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Property blog: The parts of France where you can still find bargains

The price of property around France is rising but that doesn't mean there aren't some incredible bargains to be had. Here are the best places to find them according to Leggett Immobilier.

Published: 9 November 2017 12:58 CET
Property blog: The parts of France where you can still find bargains
Photo: Leggett Immobilier

Everyone knows that the price of property in France is still amazing and although the market is on the up, there are some fantastic bargains still to be had right across the country – even in some areas that you might not imagine.  

As you would think, the rural areas are usually where the best priced properties are to be found.  

Limousin and la France profonde

The Limousin (Creuse / Correze / Haute Vienne) is a stunning region filled with beautiful green forests, hills and countryside and some of the best priced property in France – the average price for a house in the Creuse is just €63,000.

According to an Expat forum, there are over 7,000 Brits currently living in the Limousin.
 
The area is full of wonderful, lush, green countryside reminiscent of Devon and the west of England, with little rivers, streams and lakes all over the place, perhaps that is the reason why it is so popular with the British.
 
(The map below shows the concentration of where British nationals live in south west France.)
 

But it isn’t just in La France Profonde where you can lay your hands on a bargain.  Some parts of the country that aren’t traditionally associated with bargains can still deliver pockets of great priced properties.  

Think you can’t afford the Cote d’Azur?  Think again.  Just an hour or so from the Mediterranean coast you can pick up some beautiful properties in one of the most exclusive parts of France for under €200,000 – you’ve just go to know where to look. 

Up in the hills the prices are much lower than on the coast.  The pace of life is slow and the villages are still traditional communities, but just a short drive will see you rubbing shoulders with the rich and famous.

 

Further along the Mediterranean coast, the former region of Languedoc-Roussillon is a beautiful part of France with some amazingly priced properties and some stunning countryside.  Here you can live the southern French lifestyle for even less.  

The area holds many hidden gems including stunning vineyards (and wine!), beautiful historic towns; and in some areas, you can even spend the morning skiing and then drive down to the Med for a swim in the afternoon.

Ski properties don’t have to break the bank either, the Pyrenees has some fantastic ski resorts that are much cheaper and quieter than the Alps.  These are great investments (as are properties in the Alps) as they have year round rental potential – these areas come alive in the summer too – with walkers, climbers and outdoor sports enthusiasts of all kinds.  

The Atlantic coast is ideal if you are looking for sun and sea, as well as surf and for a smaller price tag that some parts of the Mediterranean coast.  Temperature wise, the area around La Rochelle is similar to southern France and the average price of a house in the Charente Maritime is just €165,000 and around an hour from the coast you can pick up home much more cheaply.

Then there are the perennial favorites with British purchasers, Brittany, Normandy and the Dordogne all continue to offer fantastic value for money.  Whether it is a holiday bolt hole for under €50,000 or a business opportunity for under €250,000, there is a reason why these beautiful regions continue to be so appealing to British purchasers.

And as for a hidden gem?

In Alps de Haute Provence, south eastern France, the pretty medieval town of Uzes is on the other side of the Rhone from the Cote d'Azur, with manageable property prices.
 
Famous for its olive oil, silk mills and of course, black truffles, which does grow all over the southern France, but the focus from November till March is Uzes.
 
Uzes is just 45mins from Avignon.
 
 

France is a beautiful varied country with something to offer every taste.  Property prices remain low, but with the economy improving and the market on the rise, now is an ideal time to buy.

by Mary Hawkins from Leggett Immobilier

To check out what bargains Leggett Immobilier has on offer around France you can CLICK HERE.

 

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READER QUESTIONS

Does it help with moving to France to be married to a French person?

If you’re a citizen of a country outside the European Union, moving to France to live is administratively much more difficult – but are there any advantages to being married to someone who is French?

Published: 30 May 2024 11:26 CEST
Does it help with moving to France to be married to a French person?

You’ve met, fallen in love with and married a French citizen. Congratulations. 

