Latest Coverage in National Papers

January 25, 2011

Our partners at Winkworth in London work very hard to give our properties exposure in the UK press. This year has been no exception. So far for the winter 2010/11 the following articles have featured our properties.

1. November 2010: Country Life special winter edition

Featuring the following properties:

Chalet Morzine, Chalet Juliette (in Les Gets)

and Chalet Les Murailles (near Annecy)

2. December 2010: Tatler

Featuring the following property:

Chalet Morzine

3. December 2010: Sunday Telegraph

Featuring the following properties:

Auberge Vercland and Chalet 2 Saisons in Samoens

Chalet Oratoire in Chamonix

4. December 2010: Money Week

Featuring the following property:

Chalet Nant Cruy near Megeve

5. January 2011: Sunday Times

Featuring the following property:

Penthouse Apartment in Morzine

6. February 2011: Sunday Telegraph

Featuring the following property:

Chalet Juliette in Les Gets


Selling Costs

November 26, 2010

We are often asked about how much it costs to sell a property in France. The answer is fairly straightforward. I’ll illustrate it with a (hypothetical) example, taken from our website, of an individual chalet.

Chalet les Pommiers

Chalet les Pommiers
Price 595 000 €uros
http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_pommiers

We have a sliding scale of fees that are available on our website at

http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=page22&lang=en

So for this chalet it would be a 5% commission, we’ll have to add TVA to this so the relevant figure for the seller is 5.98%. This will leave

559,419 euros for the (hypothetical) seller.

There will also be various surveys that will have to have been undertaken.

Energy / Asbestos and Lead / Electrical integrity, together these bills will amount to about 500 euros

Leaving 558,919 euros for the seller.

From this any capital gain will need to be calculated. If this is a primary residence then there will be no CGT to pay. If this is a secondary home then CGT will need to be calculated, the French government have a method of making sure this payment is not avoided! If the seller is not resident in France he will need to take this into account, if the property is sold for more than 150,000 euros (as in this case) the French government will want a guarantee that the CGT liability will be paid, in practice this guarantee is offered by a third party Tax Representative (example: SARF), their fee would normally be 1% of the amount realised by the seller. So in all cases where the seller is not resident in France (even if there has not been a Capital Gain in the value of the property), count on another 1% fee. which will leave:

553,330 euros for the seller.

You’ll see that I have not mentioned any legal fees, these are paid for by the buyer.

Update: October 2011. There have been some changes to the CGT situation in France. The SARF have got a handy calculator to help

http://www.sarf.fr/PVLTN2011.php



Latest Snow in the Alps

November 13, 2010

The snow has been coming and going over the last few weeks. A few days ago we recieved a proper “dump” with up to 50cm falling at about 2000m. This caused a rush down at the garage. Everyone decides on the same day that they need to swop to winter tyres. Thursday was the 11/11 bank holiday so after the annual memorial service we headed up to Avoriaz to test out the snow.

P1000654

Some friends of mine managed to try out their skis too. The following picture was taken on Mt Chery above Les Gets.

IMG_3526

Don’t forget we have a very useful weather page on this blog. The first place I go to check out the snow conditions.


Price Reductions

April 29, 2010

The affordability of property in the Alps continues to improve for British buyers.  Since Sterling reached an historic low against the Euro (£1 = 1.06 €) in Oct 2009 the rates have been improving until we reached a recent high (£1=1.16€)  this week.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/currency/11/13/twelve_month.stm

Combine this with price reductions over the same period and some properties are looking 20% cheaper to a British buyer when compared to the Autumn of last year.

A couple of  chalets that have come down in price this week.

1. Chalet La Toile, 680 000 €uros ST GERVAIS

4 bedrooms; quiet, sunny and with great views

Chalet in St Gervais

Floor area     175 m²
Land area     1094 m²
Nearest skiing     1500 metres

2. Chalet Les Chouettes, 675 000 €uros, CHATEL

A 6 bedroom, ‘ski-in’ chalet at Petit Chatel.

Chalet in Chatel

Floor area     223 m²
Land area     1500 m²
Ski access     ski bus within walking distance
Nearest skiing     1300 metres


Chalet La Toile Contact us about this property
Price 680 000 €uros
Status FOR SALE
Last updated 07/04/2010
Area MONT BLANC
Location ST GERVAIS
Bedrooms 4
Bathrooms 4
Floor area 175 m²
Land area 1094 m²
Detached yes
Heating oil fired central heating
Chimney open fire
Nearest skiing 1500 metres
Garden yes
Drainage mains drains


Snow and skiing

April 1, 2010

We’ve had a bit of a snow drought in the Haute Savoie for the last 3 week’s, it had felt like winter was over and we had began to prepare the garden for Spring!

