France or Spain?

[odond]

I also heard that when buying in Spain the documentation is all in English and so you can only resell to an English person? can anyone clarify this for me please? In France the paperwork is heavy but the buyer is extremely protected by French law.

Deirdre

The leading French property advisors in Ireland - French Property Ireland

[Pierre Guillery]

Hi Daniel,

A suggestion: why dont you look at the region around Uzès, at the border between Provence and Languedoc (google gardprovencal to find a site with an English versionand lots of info.)? Not far from anywhere because the highspeed train connects the area to Paris and Barcelona within hours, international airport in Marseille flies you to the States, to the UK via Arles & Ryanair. You can enjoy the countrylife - and/or drive to Montpellier, Avignon or Nimes in less than an hour. Go to the beach easily, of drive up to sky in the winter. Prices are comparable to Dordogne.

Accesswise, Dordogne is, hum, complicated. They've upgraded the motorways in the last few years, so that's getting (much) better. But flying there can get tough: only small airports like Bergerac - and Bordeaux's Mérignac is miles away (the traffic to get there is awful, 2 hours from Dodogne, and 75 minutes to drive around the city to the iarport itslef). Of course, no high speed trains in sight for a good ten years (as public funding for the existing projects havent been approved yet) - or you get off the TGV at Libourne and drive East.

One of my friends owns a small castle near Castillon-la-Bataille (on the Dordogne river, but closer to Bordeaux) and I own a house near Uzès. I love both areas, but I find the Uzège more "versatile". And I dont know a thing about Spain... Hope that helps!

[buyingallover]

Also, consider practical issues for yourself like which language it will be easier for you to learn. I'm lucky in that I got recommended a very good language school at which I've learnt both french and spanish. I can heartily recommend it. It's The Paul Noble Language Institute and their site is The Paul Noble Language Institute

[SPview]

Odond - it is absolutely NOT TRUE that all paperwork for Spanish properties in English and therefore can only be re sold to English clients.

All legal documentation is in Spanish with English translations available to buyers - and there are no restrictions at all on who you can sell property to when you come to sell.

[web2dude]

Andalucia will definitely be warm in the summer and most of the year. I've spent quite a bit of time there and in all honesty Seville can get too hot in high summer (might be a good time to go to the UK) with temperatures in the 40's.

In terms of the general locality I can definitely recommend Grenada, an excellent city - a bit cooler and not far from some excellent walking, an hour from the beach and an hour from the ski resorts in winter. I can't recommend any websites, but there must be loads around to do some further research....

[rowlandsbb]

Both are good so it comes down to personal reasons
In times like this best to play safe and buy in area you know and which will always be popular in normal economic times
And that means Spain and France
For winter use the Spanish Costas from Alicante westwards are the warmest and in general the costs of buying in Spain and the living costs are lower than France
In many parts of the S of France a small apartment will cost you say 200.000 € when in Spain say in Almeria you can get a nice villa for this
Spanish is easier to learn than French
I like both it was just that for the money I had available a small hamlet near Huercal Overa in the province of Almeria gave me a very nice villa for the winter !...also a touch quieter than S of F

[MarkNoble]

[quote=odond;84868]I also heard that when buying in Spain the documentation is all in English and so you can only resell to an English person? can anyone clarify this for me please? In France the paperwork is heavy but the buyer is extremely protected by French law.

Deirdre

[
I heard this too. Have you thought of calling RICS. They can usually help on this kind of question.

[MarkNoble]

Originally Posted by Pierre Guillery

Hi Daniel,

A suggestion: why dont you look at the region around Uzès, at the border between Provence and Languedoc (google gardprovencal to find a site with an English versionand lots of info.)? Not far from anywhere because the highspeed train connects the area to Paris and Barcelona within hours, international airport in Marseille flies you to the States, to the UK via Arles & Ryanair. You can enjoy the countrylife - and/or drive to Montpellier, Avignon or Nimes in less than an hour. Go to the beach easily, of drive up to sky in the winter. Prices are comparable to Dordogne.

Accesswise, Dordogne is, hum, complicated. They've upgraded the motorways in the last few years, so that's getting (much) better. But flying there can get tough: only small airports like Bergerac - and Bordeaux's Mérignac is miles away (the traffic to get there is awful, 2 hours from Dodogne, and 75 minutes to drive around the city to the iarport itslef). Of course, no high speed trains in sight for a good ten years (as public funding for the existing projects havent been approved yet) - or you get off the TGV at Libourne and drive East.

One of my friends owns a small castle near Castillon-la-Bataille (on the Dordogne river, but closer to Bordeaux) and I own a house near Uzès. I love both areas, but I find the Uzège more "versatile". And I dont know a thing about Spain... Hope that helps!

What is the nearest airport form the Uk to this area?

[MarkNoble]

Is it tru that when you die if you own property in France you have to split it across all of your children? How can you avoid this?

[SPview]

[quote=MarkNoble;96868]

Originally Posted by odond

I also heard that when buying in Spain the documentation is all in English and so you can only resell to an English person? can anyone clarify this for me please? In France the paperwork is heavy but the buyer is extremely protected by French law.

Deirdre

[
I heard this too. Have you thought of calling RICS. They can usually help on this kind of question.

HI GUYS - I can absolutely assure you that when you buy a property in Spain - you can sell it to anyone you choose - Spanish / Russian / Belgium / German WHOEVER YOU CHOOSE ... and the contracts and documentation relating to the sale are in Spanish - in accordance with Spanish property Law - as they would be in the language of whichever country you bought - you can of course obtain English translations at a cost - there are no restrictions or laws relatig to what nationality you can re sell your property to - I have no idea where you are getting your information from but its completely incorrect.