Tarn et Garrone.

Tommy Gunn

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Anybody familiar with the area?
Sarah has a bit of a bee in her bonnet about retiring here & we have 10 days holiday booked in September with a view to heading this way & mooching around, looking at properties in small towns/large villages
Is there somewhere central we should stay or would you have 3 days in one place followed by 3 days in a different place (allowing for 2 days travelling either way)?
As usual, thanx in advance. :thumb2
 
There is a thread from a couple of years ago, where someone advised against buying in France or Spain, but - renting instead, while remaining hooked to the UK Property market. Rent out your place in UK

Do a search - I thought it very good advice

Al
 
Don't you guys want to know what the deal will be after Brexit proper, or Frexit come to that, if Marine wins? What if France leaves the EU & the Euro & refuses to allow funds to be repatriated to the UK idc.

I speak as someone with an old friend stuck out in Spain at present, after the death of her partner last year, who needs to sell up. The property market is dead - what looks like a bargain is only worthwhile if you can afford to write off the cost. She has absolutely no takers, just the odd time waster wheeled around by agents every few months for appearances sake. Meanwhile there is relentless pressure to push the price down....... down so low that it could soon fall beneath the raw cost they paid to self-build the place 20 years ago. The economy is a mess, but the ECB is in denial - no change there then. Unreformed France is little better & asset values just bear no comparison with the UK.

Each to their own I guess, none of my business really so feel free to ignore my negativity, just be eyes open to the actuality.

To answer you question though, if you want small town/village I would centre on a 'Bastide' , maybe Puymirol or Castelsagrat or possibly the sweet grape/abbey town of Moissac. Otherwise, the larger town of Montauban, also a Bastide, probably offers more as a base from which to explore the area. We enjoyed doing the Bastides & had a nice run down the Garonne rive droit a while back. Through Agen (Prunes) then cut north at La Reole to St. Emillion. Next we took a leisurely amble through the Charante Maritime & Vendee - no particular destination in mind, other than the Ferry reservation at St.Malo at the end of the week. Lovely!
 
Thanx for the advice Comrades, much appreciated. My initial thoughts were Montauban or Mossaic so it's good to have that confirmed by those in the know. I also appreciate the other suggestions and will check them out. :thumb2

At this stage it's just a matter of perusing the area & keeping our options open. Although Sarah is very keen on the idea there are no immediate plans to move lock, stock & barrel just yet. Work is looking more & more dodgy & whilst we can't afford to retire in the UK just yet France might be do-able, depending on how things pan out.
 
Very nice area. We have spent time in the last few years down there. Milau, Rocamadour, Figeac, Carcassonne etc nearby all nice.

Had a similar plan of retiring in that area...now sitting tight till we see what happens. Really not sure people realised what they were voting for and what the consequences may be, but thats another debate!
 
having lived in france we sold out in 2006 and returned to the uk . a few friends stayed another year to see what happened to house prices, they still are stuck with houses out there. if I was to return I would rent for a few years and try a few areas. rent your house here and have a year out to see what turns up and to see if you like it .I dont think the value of houses will rise in france building plots are cheap 30 k and build for 120 k would be my choice
 
building plots are cheap 30 k and build for 120 k would be my choice

I have been here since 2001 and managed to make a profit on the 3 houses that we have had. Huge profit in the first one and reasonable profits on the second 2. I could have made more on the second place but missed the bubble.
The last house I built myself, subcontracting the base, walls, roof timbers and electric installation. Total cost was 130k (€') including 30k for the land. I saved a shed-load (and better quality), buy buying materials from Germany, excluding the concrete and roof timber.
Stupidly, we sold it last year:blast

The further south or closer to a city you go, the price rises quite steeply for land.
Build wise, don't wait too long. In 2020, RT2020 comes into effect and buildings must be "Positive Energy Buildings". Currently RT2012 applies.
This will only bother those that want to sell on. Those that are building for life will ignore it because of the cost. They must, however, submit plans that conform to RT2020 if submitted after 1/1/20, but then build something else.
You only need the certificate of conformity to sell it.
 
I've been here in the Dordogne since 1992 and travelled extensively in the south west. Most Departments are very (very) rural and the Prefecture (county town) is often not representitive of the of area. Montauban is avery interesting place architecturally and I'm sure has a very pleasant tourist centre but it is a very Islamic city, rather like Marseille. I don't think it particularly representative of the rest of Tarn et Garonne.

We've been in the same house since we moved here but I have built many new houses for clients but have renovated many more. I would say that people who choose to renovate generally end up over invest but those who build new will see a profit if they sell and new builds tend to be much easier to sell.
 
I have a place down near Montaigu De Quercy near a village called Touffailles. Lovely area, the villages of Lauzerte and Moncuq are also very close and beautiful.Its also has superb roads for biking:thumb although not why we bought there.
The country side is stunning in the area, Toulouse and Begerac are only an hour away so it's very accessable.

We do actually rent ours out in the summer here's a link if you fancy it:D https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p8088310
 
I've been here since 1998 near Le Puy en Velay

We had a house built in 2002/3 that we recently sold in 6 weeks and made a small profit (not why we sold)

Just about to have a new one built on some land we've bought

The problem the first time was we didn't have enough knowledge or contacts so we had to go through a "constructeur" for an all in package

This time we have found our own artisans, compared quotes etc and can get a lot more for our money

Having said that it's a buyers market here at the moment with prices still low and interest rates are very low too if you need to borrow
 
Thanx again everyone, this has been really helpful & we both appreciate everyone's input. :thumb2
 
I've just got myself settled in the area as well.

We are near Johno above, about 6 kmfrom him.

P!ease under National Events for our party next year but GSers are welcome to visit at any time.
 
I've just got myself settled in the area as well.

We are near Johno above, about 6 kmfrom him.

P!ease under National Events for our party next year but GSers are welcome to visit at any time.

Welcome to SW France, we're about 2 hours pretty much due south of you, so just around the corner(!) really......

If you're ever heading to the mountains, pop in for a cuppa!

:)

Jon
 


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