All change since the weekend though. We’ve had about 50cm of new snow above 1500m and this morning I was woken by the sound of the snow plough passing our house.

We managed to get out for a quick ski before lunch, we didn’t manage to take any photos (it was snowing too hard!), but did grab this picture from the Avoriaz Webcam this afternoon.

There is more snow due this weekend and next week.

http://www.snow-forecast.com/resorts/Morzine/6day/top

On the subject of skiing I’ve been meaning to get some lessons (for about 10 years now), Sarah Watts has just started out with us, helping JC Skiera around the Mont Blanc region (Chamonix, St Gervias, Megeve, Combloux etc). Some friends of hers have started a new ski school in Megeve. These guys are part of the BASS franchise, BASS already have outfits in Chatel -Courchevel – Les Gets – Meribel – Morzine – St Moritz – Tignes - Val D’Isere, over the years I have recommended them to many people and the response is very much “worth every penny”.

In their own words

This winter season Megève has seen the introduction of BASS (British Alpine Ski Schools) to its ski area. The brand new ski school operates throughout the Evasion ski domain, which includes; Megève, Le Jaillet, Combloux, St Gervais, and Les Contamines and offers an enormous 450km of groomed pistes.

The innovative and involved teaching sessions are delivered in English by British instructors holding the highest qualifications with full French Equivalence. Skiers now have an alternative to the French ski schools that traditionally were the only ones operating in the region. This is further evidence of the increasing appeal of the area to foreign, and in particular British, clientele.

Will Roberts director of BASS Megeve, says “We are dedicated to making the whole winter sports experience in the mountains the “best it can be” providing a friendly and expert approach for first-timers and experts alike”.

Whether it’s your first time or you are looking for something new, learn to ski with BASS Megève, who have a range of lessons and courses to suit, including:

· Private Lessons (Caters for everyone and anything

· Family Groups

· Guided Tours

· Off-piste tasters

· Performance Courses

· All Mountain Performance 4

· 6 Day Back Country Courses

For further information about BASS Megeve see www.bassmegeve.com or, to see the other areas that BASS operate in across the Alps, visit www.britishskischool.com/


Jean Vuarnet in Morzine

February 23, 2010

Click here to see the Jean Vuarnet in Morzine

On Monday of this week the town of Morzine unveiled a sculpture commemorating 5o years since Jean Vuarnet won the Gold Medal in the Downhill at the Winter Olympics, in Sqaw Valley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1960_Winter_Olympics

The unveiling was a grand occasion, covered by the national news, a feel of which can be gained by watching the video I have linked to above. The Maire of Morzine (Jean-Louis Battandier) referred obliquely to a controversy involving Jean Vuarnet in during his speech. This raised some eyebrows for the new comers to Morzine. We see Jean Vuarnet’s name all the time around and about Morzine and Avoriaz, obviously there is the Gold Medal which is reason enough for Morzine to promote their link with this famous name, those of us who were not around in the 60′s will know the name Vuarnet thanks to the brand of sunglasses. If you read about Avoriaz you will always see his name mentioned, Vuarnet was heavily involved with the development and promotion of Avoriaz in the late 60′s and early 70′s.

The controversy is salacious and ultimately very sad.  Some information and links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Vuarnet#cite_note-2

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,983915,00.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_the_Solar_Temple


The indebtedness of the Communes

January 22, 2010

Here are some interesting statistics that were published in the Dauphine Liberé this week. They refer to the amount of money the Commune (translates as Council) owes divided by the number of people who pay taxes in the Commune.

I have selected some of the more popular Communes for comparison. I don’t suppose you should make a property purchase decision on the basis of these figures, they just give you an idea of who owes the most! I’ve no idea what happens should a Commune in France goes bust.

Les Gets looks to be on shaky ground, it is an “average” sized ski resort and owes a lot. I know that in the last few years they have built and underground car park, a reservoir to supply water to the town and they have upgraded their sewage system too.

