So... the fax was sent...

Our ferry crossing home was filled with the most animated stream of conversation of our married life. I'm sure that we didn't really believe that the place was actually going to be ours until - bags unpacked and back at work on the following day, we received a call from the Notaire to put the wheels in motion... con firmation that our offer was accepted, documentation, 10% deposit wired and, then a 3 month gap between signing the Compromis de Vente and the Acte Finale, we were back in Brittany - bank account opened balance transferred signing the paperwork and the place was ours.

 We have now been to-ing and fro-ing between Le Ros and Sussex for 16 years - renovating by stealth rather than speed and we also became involved in the property market a year or so after buying the house... straightening out the buying system for other would-be purchasers of similar bargains - because the systems and means by which it is achieved have changed dramatically since our own haphazard experience. In this day and age, in fact at a certain age it is a good idea to put something away for a rainy day - We have found that by buying a house in Brittany and downsizing in the UK we have been able to do that - augmenting what (low) provision we were able to provide for ourselves in a pension. But are there still bargains in Brittany that, given the passage of time, are still as barmy as our own? Surprisingly... "yes". Admittedly it calls for a close watch on what's becoming available...but certainly there are. Here was one such property...

Two adjoining hamlet houses - one with 3 bedrooms, one with 2, on an exclusive (you have the outside space all to yourselves) enclosed courtyard with two stone garages, a workshop and barn plus an outdoor kitchen for summer dining with a 3/4 acre garden. It was snapped up after it came in to us from an associate in central Brittany... just an easy woodland stroll from a 5 kilometre lake; a fishing and bird-watching paradise (a back garden gate opens onto a path overlooking the wetlands). It did sound too good to be true. 

The price? Well, after an almost cheeky offer and positive currency exchange.... £100,000! Internally both houses are very habitable with heating and up to date wiring and plumbing. At a very attractive extra negotiation were all white goods, some very nice traditional furniture... Oh and a ride on mower and a vintage cider press (sounding more annoying by the minute eh?)... The buyers may need to make your own mark on the decor - but the property can immediately provide an income as two gites, or as your own permanent or holiday home with earnings potential...  A thousand miles nearer to 'comfy-cosy' than Le Ros on the day we took possession. All I can say is... because if the new owners hadn't - then I might have.... is Good hunting!

www.ahouseinbrittany.com