Living in the Languedoc: Three Great Homes

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Filming our 28th HHI episode  (House #1) (House #2) (House #3 Charming Village House)

All this week I’ve been telling tales from the weekend in Languedoc-Roussillon where we were filming our 28th House Hunters International episode with Renée Jacobs and Wendy Hicks in our Parler Paris Nouvellettre®. What I purposely left out of those missives were any details about the homes we visited. One was purchased by the “contributors,” but the two others remain on the market. Without giving away which one they chose before the show airs, here’s more detailed information about these special Languedoc properties:

House #1
Two Houses for the Price of One

Located in the heart of a lovely village on the banks of the River Cesse with all amenities and restaurants, just 20 minutes from Narbonne and motorways and 40 minutes from Carcassonne and the beaches, the entire “compound” consists of a renovated character house plus a converted barn, offering about 250 m² of living space with seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, a garage (36m2), multiple terraces and pretty courtyard/garden of 75m2.

The Main house:

Ground Level: Entrance hall of 3m2 + lounge of 14.8m² with marble fireplace + fully equipped kitchen of 17.5m2 (upper and lower cabinetry) with a door to a summer kitchen + a corridor of 3m² with a storage room and a door to the garage + shower room of 3m2 (shower, hand basin and WC).

1st Level: The original staircase goes to landing of 13.3m2 + a bedroom of 10.6m2 + a bedroom of 12.3m2 + a bedroom of 14.7m2 + 2 bedrooms of 9.4m2 each + another living room of 14.4m2 with marble fireplace and a door onto a terrace + a bathroom of 5.3m2 (shower, hand basin and bidet) + a separate WC of 2m2.

Exterior: Summer kitchen of 9m² + a private dining area outdoors of 15m2.

The Converted Barn:

Ground Level: An open-plan living room of 52m2 with a fitted kitchen (oven, hob, dishwasher, extractor), a pantry, a sitting room with a log-burning stove and large sliding glass double doors onto the terrace and garden + a cloakroom of 3m2 with a hand basin, a WC and a storage area.

First Level: At a landing of 2m2 + a bedroom of 17.8m2 with an ensuite bathroom of 7.3m2 (shower, hand basin, WC) and sliding glass doors onto a veranda + a bedroom of 16m2 with an ensuite bathroom of 6.3m2 (shower, hand basin, WC and storage cupboard) and sliding glass doors onto the veranda + a veranda of 17 m² (the length of the facade).

There is electric heating in the main house + reversible air-conditioning system and solar water heater in the converted barn. The main house rents for about 900€ per week in the high season. Annual property taxes are about 2000€.

Asking Price: 328,900€

House #2
Medieval Modern

Located in a “petit hameau” near Prémian and Olargues, as well as the Gorges d’Heric, this 5-bedroom/5-bathroom stone house has been completely modernized with a stucco exterior, a contemporary fully equipped kitchen, a large swimming pool and exceptional outdoor entertaining area…all nestled against the mountains of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut-Languedoc.

Ground Level: Large entry, spacious living room/dining room with fireplace leading to terraces, bedroom with ensuite bathroom, WC, fully equipped kitchen.

First Level: Four bedrooms, each with ensuite shower rooms with WC.

Second Level: Possible attic to be renovated/developed for additional living space.

Exterior: Pool, patio, terraces — totally private, views of the mountains. Parking lot for the residents and guests just beyond and below.

Asking Price: 318,000€

House #3
Charming Village House

A characteristic stone house, a former winegrowers home, entirely renovated, with 186 m² of living space offering a spacious living/dining room, five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a terrace and garden of 400 m² with stunning views of the mountains and coastline in the distance.

Set in the hills of the Minervois, surrounded by the Muscat vineyards and the unspoiled views of the country side, in a picturesque village with restaurants, popular spots for hiking, cycling, horse-riding and swimming, all within 30 minutes, and just 10 minutes to Saint-Chinian, a lively village offering all amenities, schools and restaurants, 30 minutes to the beaches, 25 minutes to Béziers and Narbonne, 45 minutes from Vias Airport and less than an hour from Carcassonne.

Ground Level: An entrance hall of 6 m² + a spacious living room of 35 m² with an insert fireplace and dining area with large double doors leading onto the terrace and garden + a fully equipped kitchen of 16 m² with a wood-burning stove + a WC of 3 m² with a handbasin + a utility room of 10 m².