On a similar subject the Dauphine Liberé ran a story on the amount of ski lift investment in the Haute Savoie over the last year.  Full story via the link below.

http://www.ledauphine.com/avec-six-nouveaux-apparei-@/index.jspz?article=249867&chaine=23

More property related stats from the following link.

http://www.budget.gouv.fr/

Commune Euros per Inhabitant
Les Gets 25,279
Chatel 10,698
Les Contamines-Montjoie 7,127
Morzine 6,806
Megeve 6,657
La Clusaz 6,490
Morillon 5,942
Chamonix 5,186
Le Grand-Bornand 5,076
Combloux 5,063
Samoens 4,700
Araches-la-Frasse 4,619
Manigod 3,663
Evian-les-Bains 3,603
St Jean de Sixt 3,581
Saint-Gervais-les-Bains 2,426
Montriond 1,926
Le Biot 1,755
Essert Romand 1,742
Les Houches 1,731
Sixt-Fer-a-Cheval 1,690
Passy 1,506
La Chapelle-d’Abondance 1,478
Annecy-le-Vieux 1,445
St Jean d’Aulps 1,311
Vallorcine 1,051
Taninges 847
Servoz 780
Annecy 483
La Baume 3
Average in France 890

Chamonix Open Golf Tournament 2009

October 1, 2009

Following on from an old post about Golf in the Haute Savoie, Alpine Property was again proud sponsor of Chamonix’s version of the Ryder Cup. The competition is played in exactly the same format as the original, with foursomes, fourballs and single matches. Golfers came from as far as Australia to help team Rest of the World in its defence of the title, but in the end Chamonix regained the Eden Cup by only one point in the final match. Jean-Christophe Skiera of Alpine Property took part as a member of Team Chamonix. The event is a regular feature of the Chamonix golf calendar and is often talked about as the friendliest and most exciting competition of the season.”

IMG_0455


Le Tour comes to Morzine

September 11, 2009

At this time of year the Tour organisers always leak tit bits of information about the following years Tour de France. This is in anticipation of the release of the final route on October the 14th.

A few days ago they leaked that Morzine can expect to see Le Tour on July 11th and that the following day would be a rest day. This is great news for Morzine, Le Tour last past through here in 2006 (and previously he in 2003 and 2000, click here for further information) there have been rumours that the arrival stage might involve some sort of time trial like in Annecy this year. We will have to wait in anticipation)

Further information can be found on the Dauphine website.

Name those riders.

lance armstrong in action


How to reclaim the TVA (VAT) on a new build.

May 28, 2009

It is possible to reclaim the TVA (VAT) on a new build property. Many people have heard about this and ask us how to go about it. The short answer is “it’s complicated”. In this short article we’ll try and add a little more information than that!

To start with it would be better to think of a property purchased in this way as an “investment”, an investment that will provide a rental income and may provide capital growth. It would not work if the property was being bought as a “holiday home”.

As an example I will use Chalet La Lyre and Chalet La Couronne Boréale in Samoëns. These two “off plan” properties are close to the centre of Samoëns and would provide good accommodation and location for a rental business; they could be used as self-catering or catered accommodation.

So Chalet La Lyre and Chalet Eridan together are for sale for together for a discounted price of 1,250,000 Euros (individually they are priced at 870,000 Euros and 480,000 Euros). The TVA component of this is 205,000 Euros.

  1. The purchaser would rent it a TVA registered rental company (which could be run by anyone – including the purchaser).
  2. They rental company leases the property from the owner on an annual contract, they must propose minimum services – 3 of 4 of the following: linen/breakfast/concierge/cleaning.
  3. The owner reclaims 19.6% of the purchase price = 205,000 Euros, this TVA is repaid in a lump sum after 3  months of rental has been received by the management company.
  4. This rental agreement would have to carry on for 9 years otherwise you’ll have to pay back the pro rata proportion of the TVA. So if after 5 years the purchaser decides to sell, the French authorities would want 4/9 x 205,000 = 91,000 Euros returned to them

So the initial investment for the purchaser would be 1,045,000 Euros, the yearly rental would be an estimated (30,000+15,000) 45,000 Euros. Providing an annual return of 4.3%. In these circumstances the running costs for the property would be paid by the renter so the GROSS and NET annual return would be almost the same.

Some further notes.

  • There are purchase costs to take into account. Notaires fees and stamp duty, these are discounted on new builds! They amount to 2.5% in total.
  • If the purchaser waits until after 5 years to sell the properties he will avoid having to pay Capitol Gains Tax.
  • Before signing anything the whole project would need to be discussed with a qualified French accountant. We can suggest SAREG in Les Gets.

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