Unfortunately, that doesn’t give you an automatic right to French citizenship, or even – necessarily – the right to live in France. You will still have some bureaucratic hoops to jump through, even though the process is a little bit less complicated.

You’ll also benefit from having a native French speaker on hand to translate the various forms for you – although unless your Frenchie is actually a lawyer, don’t assume that they are knowledgeable about French immigration law, most people know very little about the immigration processes of their own country (because, obviously, they never have to interact with them). 

Visa

If you were living in France when you did the marriage deed, you’ll have already done the visa thing, anyway. But if you married outside France, and have never lived in France, there are still things to do, including – and most pressingly – getting a visa.

The thing is, being married to a French person isn’t quite the live-in-France carte blanche that some people may think – you still need to go through the visa process and gather documents including your marriage certificate and proof of your spouse’s French nationality.

The main benefit is that anyone who is married to a French citizen can apply for a family visa (sometimes known as a spouse visa). This allows you to come to France without a job and it gives you the right to work.

Residency card

Once you have legally moved to France you can apply for a carte de séjour vie privée et familiale. 

Once your visa (which normally lasts for one year) is nearing expiration, you can apply for the multi-year private and family life residence permit.

You must meet the following conditions  :

  • You must share a common address with your spouse – except in particular circumstances (the government website mentions death of your spouse, or in cases of domestic violence);
  • Your spouse must be French on the day of the wedding and must have retained French nationality;
  • You cannot be married to more than one person;
  • If your marriage was celebrated abroad, then it must be transcribed in the civil status registers of the French consulate so that it is recognised in France.

In either case, you must apply for this document, no earlier than four months and no later than two months before the expiry date of your existing residence document (visa, VLS-TS or permit).

The usual list of reasons for refusal apply: if you have failed to comply with an obligation to leave the country (OQTF); if you have committed forgery and use of false documents; if you have committed a serious criminal offence; if you have committed acts of violence against elected officers, or public officials.

Additional information is available, in French, here. 

The situation is a little different for people who initially entered France without a long-stay visa. Usually, this applies to those from countries who do not benefit from the 90-day rule and are required to get a short-stay visa to enter France. If this is your situation, then when applying for your carte de séjour you will need to prove;

  • You are not living in a state of polygamy;
  • You are married to a French national with whom you have lived together for 6 months in France.

In this instance the first carte de séjour vie privée et familiale will be issued for a year.

Citizenship

Citizenship by marriage is a ‘right’ in the same way that children born in France to foreign parents have a right to be a citizen through the ‘droit du sol’. Yes, it exists – but there are rules, and it’s not automatic.

Applying for citizenship via marriage involves applying for something known as citizenship par Déclaration. This is, arguably, the more simple of the processes available to adults.

It works to the theory that citizenship via marriage is ‘a right’. That, however, doesn’t mean that citizenship will be handed out automatically – there are a number of conditions that you must fulfil, including having a reasonable level of French, and if you either don’t fit the criteria – or, more accurately, do not provide sufficient proof that you do fit the criteria you can and will be rejected.

READ ALSO Are you entitled to French citizenship if you are married to a French person?

If your spouse divorces you, or dies while you are still going through the process then your application may be no longer valid. Equally, if you get divorced within a year of getting French citizenship it’s also possible (although rare) for your citizenship to be annulled.

Divorce

Yes, we’re spoilsports but people who get married do sometimes get divorced and if you are in France on a visa or residency card that is linked to your marital status then getting divorced can affect your right to stay.

This doesn’t mean you will automatically be kicked out of the country if you split up. In most cases it’s simply a question of applying for a new residency permit in your own right – whether you are working, studying or retired.

If you have minor children in France then you have the right to stay even if you don’t meet the criteria for any other type of residency permit.

You can find full information on how to change your status in case of divorce HERE.

What about children?

Any child born to a French citizen has the right to claim nationality, whether or not they were born in France. So, whether you’re French or not has no bearing on that particular situation.

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