PROPERTY INVESTMENT IN FRANCE – THE PROCESS EXPLAINED.

January 2005.

The processes and procedures below have been used successfully to achieve over 30 purchases of property in the Cote d’Azur over the last 3 years.

Quote From « The Olive Season » by Carol Drinkwater.

The south of France predominately Cannes, promotes itself as the California of Europe, the multilingual film centre of the world, at least for the fortnight when this, the most famous film festival in the world, unveils its latest package of stars and stars-in-the-ascendant. In the hills above Cannes, a kilometer or two away from our crumbling farm there is a residential quarter called La Californie, twinned with Hollywood which boasts some of the most expensive real estate in France, much of which is hidden behind tall, thickly fronded palm trees and equally tall, electrified iron gates. To rent a villa on that strip during the film festival can set one back something in the region of 5000 sterling a day.

Aside from this film festival, there are two television festivals held in Cannes, one in the spring, the other in autumn. There is a music festival in January, as well as festivals for the worlds of multiactive media, young aspiring actors, short films, advertising, television commercials, antiquary, clairvoyance, yachting, parlour games, real estate and, for the town of Cannes, the most lucrative festival of all, the Duty Free Festival, which is held in the late autumn. Yes, festivals are big business here. International companies fly in chairmen, presidents, vice-presidents, any and all executives by the plane load, and they are all on generous expense accounts.

“A duty free festival?” I asked incredulously when I first heard mention of this one. Particularly since Europe is now a united body whose duty free boarders have been dismantled and across which travel no longer offers this perk. But that has made little if any difference, it seems, to the thriving duty free market elsewhere. This festival is heavy weight money for the town. Prices escalate during that autumn week. For anyone who is not a card carrying duty free merchant, a hotel room is an impossibility at any price. These traders are the guys who call the shots. So much so that Cannes has been warned that if it does not build two new 5 star hotels, providing every amenity required and desired by these visiting sales people, the organizers will move the whole shebang to Barcelona.

Filling out Entenial forms …

DETAILED INSTRUCTIONS FOR FILLING IN ENTENIAL BANK APPLICATION FORMS, AND THEIR REQIREMENTS BEFORE GRANTING A LOAN.

I will fax you two sets of forms to fill in. Please do so carefully and return them to me by fax. Keep the copy that you fax, because under separate cover I will send you the original application forms to fill in exactly as you did the faxed copies. (They must eventually go on the file with the bank, although the application can be processed without the originals.)

PROPERY LETTER 1ST DECEMBER 2004 – POSTSCRIPT.

Dear All,

Apologies for this, but I think it’s worth troubling you with two small issues:

1. This is what I wrote about this apartment in my letter of a few days ago.
Voilier. One bedroom apartment.
Living space – 47 sq.m.
Balcony – 8 sq.m.
Asking Price – 428 000€
(Before I even start this is too expensive. However they really need the sale and I would recommend a low offer and see what happens. )