House for sale

My husband Jean-Marc and I left Los Angeles in 2005 at age 50 to move to the small village of Chalabre (pop. 1000) located in the South of France, in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains. We took the reelection of George W. Bush as a sign of things to come. We bought a village house (or town house) where we have lived happily for 20 years. However, last year, Jean-Marc's medical issues convinced us that we now needed a house with no stairs and we moved to a bungalow-style house in a neighboring village. So now our village house is up for sale!

Americans are sometimes tempted to buy a property with land outside a village. In our experience, it is a mistake. You will feel more isolated and will likely have to drive to meet people, go shopping, attend functions, etc. It will be much hardder to be part of the community. If you truly want to integrate into French life, make friends, do your shopping on foot, etc., it is much better to buy a village house, like we did. (Jean-Marc even ended up being asked to stand for the town council and was elected!) In fact, our next door on the right is a very nice lady from New Jersey, who lives here permanently, and the one on the left is another lady from Australia who stays here 6 months out of the year.

We would love nothing more than to sell our house to another American family embarking on the same journey of discovery. One last word: Do not think of this as an investment, but rather as a lifestyle choice.

E-mail me  

This charming and comfortable 5 bedrooms, 2-1/2 bathrooms village house would be a great family home or a turn-key vacation home. It is spread over 5 floors (not counting garage, cellar and attic) and is full of character with original stone walls and beams as well as non-working fireplaces in three rooms. Original hard wood floors in two rooms. It comes furnished with:

• 4 beds, one of which is an adjustable, electrical bed, 
• a large-size flat screen tv, 
• an American fridge/freezer with ice maker, 
• an induction stove and electric oven, 
• a dishwasher, 
• a microwave, 
• an air fryer, 
• an espresso maker, 
• a washing machine, 
• a dryer, 
• a water softener, 
• a heat pump (a/c and heating) in two of the bedrooms, 
• a full oil heating system with radiators (with a tank fully filled with 1200 liters of fuel), 
• a fireplace with insert (with 5 steres of wood stored in a perfectly dry cellar),
• All windows are double-glazed with screens, 
• a velux skylight with motorized shutter (solar panels). 

Other furniture includes two couches, a dining room table, chairs, two desks, one armoires, one dresser, two bookcases, etc. There are two large, walk-in closets as well as a linen cupboard and a pantry.

The house is equipped for fiber optic internet.

Finally, there is a spacious garage with motorized door on the ground floor/back street (this is particularly invaluable in Chalabre, where street parking is notoriously difficult), a cellar and a fully renovated & insulated attic.

Surface area: 175 m² (1883 sq. feet)   

Diagnostic de Performance Energétique (PDF). The DPE (Energy Performance Diagnostic) is one of the mandatory surveys conducted by an independent inspector to be provided upon selling or renting real estate in France. It assigns the property an energy efficiency label, between A and G. Our is rated "C" (despite the presence of a fuel oil heating system) which is excellent for a house built in the early 19th century.

The price of the house is 170,000 euros (currently US$198,000). To which must be added:

• Notaire's Fees of 8% (mostly taxes)
• An agency's commission, depending on whether an agent is involved or not in the purchase (in our case, scenarios might vary since we would be handling the sale -- if one is involved, budget another 5%)

So this would mean a total expenditure of around 195,000 euros (US$227,000).

Read: How we arrived at the price of 170,000 euros.

The purchase price can be paid either in its entirety as a lump sum via bank transfer to the Notaire (acting as an escrow) before the signing of the deed of sale by the parties, very much as is traditionally the case in a real estate transaction in the US, or -- in this case --  as a "viager libre” if you do not have the funds to pay the lump sum above.

A "viager libre" is  a scheme where there is a partial up-front payment (poetically called a "bouquet"), followed by monthly payments during the projected lives of the sellers according to actuarial tables. The monthly payment is reevaluated every year according to a COLA-like index. (Being France, this is all codified and super regulated.)

