Congratulations MOnica. On to new adventures, a little more practical and gentle this time. Good luck.
Live over 225 miles away from family
don't have a problem with under 16's having free bus travel,BUT
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End of an era
(41 Posts)Today we exchanged contracts on the sale of our French holiday home, and I am both sad and relieved.
We have owned it for nearly 33 years and over that time we have had so many happy, short breaks, long breaks, alone, with friends and with family. DD was still at school when we bought it, DS at university, now they are both in their 50s and our DGC are already at the exam stage .
We bought a rundown 2 bedroomed house with an apology for a bathroom, Over the years we have turned it into a 4 bedroomed 3 bathroomed house, DH and I doing most of the work. My mother died here when on holiday with DF
But in recent years DH's health has been dodgy. We are starting to need to pay people to do jobs like grass cutting, which sends costs soaring. DH cannot do repairs and DIY. When we were 75 we decided we would sell the house when we were 80 - and we were 80 last year, and having had 5 years to get used to the idea, we did exactly what we said we would.
Our sale has been miraculously simple. About 2 years ago one of our very elderly neighbours - 90s - died and his wife went into a care home and the house was sold to a very young couple, who have gradually been taking the house apart and reassembling it. We have got to know each other and got on well. We told them we were going to sell the house and 2 days later they called in to say the parents of one of them would like to buy it! - and that is what has happened.
We had met their parents and liked them and each side has been falling over backwards to facilitate everything.
So today we signed the Compromis de Vente - the equivalent of exchange. It required all parties concerned to meet at the Notaire's office to go through the document formally and agree everything. The Notaire, with printed copies and an overhead computer screen, went through it word by word. After an hour and a half, we finally signed everything. It was rather nice having so much formality attached to the exchange.
We need to be out by 22nd April when we complete so ahead of us we have several months of complicated activity emptying the contents, some to come home and be distributed around the family, the rest to be left to a house clearer
Then that will be the end. We will still come back regularly staying in B&Bs and Gites. We know we are doing the right thing, but after 33 years, I am both sad and relieved.
M0nica
Dickens You are right, Edith Piaf - right language, right emotion.
We have had the house long enough for our grandchildren to always remember and talk about it as our children remember and talk about holidays spent every year with a great aunt and uncle who lived in Kent.
We have had the house long enough for our grandchildren to always remember and talk about it as our children remember and talk about holidays spent every year with a great aunt and uncle who lived in Kent.
That is wonderful. I hope the grandchildren will, when older and have reached that stage where they want to re-visit their childhood haunts, go back and have a look at the house and the surrounding area where they will remember various jaunts and outings!
Dickens You are right, Edith Piaf - right language, right emotion.
We have had the house long enough for our grandchildren to always remember and talk about it as our children remember and talk about holidays spent every year with a great aunt and uncle who lived in Kent.
I read your post MOnica and the while kept hearing this song in my head.
youtu.be/Gsz7IuZ3paM
30 years is a very long time - end of an era indeed.
Sad and glad, both at the same time?
I hope the house will hold its memories of your family within it.
Dear Monica,
We are almost in the same position as you and your DH and feel both your relief and sadness. Soon we too will have to make the same decision.
Our second home was built in the 15th century, is in a working Languedoc wine village and is full of (costly) quirks but oodles of charm. It has seen our children grow from childhood to adulthood . We initially visited only at school holiday time, then more frequently after we retired 10- 12 years ago. Have never let it commercially but many friends have stayed here with or without us.
Our 7 grandchildren ranging in ages from 5-17 have been spending summers with us here building friendships and memories. However, none of our adult children would have the time or finances to take it on.
We are there now doing needed maintenance work, seeing friends( all our family are bilingual) and preparing for what will probably be our last family summer here . And walking in the garrigue and vineyards smelling the mimosa , the almond blossoms and the sweet white alyssum which grow between the vines .
We have not yet had the will or courage to put “notre petit bout de paradis” on the market yet but we must. Bon courage à vous…et à nous!
✔️ silverlining
Joseann if you can suggest where we might look for something small…Please pm me perhaps.
I do miss chez nous, bu5 might take a look at owners abroad, assuming that is still going,
We sold our French farmhouse in 2017 after about 30 enjoyable years with much regret. We might have taken the plunge to settle in France. The health service was excellent, the climate good and we had many friends there. But Brexit made the future uncertain and there was little clarity from the UK as to how things would develop. We also saw the rise of populism in France as politically risky - the countryside was heavily pro-Front Nationale. So we settled in the UK where we had continued to pay all British taxes but what a mess we now find: an underperforming NHS, bankrupt County Council, etc.
We too have a holiday home and I want to sell it now. I'm bored going to the same place year in , year out. Probably won't sell as quickly as yours.
Lots of changes, hope it all goes well.
Well done and very best of luck. Onwards and upwards!
