Andorra, French and Spanish Border
• Asking Price: £1,555,764 (1 680 000€)
• 2 Reception Rooms, 3 Bedrooms, 2 Baths and a Stable
Andorra ski chalet situated on the border between France and Spain, with some of the best skiing in the Pyrenees. It is in the perfect location as it is less than 2 hours from Toulouse / International Airport and 3 hours from Barcelona and the Mediterranean beaches. South facing and sheltered by the mountain side, the property overlooks the valley and the village of Canillo. All local amenities and shopping are within walking distance and it is only a few minutes from the cable cars, giving access to a prestigious skiing domain and the areas fantastic runs. Dating from the 18th century, the property has been lovingly and cleverly restored offering luxurious and tastefully decorated accommodation. Formerly synonymous with rustic living, this rare “Borda” is now a mix of elegance and freshness.
11th Century Chateau near Perpignan
• 6 Receptions, 8 Bedrooms, 8 Baths, Caretaker flat, Ballroom, Music Room, Library, 2 Dining Rooms, Swimming pool and 25 acres of land
• Price on application
A completely renovated and comfortable 11th Century Château-fort in the sunniest part of France, The Eastern Pyrénées. At this property you get the best of both world: it sits on a hilltop surrounded by forests but also has spectacular views of the Mediterranean. The nearest town is 10 minutes away and the city of Perpignan 20 minutes. Both are historic, prosperous and charming.
The castle is close to the international auto-route, rail and TGV stations and airport; half an hour from winter resorts in the Pyrénées and summer swimming at some of the best beaches along the Mediterranean.
Ownership permits use of a crest with the motto “Passen els segles, em quedo’ - the centuries pass, I remain - and the title of Baron.
La Roquette sur Siagne
• Asking price: £11,792,475 (€12,750,000)
• 4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms, 1 reception room, gym, swimming pool
This beautiful villa is located near Cannes. It is a magnificent property with exceptional views of the hills and the sea. This contemporary style villa boasts unique architecture. There is a large living area, 4 bedrooms and bathrooms, large fully fitted kitchen, office, gym, giant swimming pool and a large garage.
Vineyard Property in Corbieres
• Asking price of £3,241,175 (€3,500,000)
• 53 bedrooms, Chateau, Outbuidings, Chapel, Winery, 59 Hectares of land
This beautiful vineyard property dating from the 13th Century, is located in a peaceful environment and offers lovely views over the surrounding countryside. Some of the property’s buildings are classed as historical monuments, including the chapel, the library and the fortress’s façade.
Cap d’Ail Apartment
• Asking price of £21,735,150 (€23,500,000)
• 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, Wine cellar, Swimming Pool, Pool House
Magnificient Penthouse duplex, with a panoramic sea views and direct access to the waterfront. The beautiful modern building is close to shops, restaurants, and Monaco. On the first floor there is: entrance with billiard room and bar, adjoining room, large living room, office, large kitchen and laundry, 2 multi use rooms, wine cellar for 1500 bottles, terrace, double infinity swimming pools, and a pool house. The second floor boasts four bathrooms and three bedrooms, which all have sensational sea views. There is the option to also purchase the ground level apartment.
Bi-monthly at Property-Gossip we feature 5 outstanding properties in France.
Bookmark this page (CTRL+D) and return often to see examples of the very best French Property currently on the market.
Nice, France - (click on any image to see more pictures and details)
• Asking price of £20,059,600 (€22,000,000)
• 7 bedrooms, 2 reception rooms, 10 bathrooms
The villa is placed between Santa Marguerita and Paraggi, with a super panoramic view of the sea. The villa is 1000 sqm and consists of two seperate houses which can easily be joined together of 500 sqm each. Within the grounds there is a seperate staff house of 300 sqm. The villa has an enormous salon which alone is of 250 sqm, there are some 10 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms. The garden which is beautifully planted is of 2,000 sqm, within it is a large swimming pool with an island constructed in the middle of it.
.
Cannes, France
• Guide Price of £25,530,400 (€28,000,000)
• 8 bedrooms, 1 reception room, 8 bathrooms
Sumptuous property, renovated with high quality materials, ideally located on the hills of Cannes with a panoramic sea view of the bay. First floor: entrance hall (with lift), 2 large suites (with bathrooms). Ground floor: reception, small living room, dining room, kitchen with office, 6 bathroom. Fitness room (with shower), summer living room (with barbecue), 7 staff bedrooms with bath, living room and kitchen and huge laundry over the garage. Heated pool, pool house and more.
.
