Silly Boy. That was on our return from living in France to be near a particular school for my youngest daughter, 13 years ago. We still owned property in Hertfordshire, both residential and commercial.
We lived on Sandy Balls holiday Park in The New Forest for a month waiting for a suitable rental house to be available. Thanks for your concerns we are again slumming it while our £2 million house is being built.
We have already completed the triple garage and some of the landscaping already. I will PM pics if you like.
I know you said it was a self build, but I would have thought you would have had the roof on the house by now. What has slowed it down this time SH?
We had some design changes which had to be ok'd by the planning office. This delay missed our slot with the builder we now have to wait till early 2018 but we still working on landscaping the areas not affected by the new build. We will remain living on site during the main build in a reduced portion of the present dwelling.
You do seem to have problems with planning officers. It was held up last year if I remember. Then I think you said you couldn't sell your shares to finance it. Seems as if you have had major problems ever since you embarked on it. Meanwhile costs are rising due to the falling pound. It must be quite a worry to see so many things not going to plan.
They are not major problems but we are looking forward to completion. In the meantime we live in a wonderful location, hardly a hardship. Don't worry about any rising costs these are more than matched by the rise in the value of plot and final value. Due the strict greenbelt laws plots in such locations are well in demand.
I cannot say that I am too worried for you although I did see that land values in the south east were already starting to take a hit for a selection of reasons connected to Brexit. Of course I do not have the planning problems experienced in the UK. I spent half my life with planners, and when I came here I could hardly believe that a visit to the Town Hall with my plans would be sorted on the spot, without any fees. Permission granted on a post-it note. Clearly completion is many months away for you, so as I look forward to my days out and about on the extensive land I have, I will think of you looking out of the window at a garage.
It has taken over 10 years to get the present planning permission due to greenbelt status and OANB adjacent. The chap we sold our maison de maitre to has been trying to sell it for years because his wife has died and he wants to return to the UK. It is a fantastic house in about 13 acres but it is currently a millstone around his head. My plot is worth £1.2 million and would sell within a month if I put it on the market. The only large houses taking a hit here in the commuter belt around Berkhamsted and Ashridge are the £2m plus due to the stamp duty. I much prefer a few months delay to being in a dreadful position like his, stuck in France.
Strangely enough there is quite an influx of people coming here from the UK over the past six months. Yes there will be property that does not sell for one reason or another, often because it takes too much to maintain, but we have seen a rise in some more modest property prices recently. There is a far more realistic view these days from Brits about having a place to live in a far more pleasing environment, and not paying silly money for a wreck of a house. Tomorrow it is my monthly dinner with the football crowd. They are a pretty bright lot who had successful careers in the UK. If you think I have some strong views on the way the UK is being run you would you would be surprised at how mild I am. Oh yes, half of them are ex-Tories.
I think I have mentioned before about my ex golf partner who lives near Albi. He has halved the price of his superb mill house but still hasn't found a buyer after 8 years. I much prefer to buy in the UK, or prefer to maybe self build again, it is a better investment, more secure and appreciates in value due to the demand. There are wonderful locations in the UK but of course they come with a high price. I fully understand how ex-pats lose touch with reality in French rural locations. You will however, be able to assure the Tories living in France that their party is still the most popular in the UK and will continue its long period of rule.
As we watch what is going on in the UK, only in the UK media as there is little interest now in the continental press and TV, we can all see a government that is crumbling due to the pathetic leadership, and trying to do something that everyone tells them will not work. We are now thankfully far enough away not to be influenced by UK tribal politics, and can come to balanced opinions rather than having to follow a party line. It is quite nice to be far enough away to be able to think for oneself.
The present political two party system in the UK is no different now from when I became politically aware in the 60's. It has always been tribal but within a reasonably narrow band in the political middle. This is vastly preferential to where you are currently living where there are strong political extremes. Macron was elected as the alternative to the far right. His actual support base was the lowest ever for a president, he has become even less popular than Hollande at this early stage. Much of his support has drifted away even before he attempts the risky reforms. The apathy for politics in France showed in the extremely low turn out for the last election. I much prefer the stability the current UK government has compared to that of the hastily cobbled together one in France.
It could be after Brexit that thousands of expats living in France will be stuck with 'white elephant' properties they cannot sell when the British will no longer have the right to reside there. The French are not generally interested in the rural stone houses so preferred by the Brits. They will have to hope for enough Dutch or Irish buyers to come along. Most retired expats Brits I encountered planned to return to the UK before they reached the 'care' stage.
Do you actually believe that the current government is stable? From what I see it is anything but. A minority government with paid for support when it suits them. A large piece of legislation that has has hundreds of amendments already, and more to come. A senior member who is more interested in his own prospects than the country. A government that has run the finances down to a point that they cannot pay staff what they need to retain them. Polls showing that if there was another election they would be out. Do I need to go on?
Interesting that you mention mill houses. There are quite a number of them for sale and the price differences are dramatic depending on where you are in the country. Just as in the UK there are huge differences between different areas. We have a mill house about three miles away that doesn't sell. People go and look, but see the damp in the cellar, know that it will be cold in winter costing a fortune to heat, and they will be infested with insects in the summer. Not that desirable even if it has been fully restored, looks lovely, has extensive gardens and woodlands, and can be bought for half of the original €250,000. For the same money you can get a super five bedroom house with as much ground and none of the disadvantages. A property is only worth what a buyer is prepared to pay, and if you want a mill house you can choose the one you want at the price that suits you.
