We can be brief about it: the ideal second home on the Côte d’Azur is most likely not for sale. That is an annoying truth and we would rather have reported something nicer. But honesty lasts the longest and that’s what we go for.
The ideal second home on the French Riviera is of course the home of your dreams. You have been thinking about this for so long and pictures in luxury living magazines convince you that it exists. In addition, every year you go on a luxury holiday in a similar house. It’s just not for sale.
In the case of a villa, everyone wants that flat garden with a long table under an olive tree, endless views of the sea on the horizon, no neighbours, no electricity cables in sight, a perfect state of maintenance and an owner who wants to sell the villa to you so much that the price can even be negotiated.
Find the ideal second home on the French Riviera
But maybe you are looking for an apartment in the south of France. Then, of course, you want at least two or three bedrooms, a large south-facing terrace where the sun rises and you also want to have the evening sun, a swimming pool within the residence that must also not be too old. You also want low service costs and the bakery within walking distance because you prefer not to use the car. Hmmm. Unless you want to be an hour away from the sea, you won’t be able to find anything like it.
What are you going to hand in from your wish list? The sea view or a large outdoor terrace? Or learn to live with the sound of the cars. Or the planes? Or the train? After sixteen years in French real estate, we can honestly say that the ideal house or apartment is not for sale. Even if you have ten million, you still won’t find everything on your list. Just like experienced estate agents in Monaco, where budgets start at 5 million for a studio, we have to repeat this statement every day: “You are not going to find what you are looking for. But we do have something that comes close.”
No sea view is not a deal-breaker
Take Saint Jean Cap Ferrat. A wealthy family looking for a cosy second house with a swimming pool had a budget of ten million. It had to be right on the sea with a view of the bay of Villefranche sur Mer for the evening apèro. After many visits, it was discovered that ten million does not guarantee a sea view. Anyway, they did buy something because the neighbourhood is so nice.
The same ‘problem’ also applies to Ramatuelle and Saint Tropez. You will find the most beautiful villas under architecture here with a beautiful swimming pool and a garden to dream of, but you sometimes have to think of the sea view yourself. Unless you are lucky and have an active team on top of the market that will inform you first when the almost ideal home comes up for sale. Click here to get in touch with that team.
The perfect apartment by the sea
Potential buyers of apartments up to a million were looking for a bourgeois building in Cannes with high ceilings, in a neat neighbourhood, with panoramic sea views, an impressive entrance, a garage and a sandy beach with restaurants within a five-minute walk. We found it. But the balcony was just big enough for the cat and a folding chair. And that was not the intention. And so there is always something.
An additional side effect is the dynamic real estate market in the Côte d’Azur. Until five years ago, you could choose a home at your leisure and think about what offer you were going to make. That is no longer the case. The asking price is the selling price and if you wait too long, your bid will be outbid.
Sellers also have the luxury of choosing buyers. If you do not need a mortgage, you will be preferred over a buyer who asks for an additional two months to consider the possibility of dissolving the provisional purchase agreement if the bank does not participate. Bluff poker to buy time won’t help; the notary will ask for proof that you actually have the money. The buying process for a home in the South of France is clear in this.
This is how you buy the almost ideal second home on the Côte d’Azur
What many people do now is buy a house that is beautiful and that does not (sometimes at all) resemble your ideal home. But if the sun shines in the garden where you want it, the view melts your heart and the birds also do their best to make you happy, then it’s time for a sale with a renovation plan.
With an architect, you make the layout of the house and the garden and after the permits, you then create that house that does not exist. It’s a different approach where with the help of renovation and construction in the south of France you have to wait a little longer, but then you have exactly what you were looking for.
And in the case of an apartment, it is important that you can switch quickly. And consider beforehand how often you will sit on your balcony, next to the drying rack? are you not more often outside, on the beach? Then the size of a terrace may be less important than the beach nearby.
Our approach to success
After an intake conversation via Zoom or telephone, we understand what you are looking for and make a realistic selection of what is feasible within budget. Once you have chosen The Ideal Top 3, we will send you more information about the area. And when you see the house in real life, the famous 17 seconds will start in which you decide to buy your home on the French Riviera.
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