Autun, France
• Asking price of £2,097,140 (€2,300,000)
• 21 bedrooms, 5 reception rooms, 8 bathrooms
This property situated south of the Morvan Natural Park offers a totally peaceful environment. The château sits on top of a hill in the middle of its own territory. A village with a few shops (pharmacy, bakery etc.) is located only 1km away.
The château was built during the 19th century on older foundations. The building shaped in a U is located on a platform surrounded by moats in water with a drawbridge. The roof was entirely restored. The central part is in coloured burgundy tiles very much like the one of the famous Hospices of Beaune. The façades are embellished by numerous towers and balconies.
.
Ande, France
• Asking price of £272,628 (£272,628)
• 4 bedrooms, 1 bathroom
This beautiful property has two less 0’s than some of the others, but lacks none of the charm. It is situated in a village renowned for its windmill and excellent cultural events. The property was constructed in 2004 and offers 4 bedrooms and a large covered terrace that is south-facing. There is also a small kitchen garden. Situated away from a main road in a peaceful area but still close enough to the centre of the village and all its amenities.
.
Mouans Sartoux, France
• Asking price of £2,689,810 (€2,950,000)
• 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms
On a private and secured domain in a quiet area, this property come with with tennis courts and guardian. The villa was created by famous architect Jacques Couëlle of approximately 230 m² offering a panoramic view on the countryside up to the sea. Very luminous with a contemporary interior, the house comprises: living room with fireplace, dining room, equipped kitchen, laundry, pandry, 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, studyroom, double garage, & more.
.
Every week at Property-Gossip we will feature 5 outstanding properties in France.
Bookmark this page (CTRL+D) and return often to see examples of the very best French Property currently on the market.
.
We begin this week with an exciting new feature on Property-Gossip Blog.
We call it “This Week in International Property”
The Top 5 houses for sale on the worldwide property market will be showcased right here every week.
Whether you are a serious property investor, or merely curious as to the homes of the ultra affluent, these incredible properties have one thing in common - they deserve a closer look.
TOP 5 PROPERTIES FOR THE WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 24TH 2009
ABOVE: House for sale in Cannes, France - 7 bedrooms, 7 bathrooms
Guide Price of £18,132,000 (€20,000,000)
.
ABOVE: House for sale in Extraordinary Montauk, New York, United States
Asking price of £21,647,570 ($35,000,000)
.
ABOVE: A true castle for sale in Ebreuil, France - 6 bedrooms, 3 reception rooms, 3 bathrooms
Asking price of £1,251,108 (€1,380,000)
.
ABOVE: House for sale in Malibu, California - 10 bedrooms, 11 bathrooms
Asking price of £10,511,441 ($16,995,000)
.
ABOVE: House for sale in Nurai Island, Abu Dhabi - 5 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms
Asking price of £8,608,000
Due to the flailing economy, fewer people are able to purchase their own homes and are instead turning to renting in order to become independent. House prices may be falling fast, but the tightening of lending rules by the banks means that very few people can afford to buy as they can no longer raise the deposits required in order to secure a mortgage.
There are no such problems with rental accommodation though, as a flat or house can be rented with minimal fuss and often with as little as one month’s rent as deposit.
Liverpool is a popular location in which to rent property as property in Liverpool is quite cheap to rent at the moment.
Liverpool is a beautiful city, rich with culture and heritage. Liverpool was the European Capital for Culture in 2008 and much of the city center was regenerated for that year. Liverpool is famous for its night life and bars, and has a music scene the envy of the world, with the famous Beatles heralding from the city.
When searching for Liverpool property to rent you have the option of a city center apartment or one of the houses or flats in Liverpool’s many residential areas. Nearby, the Wirral is one of the most affluent areas of the West Coast, with many Liverpool and Everton footballers choosing to live there.
Searching for the right property can be a time consuming process, especially in the current housing market where people’s budgets are much tighter. One way to search for property is to buy a property paper and look through the listings, or spend time travelling around estate agents looking at property in their windows.
However these take time, and aren’t the most thorough way of searching. A much better way of searching for property is to do it online. There are many advantages to searching through property search engines, not least of which the fact that you can search all of the estate agents at once. You can also search by area, so if you know where you want to live you can view property available in that area.
You can also refine your search to specific parameters, such as number of bedrooms, whether you’re after a flat or a house, or more importantly what price range of property you’re looking for.
Once you have found a property you’re interested in you can then look at the area on the Internet, view a map to see how close it is to major roads and even see if there are any shops or parks nearby.
Searching for property online is much easier, faster and more accurate than trawling the high street looking in the windows of estate agents.
