FabSwingers.com forum: Buying in Cap d’Agde

By *wirlies OP Couple
over a year ago

Leighton Buzzard

We are debating buying a small apartment in the Cap later in the year and was wondering if there was anyone on here who may be able to offer any advice or assistance if needed?

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By *meraldisle400Man
over a year ago

London

"We are debating buying a small apartment in the Cap later in the year and was wondering if there was anyone on here who may be able to offer any advice or assistance if needed?"
Hello. I have been through the whole process when I purchased in 2015. This included a full refurbishment .

I was lucky enough to use the services of an excellent agent. I was realistic in my coatings and managed to complete everything within budget.

However if you want to take a detached view it might be questionable if it is worth buying unless you intend spending a lot of time there.

An investment of £150000 in article and shared should generate at least £5000 per annum plus the prospect of capital growth. This would pay for quite a few rentals per annum..

Should you decide to rent you apartment for part of the season your return on capital employed will be in the region of 2 % ( though you will have the benefit of free holidays ).

One of the troubles with buying is that you will be totally dependent on an agent . My brand new washing machine broke down and I had renters coming in a few days time. I had to make a snap decision about whether to pay an agent for up to a day to wait for a repair msn to come or purchase a new machine . I decided to purchase a new machine and as the old one ( less than three months ).old was being taken down the stairs the belt felt off . I had dumped a brand new machine simply because of a loose belt .

I was lucky . My agent was experienced in refurbishment and I inspected work which he had undertaken previously priot to instructing him to work on my behalf. The work has stood the test of time.

I know of two other cases where people have tried to manage the work themselves and have hit serious problems.

Feel free to ask fit any questions or advice

I have no regrets about purchasing. Since I purchased the euro rate has fallen considerably. I am not certain of that means property prices have dropped as well. I have not checked since purchasing

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By *ife2shortCouple
over a year ago

Cheltenham

"We are debating buying a small apartment in the Cap later in the year and was wondering if there was anyone on here who may be able to offer any advice or assistance if needed?"

We have owned our appartment outside the village but in Cap for 12 years now. Do not expect to make any capital gains. Cap is full of studio flats. Costs depends on proximity to beach and town. Further out you are the cheaper it becomes. Some apartments are still on the market for 30k euros. Which seems good value but rental returns and income may not materialise. On any appartment do not count on high rental income. The season is very short in Cap. July and August. Then a good season would be 6 of the 8 weeks booked. After taxes, agency fees and cleaning you will be left with enough for a beer. Renting also means you will miss out on the best part of the season.

My advice would be either rent from others if you won't spend that much time here or bye something you can afford without rental income, rent it when you want for that bit extra and enjoy Cap for what it is. Also, agents are very liberal with their details- age of construction, syndicate fees, when work was carried out. Our agent was out on the syndicate fees by a factor of 3 times and not in our favour!

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By *ucianpoundCouple
over a year ago

Cap d’Agde, France

We do not own in the village but bought a property a few minutes drive away.

As such we are very happy, we can have a normal life outside the Cap bubble enjoying all the wonderful benefits of living in a pretty French town and still use the Cap facilities with ease.

Should we wish to rent our property we have been told to ask 2000k per week in high season.

Some people we know had a similar dilemma, buy in the Cap, an apartment, a villa even a boat to keep moored up but eventually came to the same conclusion as ourselves.

Now they have a property just outside the village where all their family and friends can come and stay and yet they still have all the Cap conveniences just on the doorstep.

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

Apartments here are freehold, the owners employ a management company called a syndic. They run the building and charge quarterly. Charges vary significantly, depending on:

1 lift needs maintenance or replacement can be expensive

2. Pool as above and in peak you need a lifeguard

3. Concierge this is really expensive, especially if married and has kids! The salary is reasonable, it's the pension, the health cover costs for him and his family!

4. Tennis courts can be pricey to replace refurb.

You can buy a detached villa but if it's in a co-proprietry same problem! If the building needs painting this is shared between the owners based on the size of your apartment. If it's big it can cost over a million euros- it last around 15 years!

If you are going to rent you need the Marie's permission, you need to give a copy to your French insurance company or your not insured! There are health and safety requirements here too you need to follow them (see Loi Alur). You need to register for tourist tax, if your UK resident you have to declare to the UK tax authorities, BUT you also have to declare to French tax authorities too! There are specialist advisers who can advise (Bleavin Franks) who have a free pack on liabilities. Agents charge around 30% of the rental fee and usually pay you at the end of the season. There are various platforms if you want to market it yourself, but you have to sign a contract that you are fully compliant with all the regulations in France.

As has been stated if you can afford not to rent so much the better. If you do July and August are not available to you as Agents want those weeks to earn.

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By *meraldisle400Man
over a year ago

London

If you do buy , be prepared for various unexpected service charges . The residents of Port Ambone forked out 10,000 euros each for repainting the outside . I have forked out for a pool refurbishment and car park improvements ( 700 Euros ) and a lift repair ( 2000 Euros ) You usually just get an invoice and have no choice but to pay .

You may also need someone to look after your property out of season . I know of one case where a previous renter must have kept a key and used an apartment out of season not expecting anyone to notice .

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By *anejohnkent6263Couple
over a year ago

canterbury

I'm a property investor in the UK....have owned an apartment in the cap....if u want it for yourself then truck on ...if you expect to make money forget it

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By (user no longer on site)
over a year ago

The 10k Euro over 3 years was far more than a repaint also included was:

New roof

New roof garden

Major concrete repairs

New communal flooring

New led lighting

New tarmac to the garages

New Tv distribution

Interestingly if you couldn’t afford the cost a form of low interest mortgage was made available financed by a community initiative and EDF.

While we gulped at first it was certainly worth it.

As for buying in Le Cap there are worse places to park cash but don’t expect a capital gain in a hurry.

However if you rent in July and August you should cover fixed costs and have sufficient left for the odd night out.

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