Farm Owners We Are! On a signé!
We had been looking for a house in the region of Lyon for more than a year until March 27, 2017 when Olivier visited this property while I was on tour... Upon return, I agreed with him: it fit all of criteria: no close neighbors, some "playground" (6.3 acres of land, some can be planted with vines!), some (a lot in the end...) restoration work with the possibility of creating three full guest rooms, located less than an hour away from Lyon's airport, and close to a TGV train station.
We made an offer in April 2017 and it was a long process involving testing our patience with French bureaucracy. To make it simple, one of the three sellers is expatriated to Brazil as he owes 2.6 millions euros to the French state! Therefore we had to deal with the French IRS who wanted to sell as high as possible. Then we learned the farmer using the land for his two horses had a land rent for life if he wanted to and for free... As new owners, we would not have been able to break that deal. We have nothing against horses, but we wanted to use that land differently. Finally we signed on January 10, 2018!
South facade with the old sheep pen on the right, which will become one of the guest rooms. It faces the Alps and the Mont Blanc (far away...)
We made an offer in April 2017 and it was a long process involving testing our patience with French bureaucracy. To make it simple, one of the three sellers is expatriated to Brazil as he owes 2.6 millions euros to the French state! Therefore we had to deal with the French IRS who wanted to sell as high as possible. Then we learned the farmer using the land for his two horses had a land rent for life if he wanted to and for free... As new owners, we would not have been able to break that deal. We have nothing against horses, but we wanted to use that land differently. Finally we signed on January 10, 2018!
South facade with the old sheep pen on the right, which will become one of the guest rooms. It faces the Alps and the Mont Blanc (far away...)
Façade sud avec la bergerie à droite. Vue sur les Alpes dont le Mont Blanc.
The house lost in the countryside. The road is twisting along vines of Chardonnay and Gamay.
La petite maison pas dans la prairie, mais dans les vignes qui nous entourent presque.
The foundations are a huge vaulted cellar (59ft long). Huge potential in the long term...
Les fondations de la maison: une cave voutée de 19 mètres de long.
North facade/ Façade nord
East facade with a view over vineyards and the valley.
Façade est avec vue imprenable sur les petits villages et les vignes.
West facade/ Façade ouest
Et voilà, nous avons finalement signé le 10 janvier pour cette maison qu'Olivier avait visité une première fois en mars 2017. Cela faisait déjà plus d'un an que nous cherchions une maison. Mais vu nos critères: maison isolée, avec terres (2.7 ha), à rénover, pouvant accueillir trois chambres d'hôtes, à moins d'une heure de l'aéroport de Lyon et pas trop loin d'une gare TGV... ce n'était pas facile!
En avril nous faisions une offre, mais vu qu'un des héritiers s'est exilé au Brésil car il doit 2.6 millions d'euros à l'état, le FISC a rendu les choses un peu plus compliquées. Et pour couronner le tout, le fermage pour les deux chevaux ne pouvait pas être rompu par les nouveaux acquéreurs...
Bravo a vous deux et bon courage pour la suite. Après avoir affronté la bureaucratie française la restauration ne devait pas vous faire peur...!
ReplyDeleteA bientôt!
Elisabeth
😉
DeleteWhat happened with the farmer and the horses?
ReplyDeleteHe asked for a lot of money to cancel the lease. The owners accepted as we would not have bought otherwise and then the house would have gone to auctions... He has another field, don't worry those horses will have another nice big patch of grass and we will need a tractor to cut the grass...
DeleteWhat happened with the farmer and the horses?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Virginie and Olivier! We're very excited for you and can't wait to see the finished product. Will you be doing any of the work yourselves or be "farming" [pardon the pun] the restoration work out?
ReplyDeleteBonjour Linda, we will do most of the deconstruction ourselves. Then, professionals will do the work! But we will take care of some of the finishing: guest room bathrooms, furnishing, all the gardening...
Delete