Pont Noir

We recently sold our renovated Charentaise Longere to British buyers and are now ready for the next phase of our life in France. We haven't settled in Charente since moving here in October 2014 as we find it too hot and dry for us and the landscape is a bit boring. We are currently in temporary accommodation in Charente whilst we search for our next project.

We have been visiting Creuse since May this year and have been over probably a dozen times now. We are searching for an old granite built character house/fermette to renovate and the property must have a decent amount of land with it, upwards of 1.5 hectares.

We have viewed some renovated properties as well as complete renovations, but the renovated places have mainly been done in a style that doesn't appeal to us or without taking energy efficiency into account, so we would rather take on our own project.

The areas we favour are in the more rugged south and east of the Department and particularly around Aubusson, Felletin and Crocq. We also like some areas in the east around Bellegarde en Marche, Auzances and Mainsat. We would also consider properties south and east of Bourganeuf. Mainly we have been searching in an area south of the D941 that runs from Limoges to Aubusson.

Our budget is up to a maximium of €100,000 for a property needing full renovation, but we would rather pay less if the property needs a new roof or major structural work. Property must have a barn and/or outbuildings as well as decent amount of land of an absolute minimum of 1.5 hectares, but preferably more. The land and location is very important as we wish to carry out an eco tourism business. The house must be in a quiet and secluded location, preferably wthout neighbours and away from main roads.

We realise this is a difficult search and so far we have viewed 15 properties since July, with no luck!! We have been searching using all the estate agents as well Notiaires websites and also private adverts on Leboincoin, Paruvendu Facebook etc. Driving around Creuse for the last few months, we have noticed many empty properties, however a great many of these appear not to be for sale?
If you know of anyone selling a house or know of a suitable property in the part of the Creuse you are in which has maybe not been advertised through an agent or online, please let us know. Also there maybe a farmer or house owner close to you with a property they might consider selling? Also if anyone has any advice to help us with our search we would be very grateful.

Kind regards Paul and Jackie

We're in the wrong area to help with your search I'm afraid. Have you looked on the internet sites such as Greenacres & houses on internet ? Good luck .

Have you contacted any of the local estate agents? I know some are not too good but there are a couple of good ones, although I am not sure that they cover the particular area you mention.

How is your French? I am trying desperately to think of the people not far from Lac Vassiviere who do an eco wood building business. They were really lovely people but its ages since we have been down that way. They might have been able to make some suggestions. I will try and remember their details. Roads down that way are always a pain for us, so we tend to go to the Indre. Too many deer around at 2 or 3am in the morning LOL.

Good luck.

Hi Paul and Jackie
We live in the area you are looking in. We are just outside Magnat l'Etrange in a small hamlet. We absolutely love where we live because of the landscape which is more rugged than the North Creuse. There are many houses that have been empty for years, but as you say may not be officially for sale. Another plan for you may be to contact some of the notaires in the area as they often have property for sale that has been left as inheritance to families who have decided not to take the house. These homes do not appear in Estate Agents. They will have a book you can look through I really hope you find something in the area you like. Apart from its remoteness which we love, the area has some of the most stunning scenery around especially in Autumn. Good luck with your search. Keep us informed and let us know where you finally settle.
Sevy

Thank you for all your replies. We have been using all the websites we can think of including Green Acres and Houses on the Internet. Unfortunately, using the majority of the websites is a painful process as many do not have a detailed search criteria. The biggest problem is that most (Leggett, Green Acres and a few other excepted) do not give land area as part of the advanced search option. This means trawling through literally hundreds of web pages of adverts to uncover the properties that have land. Leboincoin and Paruvendu also don't offer land size as a search option.

We have also been using the Notaires websites as well as SAFER's own website. We have been in to personally meet estate agents in all the agencies in Bourganeuf, Aubusson, Eymoutiers and Auzances and have emailed a detailed search criteria to all of the agencies we can think of. We have some good friends near Auzances who we have been staying with on our trips over. They are an Anglo French couple and Gaetanne has been searching out all the more obscure French websites for us to search. She has also suggested we explore the northern part of Correze (Millevaches area) to widen our search, however we are quite set on La Creuse.

There are plenty of houses on the market, but not many at all with a big piece of attached land that is suitable for our project. We need upwards of 15,000 m2 (1.5 hectares). Has anyone who lives here ever been able to buy extra adjoining land to your property or does it all get snapped up by farmers?

I think we will go directly to some of the Notaires offices and see how we get on!

One more way of finding out what might be available is to check with the local mayor's office--not necessarily with M. le maire himself--during regular (infrequent but easily found) hours, perhaps asking the secretary whether she or he knows of anything in the commune. It would help to speak adequate French or, alternatively, have a friendly translator with you.

tbh, I'm surprised that, in your limited search area, you have found 15 properties under €100K with outbuildings and hectares of land (the later being the most difficult to find). You seem to be asking the right people and putting the effort in, but there will be a limited number of properties that meet your requirements and perhaps you'll need to compromise on something or widen your search area.

It's good that you have a solid and clear idea of your requirements. You really need to visit local notaires as some properties never make it to the internet sites and visiting in person can still be the best way.

Still struggling with our search in Creuse for our next property. We have looked at around 25 properties now since we have been coming over to Creuse and Puy de Dome. We may have to compromise and go for a property in neighbouring Puy De Dome as we cannot spend forever looking for a place in Creuse, as we have now been looking since June!!

We have noticed that a fair number of properties with decent sized land come up in the northern part of Creuse? Is there a reason for this? Properties in the south generally don't seem to have much land available? There also appears to be a lot more properties in the north of the department. We are guessing it is more populated and that there is more farming as the land is less rugged? We are not really that keen on the northern part as the countryside is too soft for us and we want to be somewhere more hilly and wooded.

At the moment we are struggling to find enough property viewings to make a trip over worthwhile. We stay with friends near Auzances and it is a 3.5 hour journey from where we are in the Charente, so not worth the trip to view one house!!

We can compromise on a few things but really want to find an isolated property without close neighbours. This seems to be the sticking point as we have seen many hamlet houses with decent land, but neighbours that are very close. It seems much easier to find isolated houses with land here in Charente (but we don't want to stay here!!)

Would appreciate people's thoughts?

I thought I wanted somewhere more isolated too, as it is my neighbours are the life force of our little hamlet, have made us feel entirely welcome and have made our French living experience amazing.

Some compromises might be worth making.

Good luck!

I thought I wanted somewhere more isolated too, as it is my neighbours are the life force of our little hamlet, have made us feel entirely welcome and have made our French living experience amazing.

Some compromises might be worth making.

Good luck!

• sally watkins

Hi Sally. We definitely want isolated! We plan to set up a back to nature yurt camp and chambre d'hote. Hence the need for an isolated property with a decent plot of secluded land. In the UK we lived in quiet isolated places in Scotland and Wales, so we hope to find a secluded house in the Creuse.

Regards Paul