In this blog post I will share with you how long it took us to finally find “our house”,including all the emotions that accompanied the buying process and also the specifics of the buying process itself.
It was just early spring. There is a season for real estate in France too. In fall and winter the advertisements slowly dwindle and only very stubborn or needy sellers keep their ads reappearing and then all of a sudden come Easter, many new offers pop up online and there is a new chance to find the house of your dreams. But then we also discovered objects that came and left in a week. I had barely identified the property and was trying to follow up when Brigitte informed me that the connected agent was not willing to share proceeds or the house had very quickly been snatched up by a local buyer. As always when far away it is difficult to react quickly but with ample time and a sufficiently large market it was adamant to keep calm.
So, we continued our search and I felt enthusiastic again when identifying an old mas, a so-called house with character as a prospective new object of desire. The house was located in La Ciotat in another sought after area called La Baguier. The quartier is located west of the village, almost bordering to St. Cyr sur Mer in the far west and to the North towards the little village of Ceyreste.
The house was an old farmhouse, completely covered in ivy and vine/ Virginia creeper. Brigitte contacted the French real estate agent and started first inquiries about the house. It was May when we returned to France for a week of vacation and with the determination to look at the old mas dating back in parts to the 18th century and then see where we go from there.
We had an appointment to view the house and were quickly updated by Brigitte about the circumstances surrounding the sale of the house. The sellers were obviously an older couple that had decided to sell their live-long family home to move closer towards children and available specialized medical care. Obviously the husband had a severe health condition. We set out to drive to the place with Brigitte and reached the house perched up high in a very wooded area up a small sloping road. The house was situated on a plateau surrounded by restanques and an olive grove and had a very rustic charm.
The outside was covered with vines, thick walls of natural stone hid the house with deeply set windows and framed by the typical shutters of the region. We took a tour of the house which was very charming, old fashioned but large. In several places my tall husband signaled first signs of doubt due to low ceilings in certain places but I was still very much in awe.
After the tour of the house we sat outside with the older couple and their dedicated real estate agent, a friend of the couple and Brigitte. Under a huge plane tree we discussed our interests and our intentions. The house had a beautiful view over the bay of La Ciotat and the harbor. It was then that we learned of the peculiarities of the house.
The size of land coming with the mas was extensive and advised by the real estate agent friend the sellers had decided to divide the land. One part of land should be sold separately as a building plot and the mas itself as a separate entity as well. This would bring a higher sales price: the mas on the one hand and the building plot on the other. We received first explanations and a plan when sitting together under the plane tree.
When we had left, my husband and I discussed intensively how to move forward. We liked the house and were certain that we could go forward with very little renovation at first. Back in Germany, I wrote a personal letter to the couple thanking them for the warm reception and confirming our interest and that we could picture this as our new home.
In parallel we wanted to better understand the specific situation with the plot of land to be separated from the existing land. It soon became evident that while on the one hand the village had required a certain piece of land along the road to be additionally separated for a future widening of the narrow street to the house, that there was very little land left for the buyer of the mas.
Building restrictions in La Baguier require a minimum size of 10.000 m2 for building and it was evident that the mas was almost like former West-Berlin completely surrounded and encircled by the detached piece of land. As a matter of fact, the oil tank which was underground of the mas, would in the future lie on the land of the owner of the detached plot. We were quite puzzled that this was possible. Who would take the environmental risk in case of a leak? But this is probably a typically German approach.
Quite soon we received the information that the plot of land had been sold/ was under an offer by a buyer and that there were several interested parties in the mas but that the financing seemed to be a problem. Brigitte told us that it was necessary to finalize both transactions to be able to sell everything. I still did not give up. I developed a plan to offer to the selling couple and the prospective land buyer that we would buy the mas under the condition to be legally granted the right to buy back land from the plot buyer once he had a building permit. We wanted the right to buy back the land for a fixed price together with the mas.
Well let’s cut this short. This was also one of those frogs that no matter how often you kissed it stayed a toad.
So, we moved on. We viewed a second large mas in the same area. It also had a magnificent view of the sea towards the Bay of Lioquet, several further outside buildings and a wonderful huge brightly pink Bougainvillea climbing the house. It was in a state of decrepit and old that was full of charm but at the same time we were not able to picture how to manage the renovation into something habitable. It was a property one would want to inherit but not a property where you would willingly spend hard earned money for and bring into a modern standard.