Joseann I like living the normal life that the French live. We had a fidelity card for the local DiY store. We fight the age old battles with the telephone company and elctricity supplier - and the smart meter - . Read the local paper. Know all the roads. and the neighbours and the chimney sweep.
As I said we have had this house for 33 years. We have lived in our English home for 27 years and we are moving on from both this year.
We started the packing and sorting today, lists for removel men, house clearers, personal transport, stuff being left behind.. There is a heap of less than perfect bedclothes turned out for the tip. Piles of books the same, already the place is showing what is happening.Thankfully i am one of life's glass half full people, so I am set to make the most of the experience - and at the end of the day we will have the money from the sale in our bank account and more disposable income with only one house to run.
You've started a nostalgic thread here, M0nica. It seems many Brits fall for the romantic idea of a place abroad, (sometimes in the UK), to which they can escape and live a different lifestyle, not just as a tourist. It's that feeling that you have made a pipedream a reality, and that's what I found so hard to say goodbye to.
Monica, like you we reluctantly came to the same decision and sold our house in south west France some years ago (we lived there). We, too, had a very easy sale, and a helpful, efficient notaire. We were on our way sooner than we’d expected. It was painful leaving our friends, most of them French, in our rural area, but we took so many happy memories with us, as will you. We’ve found that French friends are friends for life.
What an adventure you’ve had and how much richer your lives have been for the experience! Naturally you have mixed feelings, but it’s the right decision, and France will always be there for you.
We sold our cottage in Wales two years ago as we hardly had the time to go there since GC arrived. We rented it out for a while but eventually sold it but it was the right decision. It was sad handing over the keys but for twenty years we had lovely times there.
We do go back to Wales for breaks now we rent property enjoy our stay then head back home. Without the bills to pay and the upkeep we have more money to spend on our family.
silverlining48
The Lady sounds a bit above our budget Joseann but will have a look perchance to dream.
No worries, Silverlining, above my budget now too! Unfortunately they don't have any glossy photos in the magazine, just a mini advert with contact details, don't buy a copy unnecessarily.
If anyone wants details of nice, medium range properties, I'll let you know which site I use. The trick is to converse with the French owners, who are very quick to do deals!! They like "liquide" cash! 
Also I l have yet to be asked to pay anything in advance of my stay!!
grace selling up in France when you have lived there must be very difficult. One of my cousin's did that, they lived in the Dordogne for 30 years, but, started to sellup as they approached 80. They are both nearly 90 now, but her DH still wishes they were back in France.
They still manage an occasional trip, but at their age - and we are not far behind, they also appreciate being accessible to family when problems arise.
The Lady sounds a bit above our budget Joseann but will have a look perchance to dream.
Chez nous was such a lovely magazine for French rentals, you used to be able to buy it in WHSmith. We put our properties in there with great results. The Lady also is a good place to advertise or to search.
You suddenly reminded me of Peter Mayle M0nica with your decadent lunch!
Well done, M0nica, for taking the decision and acting on it - and for enjoying the Valentine's meal!
It's not the end of time in France, is it, as you'll love your time staying in accommodation there without worrying about the upkeep. I hope that you continue to have French adventures and add some British ones in, too. Bon chance.
We have never had our own house in France but over decades of visits wherever we are we are always attracted by the estate agent windows just to dream a little. So many lovely old houses always a lot cheaper than here. Such temptation.
I am missing our regular French holidays, I used chez nous to find our gites but understand sadly they have gone out of business. I hope to return for another slow road trip through the quiet RN roads. Maybe this year.
You will miss it Monica but you will always have your memories - oh those village restaurants cheap but lovely 3 course lunches. Sometimes with a bottle of wine in the table …… happy days.
Joseann Not a chance! DH was browsing the property for sale in the Notaire's window!!!!!!!!
After the signing , having completely forgotten it was St Valentine's day, we went o our local restaurant intending to have the 17 euro(£15) 3 course menu of the day.
When we got there, first we were lucky to find a table still available, and as well as the menu du jour there was a special much more expensive Valentine's day special, so we thought 'what the heck' and ordered it - and an aperatif, and a glass of wine, when we got back home, it is home for 2 more months, we both dozed off for the afternoon and delayed starting packing until today.
I overslept this morning but DH has started assembling crdboard boxes and thn we will do an inventory of everything we need to get returned to the UK bu a removal van.
We sold our French home 2022 we had lived there for nearly 20 years. It was the right thing to do as it was too big for us never ending work on the house and in the garden which was huge. Like Josann our local Airport closed , Flybe stopped flying and Ryanair only flew on certain days. Winter hardly any flights at all, the Ferries became very expensive and in the Winter only sailing certain days. My MIL is 86 so it was always a worry about how we would get back in an emergency. Also Brexit made it difficult, saying that I really miss it. Making friends is not easy when you move to an area you have never lived before , it is easier when you have kids but I am sure I will get there.
What a relief to have all your assets back home, indeed.
The wonderful memories will always be with you. Glad it went smoothly we did a similar thing a few years back.
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