20-20 Vision on 2022

Photo ©Tiziano Da Silva – Cyril Moreau – Bestimage

I hope you had as much fun ringing in the new year as I did. I had a small group of close friends and some seriously great food. I made my famous Italian-style artichokes (that I make every February 2nd on Artichoke Day), we had foie gras (of course), plenty of champagne and a host of other goodies including a home-made broccoli quiche. When it got close to midnight, we tuned into France 2 for “La Grande Soirée du 31 à Chantilly” broadcast from about 9 p.m. and well past midnight. Recorded in the heart of the great stables of Chantilly and presented by Emcee Stéphane Bern (who does all the July 14th shows at the Eiffel Tower), it was a major musical event with multi-talented artists and dancers from the troupe of Paradis Latin, under the artistic direction of Kamel Ouali. In the spotlight was DJ-producer Michael Canitrot who performed a new mix and a soundtrack specially created for the fabulous fireworks! We watched it live, but you can watch the whole show on Youtube if you like.

I now have 20-20 vision on 2022. I don’t know about you, but a seriously busy year is ahead of me. I will turn a golden age in the Fall at which time I vowed to be retired, but that is not looking possible. Besides, retirement doesn’t look all that attractive to a “Type A”* personality like me. The minute I retire, I’d start up all sorts of new projects simply because I can’t help myself.

I have enough projects on the burner now to keep me and my staff busy for a long time to come, anyway. Let’s start with the construction and reconstruction of my two French homes. The “ravalement” (resurfacing) of our apartment building in Nice is scheduled to start in March and last several months. With it comes a new and bigger balcony that the city approved. Currently I have a small balcony outside of one doorway, but with their approval, we will build a balcony that is accessed from three doors—two of mine and one of my neighbor’s. On the balcony sits my AC compressor, so while the work is being done, I’ll have no heat and no air conditioning. Fortunately March-April-May are mild months and I could likely live without the air conditioning, but only if I can open the windows. Opening the windows may not be a lot of fun with scaffolding up and the dust and noise from the work wafting in. Will I be able to live in it? I really don’t know yet.

At the same time, the Syndic of my Paris building is doing a structural study in my apartment to determine if my ceiling can support the weight of the two floors above mine. The ceiling has lots of big holes in almost all of the rooms, currently covered in a kind of plastic. It’s ugly and I hear the upstairs neighbors, now with the ceiling open, that I didn’t hear before. The 17th-century wood-framed building has always moved a bit creating the cracks, but the cracking became acutely excessive recently, hence the study. To make the proper repairs will involve opening the entire ceiling to add special supports and every inch of the apartment will need work to repair the cracks that have manifested over many years. This means moving out entirely for several months while the work is taking place.

For some this might not be too difficult, but for me it’s a huge project. I have computer equipment and files to displace so we can continue working without interruption. I have a photography collection the movers shouldn’t touch, so that means hiring a special crew to be safe, rather than sorry. While I’m at it, I might as well make some further improvements, so this is expected to be a major undertaking. I can’t wait. (Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?)

Can’t you already see the big challenges? Yikes! I may be homeless for months!

Meanwhile, we are working on more Fractional Ownership properties—one in Nice (“Le Palais du Soleil”) and another in Paris (“Le Ciel de Charles V”). Le Palais du Soleil is a two-bedroom/two-bathroom luxury apartment one block from the Promenade des Anglais and the beach, with two balconies. Le Ciel de Charles V is a one-bedroom on a high floor with lovely views of Le Marais, close to the Seine and Saint-Paul. Both will undergo renovation for a July 1 usage start date. Add these projects to my personal ones and it looks like I’ll be knee deep in dust for most of the first half of the year! (If you want to learn more about the Fractional Ownership properties, please email us.)

The building’s facade for the fractional property Le Palais du Soleil

Coming this Fall, we’ll be doing another Living and Investing in France Conference in Nice and Tour to Provence and the Occitanie September 16th to 25th. Last year’s event was so successful we’ve decided to do it again, but this time we’re adding a day on to the conference and a day on to the tour so we can be more relaxed. (Soon, we’ll have it up on our website, but if you want to be on our special list to learn more, you can email us.)

Hopefully all the renovation work will be done so I can look forward to the big birthday after the conference and tour. For now, there is no way to plan for that day…since every day brings something new in today’s crazy, crazy world.

*Type A and Type B personality hypothesis describes two contrasting personality types. In this hypothesis, personalities that are more competitive, highly organized, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management, or aggressive are labeled Type A, while more relaxed, less “neurotic,” “frantic,” “explainable” personalities are labeled Type B. (wikipedia.org/wiki/)

Happy New Year to all!

A la prochaine…