Nimes Apartments

Most of the apartments in the centre of Nimes are in large old converted buildings or tall townhouses with the accommodation spread over several floors.  You can still find new one bedroom flats for as little as €90,000.  Apartments on the outskirts of Nimes and in the surrounding area start to become cheaper the further away they are from the city centre.  Prices have risen here since Nimes Airport started operating direct flights to the UK with flying time just over two hours to Liverpool, Nottingham, London Luton and Stansted.

Because you are thinking of purchasing in a foreign country where the language, laws and tax system are different, it is very important that you enlist professional help to guide you safely through the whole process.  Television companies are currently taking great delight in relating disaster stories of property purchases abroad, but if you watch these programmes carefully you will see that in almost all cases basic safeguards have not been taken.  You are not exempt from the rules and regulations of a foreign country just because you do not live there!

Some of the basic things you might need help with are how to buy new off plan developments, resales and plots of land, income and wealth taxes, property finance, annual ongoing costs, the French legal system and how to protect your investment, managing and letting and property, resale regulations if you want to get your money out of France – the list goes on and on.  An estate agent can either advise you directly or point you in the direction of someone who can, and this is really the way they earn their fee and not just by selling apartments.

There is also the question of “how much can I afford” or “how much do I need” to buy an apartment in Nimes.  As a rule of thumb, a €100,000 apartment will require you to have around €25,000 available for the deposit and taxes.  You might also want to look into various lease back schemes which can save almost 20% on the price of a new property.  Again, seek professional guidance on this.

On the plus side, Nimes is a wonderful place to live in or visit for a holiday with its Mediterranean climate and beautiful historic town and surrounding countrywide.  The Languedoc region is still an excellent area to purchase an apartment with prices still steadily rising and no sign of them levelling off – all of which tells you realize your dream now and move sooner rather than later