With the current property crisis meaning many people can’t obtain mortgages, or at least not without large deposits, the popularity of renting property has increased in the last twelve months. Renting property instead of buying often works out cheaper for people, and is much quicker than the often lengthy process of trying to obtain a mortgage and purchase a property.
One of the most popular areas of the UK for property rentals is Leeds in Yorkshire.
Leeds is a bustling city with a wide range of areas in which to look for property. Leeds has affluent areas such as Headingley and also cheaper areas in which to find property in Leeds.
Leeds also hosts two busy universities, which means the city is full of students looking for property in Leeds. The abundance of students seeking Leeds property
means cheap rental prices and plenty of property of different standards to choose from. If you’re looking for property in Leeds to rent, you’ll find many different types of accommodation and areas.
Leeds is situated in the perfect location in Yorkshire because it is almost on the doorstep of the M1 for travelling south to Birmingham and London, and is also on the M62 taking you directly into Manchester.
Avignon is a beautiful and historically significant city situated in the heart of Provence. The reason for Avignon’s importance is that it used to be the home for all of the Catholic Popes when they weren’t resident in the Vatican, in Rome. Avignon was called “the great city of the popes”.
As a result of this significance, the city was visited by some of most wealthy people in the world, from Royalty to visiting dignitaries. Consequently property for sale in Avignon is on the expensive side, but any property investors would be shrewd to purchase in the area because of the potential returns. Just like other areas in Provence, property for rent in Avignon also commands high prices, so could make a lucrative investment.
The summer months are especially popular for property rentals due to the warm weather and the festivals held during the summer. The city plays host to two different theatrical festivals every summer making the city a thriving tourist destination. Don’t worry about it becoming too saturated with tourists though as the city boasts enough bistros to allow the locals room to escape the hoards.
If it’s a quiet lifestyle that you’re looking for, you could search the less crowded surrounding villages for property to buy in Avignon, as you may even find better value for money.
‘Part Buy Part Rent’ is perhaps more commonly known in the public domain as ‘shared ownership’ and it means that you own part of a property, whereas the lender owns the other part. Often this is split in a 50/50 or 60/40 percentage.
When you buy a property on a part buy part rent scheme you don’t own all of the property, but there are many benefits to doing this that make it worthwhile. For example, with a part buy part rent scheme you wouldn’t require as much deposit, which is useful now that mortgages are becoming very strict on deposits and most lenders require at least 10%, some rising to 40% for the best mortgage deals.
Another advantage is that your mortgage repayments would be much lower, usually being less than 50% of the property’s value.
One of the main advantages of part buy part rent though is that families on lower income can afford to set foot on the property ladder with a part buy part rent property because they work out much cheaper.
Shared ownership doesn’t mean that you’ll never own your property outright though, because you can always buy a greater percentage of the property as your circumstances change.
Lyon is the third biggest city in France, and according to resent research from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the fifth best city in the world for investors. One of the reasons Lyon won this accolade was because of its highly stable economy. The economy in Lyon is one of its most alluring facets, as it’s an employment hub for France and plays host to some vital industries in the country.
Paris may be globally famous for its restaurants, but Lyon actually leads the way with gastronomy because it features the greatest number of restaurants per square metre than any other part of France.
Lyon is also rich with history and heritage with ancient Roman ruins standing alongside World War II passageways.
Property for sale in Lyon is also attractive for investors because property for sale in Lyon isn’t particularly expensive. As Lyon isn’t a tourist city, property for rent in Lyon is in demand all year round. Most people looking to rent property in Lyon are doing so either because they work in the city or because they are students, as Lyon has a strong student contingent.
Lyon also has excellent links with other areas of France and Europe via its airport and the TGV, which makes the city the ideal location for anyone who wants to live or work in France.
Paris is known as the city of romance and is one of the most cosmopolitan and busy cities in the world. The architecture is beautiful, the restaurants are legendary and you’d struggle to find a city that was brimming with as much culture.
In terms of property for sale in Paris, you’ll find that prices can be on a par with London and space is just as much at a premium, especially in the centre of Paris. However, what you lack in space in Paris you more than make up for with grandeur. Many properties in Paris overlook some of the most famous landmarks in the world, such as the Eiffel Tower, the Arch de Triumph and the Louvre.
Just like London, Paris also stands on the side of a river, the River Seine. Network links within the city are excellent, with easy access to the airport and train stations provided by the Metro.
One of the best aspects of owning a property in Paris is the rental potential you could earn from letting it out to tourists. Property for rent in Paris is sought after all year round, rather than just the summer months, so you’ll never have to worry about downtime with your investment.