“Libre” means that the buyer gets immediate possession of the house, which is legally his. He is solely responsible for property taxes and can do anything he wants with it, including renting it or reselling it -- as long as the monthly payments are met! If there is a default, the deed of sale is automatically cancelled, the ownership of the house reverts to the seller, who gets to keep all the moneys paid by the buyer to date as compensation. 

The Viager system explained here in detail: Investopedia - Connexion France - Vingt Paris 

In our case, the "bouquet" (upfront payment) is 20,000 euros (US$23,000), and the monthly payment 701 euros (US$816), calculated to be paid for 20 years based on our life expectancy according to official actuarial tables.

To that must be added the same Notaire's Fees and Agency's commission as mentioned above, computed on the total estimated value of the house, i.e.: 170,000 euros.

Arranged from bottom to top, except for the garage.

I made a video tour of the house which can be watched here:

First Half : Ground floor, garage and cellar

Second Half : Living-room, bedrooms, office and attic

Because the front of the house is at a street level which is higher than the street at the back of the house, the building is set up as a series of half-floors with a central staircase (with a velux at the top). So, from bottom to top, one successively visits the following levels:

• garage & cellar (at back street level)
• dining-room & kitchen (entrance at front street level)
• living room
• bedroom & bathroom
• master bedroom & ensuite bathroom
• bedroom & office (or 5th bedroom)
• bedroom, 1/2 bathroom and attic/roof access

Located in the departement of the Aude (11), the beautiful village of Chalabre (population 1,000) was recently selected by the British newspaper DAILY MAIL as one of the 18, up and coming best French villages to invest in now. 

Connections:

Chalabre is 90 minutes from Toulouse airport (Blagnac) and train station (main lines); 45 minutes from Carcassonne airport (Ryan Air only) and train station (mainlines); 45 minutes from Pamiers train station (local line from Foix to Toulouse); and 20 minutes from Limoux train station (local line from Quillan to Carcassonne).

Local commerce & services include:

• The Hotel de France (also restaurant & café) - website
• a Carrefour Express supermarket (also sells newspapers, tobacco products)
• a Post Office
• a café
• a butcher shop
• a grocery store
• a doctor
• a pharmacy
• a hairdresser
• a branch of Credit Agricole bank (with ATM) & Pacifica insurance company
• a branch of the AXA insurance company
• a gas station/garage
• a flower shop
• a used clothing store
• various artisans (plumber, electrician, etc.)
• a weekly market (on Saturday)

In 2023, Chalabre was designated as a Site Patrimonial Remarquable (Outstanding Historical Site) by the French government. 

Chalabre - wikipedia

Chalabre - Official website

Link to a gallery of photos of social life in Chalabre.

In 2025:

Utilities:

• Real estate taxes: 1200 per year
• Electricity: approx. 250 euros/month (includes water heater and a/c)
• Water: approx. 50 euros/month
• Telephone/Internet: 60 euros/month
• Garbage collection: 20 euros/month
• Insurance: 68 euros/month
• Chimney sweep & burner cleaning: 240/year

Heating:

As mentioned, the house is equipped with both :

• a full oil heating system (with radiators in every room)
• a fireplace with insert  

The former's tank has been fully filled with enough fuel (1200 liters) to last for a year. The current cost of fuel, is 1000 euros for 1000 liters.

For the latter, the cost of 10 steres of wood (1 cubic meter) including setting it up in the cellar is 300  euros. The cellar contains approximately 15 steres that will last for about 2 to 3 years.

Transportation:

You will need a car:

Buying a used car in France 

Rent a TT car (for non-EU residents only)

Cost of gas in France

We strongly advise against taking an American car to France, as it would have to be recertified by the French authorities, a long, cumbersome, costly and frankly rather arbitrary process. You are much better off buying, renting or leasing a local car.

exchange rate conversion (EUR to US$)

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cheap flights from Los Angeles to Toulouse (google)

cheap flights from London to Carcassonne (Ryan Air)

Paris to Carcassonne by train (SNCF French Railways)

Cost of living in France (numbeo)

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