First select the areas that appeal to you. You may need to factor in climate, property prices and drive times from the channel ports. The sudden impact of the low cost airlines and their daily services to smaller airfields around France has changed journey times and opened up new house buying opportunities. At many times of the year it can be a lot cheaper to fly and hire a car than to drive. In any event planning your house hunting trips outside of the main UK school holidays will reduce your costs and increase the choice of routes and carriers.
Allow plenty of time to find your new French house and some extra time to deal with contracts, insurance (and perhaps a mortgage application) in the event that your trip is successful. If you want the statistics, around a third of buyers find the right property on their first visit, another third on their second and the rest on their third. The writer can partly confirm this as he and his family found their Dordogne farm house on their third visit.
If you are visiting more than one area then plan to spend up to two days with each agent. Sometimes the houses you want to see are widely separated adding to the elapsed time and in any case you will want to get the feel of the French towns and villages comprising your new (or holiday) home area.
Many French property agents suggest that children (and in particular young ones) are best excluded from your house hunting forays. This may not be possible, or popular, so if the younger members of your family are going to be joining the active part of the house hunt make sure you allow extra time for breaks and that may mean extra time with each agent you intend to visit.
Factor in weekends and French Public Holidays when planning your trips and you are advised to book your accommodation in advance. Even outside of the main summer season accommodation might be tight due to local events – remember that despite the staggering 76 million visitors each year France is largely not a holiday resort but a modern European state with lots going on throughout the year.
It is not a bad idea to remember to pack your birth and marriage certificates (where relevant) along with your passports. If you find your new French house on this trip then these documents will be needed for the house purchase so taking them along will save you having to post copies to France at a later date.
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