Buy a chalet with your gold

October 3, 2011

As you can imagine the current state of the market for property in the Alps is high on our list of topics of conversation. We are always happy to express our opinion to anyone that asks. It’s normally journalists, though sometimes it’s people looking to buy. In the second case I often get the feeling that the buyer thinks they are hearing too much “spin” as the reality on the ground in the Alps often differs marketly from the reality where the buyer happens to live.

This morning we had a long conversation with the bank we work with. BNP Paribas they commission a yearly report on the subject and the results are just out. A summary is available on their website. As is always the case with these reports, the figures are already out of date, they deal with 2010. A more current view can be obtained by talking to the agents to get their gut feelings and anectotal quotes.

A Chamonix viewThis view comes for free with a very reasonable priced “estate” in Chamonix.

So here are some quotes from Alpine Property. They concern the area we cover, so the Haute Savoie, which includes the likes of Chamonix, St Gervais, Megeve, La Clusaz, Grand Bornand, Samoens, Les Carroz, Flaine, Les Gets, Morzine, St Jean d’Aulps and Chatel.

“The Swiss are buying in the Northern Alps, it’s not a surprise, the Swiss Franc is so strong they can buy 30% more than they could last year”

“The French are back! After a fairly long time out of the market they are happy to buy second homes,

“Francophone buyers make up 50% of our sales”

“There are plenty of people out there willing to invest 1m+ euros in second homes in the Alps”

“The summer is now almost as important as the winter, that’s not to say that the summer market in the Alps would exist without the winter market, it’s just that the modern Alpine purchaser values the summer activities almost as highly as the winter ones”

Chalet Sochi

Chalet Sochi, shown here as an illustration of what is available at the top end of the market, full details on the Alpine Property website.

That’s 5 quotes, that’ll do for now. My comments as far as the BNP report goes are that in 2010 the market recovered from 2009. In fact we would say the market crashed in 2008 (that’s not news), this hit the 2009 figures hard and now the figures for property sales in  2010 illustrate the  good recovery, almost back to the peaks of 2007. We can add to that and say that 2011 will be better still.

As far as prices go we saw some quite significant price falls in the outlying towns, they have stabilised now but there are still some great bargains to be had. For instance take a look at:

Chez Patou, 295,000 €uros in St Jean d’Aulps

A character property in need of renovation, situated on a sunny plot with great views.

Full details can be found at the Alpine Property website.

Even in the established towns such as Morzine there are bargains, look at the following property, we haven’t seen anything like this (at this price) for 5 years.

Chalet Amis, 399,000 €uros in Morzine

A 3 bedroom chalet on the ski bus route in Montriond

Full details can be found on the Alpine Property website

This all sounds quite upbeat doesn’t it? The property sales bear this out. The owners know this too, they are pricing their chalets “to sell” but not negotiating a whole lot. This might sound surprising to the British buyer who is fed a constant stream of gloom from the press. There are plenty of people who instead of investing their money in the stock market or gold are putting it into the euro in the form of bricks and mortar.

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Posted by Gareth

Les Carroz in the Grand Massif

January 30, 2011

A HIDDEN GEM – LES CARROZ IN THE GRAND MASSIF

by Liz Owens

It never ceases to amaze me how Les Carroz has remained such a well kept secret. It is such a hidden gem! It seems that this secret is out though….this January edition of the Easyjet magazine has featured it as as one of ’4 fabulous European ski resorts’ ‘to slope off for a ski break’ http://www.ink-live.com/emagazines/easyjet-inflight/2011/jan/

It is renowned for having some of the best snow in Europe despite being a medium height resort. Even now after a whole month without significant dumps of snow, you can still ski right back down to the bottom into the village whilst many other resorts have become unskiable low down. This is not only due to its micro-climate, being in such close proximity to Mont Blanc but also to the phenomenal abilities of those tending the slopes whilst we are relaxing at the end of a hard day’s ski. Visitors from other resorts are amazed at the condition of our slopes!

Les Carroz is in the Grand Massif, just 45 minutes from Geneva and one of the closest resorts time-wise from the UK so is great for short breaks too. No long transfers! If you leave the UK on an early morning flight you can be skiing the very same afternoon. It has heaps of stunning skiing for all levels within the tree-line and has 265km of marked pistes and loads of fabulous off-piste to explore too. It is a short ski over to Flaine for high altitude skiing giving it access to one of the longest runs in Europe, a 15km blue run through the most magnificent nature reserve. An absolute must is stopping halfway down and being picked up by Lolo from the Chalet du Lac de Gers. She’ll throw you a rope and pull you up the mountain behind her skidoo to the cosy restaurant with the most amazing views and wonderful meals!

