Nimes Villas

The Languedoc region has the fastest average of growing house prices in France, and property in Nimes has become more popular since the airport introduced direct flights to the UK.  The centre of the city offers mostly apartments, with villas available in the suburbs and immediate environs.  There are still some bargains to be had here, but they are getting increasingly harder to find with holiday programmes on television causing a huge rise in foreign buyers and pushing prices higher and higher.

If you are thinking about buying a villa in Nimes there are a number of ways you can go about it to ensure that you find the best property for you at the right price:

• Visit Nimes and its suburbs searching out "A Vendre" signs (including ones that are home made).

 

• Get in touch with local notaries who  are government officials responsible for overseeing property sales, as they  often have properties to sell and their commission structure is  fixed by law.

 

• Scan all the local newspapers for villas for sale

 

• Search on the internet  

 

• Visit an Agence Immobilier who will be able to offer you some free advice and guidance on purchasing a villa as well as some recommendations on the best places to buy to either live in, use as a holiday home or purchase for investment purposes.

 

• Attend a property auction (vente aux enchères) which you will see advertised in local newspapers. But bear in mind that in France you will need  a notaire or lawyer present to bid on your behalf.

 

• Subscribe to an international property magazine (such as French Property News, Focus on France, Bonjour, Homes Abroad, International Homes and  Homes Overseas)

 

• Register with a foreign estate agent who specializes in French Property. Quite a few of the agence immobiliers work with  UK agencies (and share the commission)

Bear in mind that as you work through the list above the amount of effort you need to devote to the exercise decreases but the cost increases!  If your time is worth more than £2000 a day then it is more sensible to employ an estate agent to do all the ground work.   If you are in no hurry and have time to spare it is worth renting a place in Nimes for a few weeks to explore every option and be on hand to sign any paperwork.