Following this account of our search for a house and the long hours invested into the respective search, I can not emphasize often enough what wonderful support we had found in Brigitte. She had accompanied us all this way without seeing a penny of money, keeping up her French chic and wonderful optimism guiding us on and telling us about her own adventures with buyers and sellers and successes when she was able to make a large sale along with a nice fee.
Thank you, Brigitte, for everything you have done for us, your support was priceless.
Months passed, it was late summer, end of September and we had taken a bit of intensity out of our search. Objects came and passed and we had reached a point of detachment and I was no longer emotionally engaged.
We had planned for a late summer vacation this time driving through Italy via Genua and all along the coast: Antibes, Grasse, Cannes, Nice, Saint-Tropez, Grimaud. We wanted to stay a few days in Cassis but had planned to be on the road most of the time. Shortly before starting our trip, Brigitte informed me that she had discovered another house in the area of Baguier/ La Ciotat, and a very friendly and forthcoming French realtor. She sent pictures. Nothing that got me excited but we agreed to visit the place nonetheless.
We had a wonderful road trip vacation staying in little places, the weather was perfect, as always. The last weeks of September bring the best time of summer when all the tourists are finally gone but the sun still shines with strength and you can experience the relaxedness of off-season.
We met with Brigitte and the French realtor Philipp in La Baguier to visit the suggested house. The house was located in an elevated position with a very reduced part facing the street. We entered the property and I remember taking the small path towards the garden and surrounding the house and a large terrace facing the sea. The house was in a very run down state but had once been a beautifully designed property. Natural stone walls everywhere and many windows facing south-west.
The building evolved in several parts and was arranged towards the path of the sun. A huge ancient pine tree shaded part of the house and created a very southern ambience. Sloping downward the property was large with several levels. The pool was located a level below the large terrace and there was another path leading into an overgrown garden with old Mediterranean trees and surrounded by restanques. On the pool level an independent apartment was located.
The views of the house over the wooded valley below and towards the ocean were beautiful.
Inside the house was in an even worse condition than outside. It was obvious that no one had renovated the place in many years. The house was small and had a nice floor plan. The main level felt lofty due to the fact that the ceiling spanned two floors. I could picture how this could be developed and renovated without needing much or hardly any structural change or addition. We liked the house but it had definitely seen better times.
It was the first house where the owner had a legally required dossier de diagnostic technique (DDT) ready and also the legal requirements regarding the septic tank as set by the SPANC (Service Public d’Assainissement Non Collectif).
We could immediately see that electricity and the septic system were in need of complete renewal. In France a central sewer system is still rare. Houses set off in naturally preserved and wooded areas often have an individual septic tank and have to meet strict requirements to comply with environmental regulations.
These reports are mandatory for a sale in France and inform the buyer about a wide range of risks such as the state of electricity but also environmental risks such as asbestos or lead, other such as termites or natural risks regarding earthquakes or flooding.
Back home we had a lot of talking to do. The house was set in an area under natural preservation and we knew that due to the building regulation there could be no new building which would change the views. While once a beautifully designed house in high quality and with lots of natural stone and beamed ceilings in the style of a typical French mas, the house was very run down and in a desolate state.
Due to the rather compact size, we assumed it did not sell because it was almost too small for a family with children and also needed a full renovation. The nearest shops were down the hill about a kilometer by foot. The terrain was huge and would definitely pose a challenge to maintain. The swimming pool was empty when we saw it and in need of a full renovation.
But overall, the positive aspects prevailed. We believed it could be done.
Phillip the French realtor had offered to supply us with two offers from workers for the septic tank and the pool to get a better feeling for the renovation cost and be able to calculate this properly. Once all the documentation was available, we decided to again do a structural survey for the house at our own cost. It confirmed the soundness of the building and gave positive feedback regarding the planned renovation to the foreseen cost. By the end of the year, we put in an offer for the house taking into consideration the overall state of the house and the renovation effort.
The seller was a little bit baffled because we had specifically specified the amount of fee that was to be paid to Brigitte. She had accompanied our journey and all the ups and downs. I wish we would have had a more elaborate budget and she could have participated like in all her usual high-end sales. We were just really small fish. But I am very thankful until today. By year’s end Martial the seller agreed and we had a deal.
Also thank you Martial for entrusting us to the house you loved so much and as you say “giving it a second life”.
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