P9020127

The Chalet du Lac de Gers in autumn.

Having recently moved away from Les Carroz after 9 wonderful years, I now appreciate fully how spoilt we were there and realise all the true splendours of this beautiful village nestling on the mountainside. Each year there is more investment and each year more thought goes into offering the visitor a huge variety of activities to choose from whilst maintaining its authentic Frenchness.

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Posted by Gareth

How do I get a rental return on my property?

September 3, 2010

Virtually all the properties we sell are sold freehold (accept the Lease-back development in Avoriaz) and there will not be any restrictions on sub-letting, in fact gaining a rental return is entirely normal.

As far as renting via an agency is concerned there are many to choose from in each town and many methods. Much of what I have written below is Morzine biased, this is where I work!Studio apartment walking distance from the lift in Praz sur Arly

There are a number rental options, each with advantages and disadvantages. They are not all available to all properties! I will list them as I see them. The first offers lowest risk for least return, the balance moves from return to risk as you descend the list!

1. You can choose to rent your apartment on a yearly basis, for a fixed fee to a company that specialises in self-catering holidays. You an negotiate some weeks for yourself or you can negotiate a discount for weeks you want to rent.

Example: Alptitude, a specialist in Morzine

http://www.alptitude.com/index.php?page=page0&season=winter&lang=en

Example: Holiday in the Alps a specialist in St Gervais
http://www.holidayinalps.com/

Advantages:

  • Most secure form of rental return
  • If you choose the tenant carefully they will look after the property well, dealing with maintenance issues, taxes, Internet etc.
  • Minimum input from the owner

Disadvantages

  • Offers the lowest returns
  • Property will need to be in a good location, this type of company will see that as a priority.

2. You can use one of the independent chalet operators in the area, they often have one chalet that they cater and then up to a dozen they arrange as self-catering. This type of company will often try to negotiate a percentage  fee (up to 30%), for this they will arrange the booking, key holding and the cleaning etc.

Example: The Great Escape

http://www.thegreatescapemorzine.co.uk/accommodation-morzine.htm

Example: Mountain Highs

http://www.mountainhighs.co.uk/SelfCateredHoliday.htm

Example: Snow and Trek

http://snowandtrek-morzine.com/self-catered/index.php

Example: Ski Fusion (based in Les Carroz)
http://www.skifusion.co.uk/

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 1

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.

3. You can use an Internet based agent who will handle all the booking and cleaning, in theory for a lower percentage fee (about 20%)

Example: White Peak a specialist in Chatel
http://www.white-peak.com/

Example: Alps Accommodation a specialist in Samoens. http://www.alpsaccommodation.com/

Holiday Lettings has lots of advice on the subject. http://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/resources/owner_advice/a-1/

http://www.morzinelets.com/

http://www.skiweekends.com/pages/resorts/morzine.aspx?ResortID=13

http://www.independentmountain.com/

http://www.alplets.com/

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last-minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 2
  • Internet based administration can be convenient

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as they don’t offer any rental guarantees, this risk can be reduced by choosing an established company.
  • If the agency does not care about your property the wear and tear can be quite high. This can depend on their clientèle too.
  • Choose your Internet based agent carefully, they can be excellent but there is more room here for cowboys.

A duplex apartment in a chalet with views of ski slopes and Mont Blanc.

4. You could use an Internet based “Bulletin Board”, these businesses charge a fee for you to advertise, you handle the booking and arrange cleaning and key holding via a local person or agency. My Mum uses Owners Direct for a property on the outskirts of Morzine, it costs £200 or so to advertise, she does very well and uses a local girl for the cleaning etc. This method is a lot of work for the her, offers the renter no guarantees (they can’t book with a credit card and the owner has no form of bonding) but can give the best returns.

Examples:

http://www.chaletfinder.co.uk/

http://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/

Advantages

  • There may be the occasional unbooked week that could be used by the owner for a cheap holiday at the last minute.
  • More flexibility for booking in friends etc.
  • If there are good bookings this can offer better returns than choice 3
  • More “hands on” can be more fun and it may give the owner the chance to “vet” the occupiers.

Disadvantages

  • Riskier for the owner as there are no rental guarantees.
  • The owner will have to find local people to deal with the changeovers / cleaning and any problems.
  • If there are problems or damage the owner might be called upon to arbitrate, this can be difficult on the phone!

A 2 bedroom apartment on the ski bus route close to the pistes

5. The traditional method, use one of the local French estate agents or the local Tourist Information Bureau , they will take a fee (about 25%) and handle the bookings and cleaning for you. This should probably be put between 2 and 3 in the income VS risk list.