1st Level: A bedroom of 16 m² with built in wardrobes + a bedroom of 14 m² with hot-air heating + a bedroom of 14 m² with hot-air heating + a bathroom of 10 m² (corner large tub and hand-basin) + a separate WC + a mezzanine for storage.

2nd Level: a bedroom of 15 m² + a bedroom of 15 m² + a shower room of 5 m² (shower, handbasin).

Exterior: Garden of 400 m² with possibility to install a pool + outbuilding/garage of 40 m².

The home has a newly insulated roof still under decennial warranty. Bread is  delivered to the village daily. Annual property taxes of 800€.

Asking Price: 247,320€

If you are interested in purchasing any of these beautiful homes, contact me at [email protected].

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PARIS-UPDATE: A HOME IN PARIS

The website Paris-Update has started a new “rubrique” (topic) under their menu item “Living in Paris” for “Housing” offering articles further noted as “A Home in Paris.” I’ve written an article for this new topic: “The Luxuries of Living in a Real Paris Apartment,” which was posted just yesterday.

Here’s a reprint of the article and stay tuned for more to come at Paris-Update!:

A Home in Paris
The Luxuries of Living in a Real Paris Apartment
September 27, 2017
By Adrian Leeds

Finding suitable accommodation in Paris can be one of the biggest challenges of a stay in the city. For just a few days, a hotel is the simplest answer. But, if you want the luxury of living in a real Paris apartment for a week, month, year or lifetime, then your challenge begins.

This is the first of a series of articles to help you find a property that suits your needs best.

Part I: One Week to One Year

Finding an apartment in Paris for one week to one year is no longer as simple as it used to be. Sure, there are hundreds of websites offering tens of thousands of vacation rentals, but how do you choose? And take note: the current rental laws work against short-term tenants.

Airbnb is the biggest purveyor of short-term apartments, but renter beware: it is simply an online platform that connects a landlord with a renter and takes no responsibility for the rental or the property. If you’re risk-averse, choose a reputable agency instead. You won’t necessarily pay more, but you’ll have the assurance of dealing with professionals.

The Paris city laws (at the time of writing) limit rentals of primary residences to 120 days a year and of secondary properties (not the owner’s primary residence) to a minimum of one year (or nine months for students) unless the property is registered with the city as a licensed short-term rental property. Licensing is costly and requires approval from the owner’s homeowner association and the city.

As a renter, this means that your choices will be: 1) to rent an apartment that someone else lives in full time, 2) ferret out the very few registered apartments on the market, 3) rent in an “apartment hotel” (these are new on the market) or 4) rent an unregistered, technically illegal apartment. As a renter, you have no legal responsibility for registration, so have no fear and choose whatever you like!

Finding an apartment for one week or one month is fairly easy using any one of the many websites devoted to short-term rentals, but if you want a stay of three months to one year or more, then it gets a whole lot more complicated.

Be aware that you will pay dearly for a mid-term apartment (30 to 90 days) because they are in the pool of apartments rented at short-term rates (about three times the weekly rate for each month).

If you plan to stay one year or more and need a furnished apartment, it is best to have assistance in finding and securing the property. The availability of these apartments is very limited and landlords want assurance that their rent will be paid. They might well ask that the entire year of rent be paid in advance or held in an escrow account.

The good news is that when you rent for one year or more, your lease can be broken with just 30 days’ notice. And because rental laws favor tenants, you can’t be evicted easily.

The moral of the story is: make sure you are well-informed before renting, and when in doubt, seek professional advice.

A bientôt,

Adrian Leeds
Adrian Leeds Group

(with Renée Jacobs and Wendy Hicks)

Respond to Adrian:
[email protected]

 

   

 

P.S. A new House Hunters International  episode will soon be aired — one that was filmed here in Paris this past May with our client, Krista Bender, and her friend, Stanley, titled “Champagne Problems in Paris” (Season 111, Episode 11).

“Chef Krista went to France to become a sommelier and then decided to sell her California home and move to Paris permanently. With the market booming and home prices in Paris on the rise, Krista calls on her best friend, Stanley, to help her invest her life savings.”

The new episode airs Monday, October 23rd at 10:30 p.m. EST and 9:30 p.m. CST, then in the early morning of Tuesday, October 24th at 1:30 a.m. EST and 12:30 a.m. CST. I’ll be watching from Paris on HGTV’s live videocast. To do this, you have to sign in to your TV provider.