Advantages

  • An established system, will probably be entirely legal.
  • Local agents normally have very good contacts with local tradesmen.
  • You may find that a particular agent will have an affiliation with a particular apartment block, this can help.

Disadvantages

  • No guarantees though, the owner will take all the risk. You will do better in the best locations. You might get nothing in a bad location!
  • Just because the agent has good contacts with local tradesmen it does not mean any maintenance work will come cheap.
  • Choose wisely, not all agents are fully Internet or email aware yet, this can come as a shock.

Confused? You shouldn’t be. I am just illustrating how this is a very mature market and that there are a lot of options open to you.

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Posted by Gareth

New Build Advice

March 8, 2010

We currently have 34 plots of land for sale in the Haute Savoie. Thanks to this we are recieving lots of questions about how to go about a new build project. Normally my answer is to speak to one of our experienced agents, most of whom have been involoved with new build projects in France for some time.

I have decided to do some research into the whole subject and write a 7 part blog following a current new build near Morzine. It helps that this is being undertaken by Alew Lewis (the Marketing Man). Alex and his Father-in-Law (Steve Norris, the MD) have been going through the process meticulously, leaving a well documented paper trail to help with the research.

If you want to keep abreast of the build process then I suggest registering your details with us via the little form on the right of this page. I intend to have part 1 and 2 written by the end of this week.

Part 1. Choosing your land, what to look for, the questions to ask. Making an offer, the first contract.

Part 2. Asking for planning permission

Part 3. Getting the constructions quotes.

Part 4. The build, from digging the first hole to the finished concrete structure.

Part 5. Adding the wooden frame, walls, roof, windows and doors – Hors d’eau – hors d’air.

Part 6. Finishing the inside, electrics, heating, kitchens etc….

Part 7. Landscaping and obtaining the Certificat de Conformité.

I have some examples of plots below:

The most expensive we have is:

Land Medon, 521, 850 euros, Combloux near Megeve

http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_medon&lang=en&hist=page_searchXtyp_4Xlang_en

to our cheapest

Land La Chapelle, 80,000 euros, Sixt fer a Cheval

http://www.alpine-property.com/index.php?page=prop_1_lachapelleland&lang=en&hist=page_searchXtyp_4Xlang_en

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Posted by Gareth

200 Properties for Sale

April 9, 2009

Alpine Property is approaching its 10th anniversary, but before we reach this milestone we have recently achieved another. This week is the first time we have had 200 properties available for sale on our website. In fact by Friday we’ll be on 205.

I know 200 doesn’t sound like a lot of properties for a web based agent. It is when you consider we operate like a traditional agent. We know each individual property and for each one we visit, take the photos and arrange a contract with the owner. We do not just “re-advertise” the properties for other agents.

It sounds like a lot to me. The reason for this is that Jo and I prepare the information and pictures and put each one on line. We have worked out how long (on average) each property takes to upload. Assuming we have to create a plan for the property (a lengthy task) then the whole process takes about 5 hrs.

So it made me wonder. How many properties have we put online in total? This is fairly hard to work out before 2002. And very easy to work out since 2002 (the year we went from a “static” HTML website to a “dynamic” database driven website). Since 2002 we have advertised 716 properties.

Thanks to Alexa’s “way back machine“, we can track how many properties where online on any given month since we went online. Here is the history for Alpine Property.

http://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.alpine-property.com

This is also an interesting place to browse if you want to see what a property might have been worth 10 years ago!

So here is the data for number of properties visible on the website (so it includes properties “under offer”).  I’ve also added initials by the year each team member joined.

Spring 2000 – www.alpine-property.com goes online with 15 properties SN/CB which overed St Jean d’Aulps, Morzine, Les Gets and the Chatel Valley – AKA The Portes du Soleil

Spring 2001 – 24 properties GJ/JN

Spring 2002 – 28 properties – website mk 2

Spring 2003 – 32 properties

Spring 2004 – 37 properties  JD helping GJ

Spring 2005 – 109 properties – website mk 3 DB/JC, adding Samoens, Chamonix, Megeve

Spring 2006 – 110 properties VM, helping DB

Spring 2007 – 112 properties LM, helping CB

Spring 2008 – 160 properties – website mk 3.5 EC/RO, adding Les Carroz, La Clusaz and Le Grand-Bornand

Spring 2009 – 220 properties

The initials stand for

  1. SN = Steve Norris
  2. CB = Claudia Buttet
  3. GJ = Gareth Jefferies
  4. JN = James Norris
  5. JD = Jo Davison
  6. DB = Denis Barbier
  7. JC = JC Skiera
  8. VL = Valérie Maes
  9. LM = Lee Massey
  10. EC = Emma Casanova
  11. RO = Richard Owens

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Posted by Gareth

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