And Then There Were Two

It had been a really long day. We had been on the road since 7am this morning and as darkness fell over the Tarn et Garonne, we settled in for the night with a cup of tepid hotel tea and a sandwich made with coffee shop stirrer (don’t ask). It was time to process everything we’d seen that day. We looked through the photos and discussed the pros and cons.We had liked both houses we had viewed today but neither were perfect. Did such a house even exist? As we drifted into content sleep, a storm was brewing.

The following morning was sunny, warm and a whole lot fresher than yesterday. We had a second viewing of the house we had seen on Tuesday. We were very much looking forward to seeing it again. That afternoon we had an appointment to see another house that looked perfect for us so we headed for breakfast with a spring in our step.

Driving through the beautiful countryside it soon became apparent that last night’s storm had left untold damage in its wake. Roads were closed due to fallen trees and Google maps was constantly redirecting us. The planned journey of an hour was now stretching to two and we had missed our appointment time. The kind agent waited patiently but with every diversion we seemed to be further away from our destination. Finally we had to admit defeat and cancel the appointment.

We stopped for refreshment and discovered that this afternoon’s appointment had also been cancelled. A tree had fallen in the storm and blocked the driveway to the house. Thankfully they could reschedule for tomorrow. The entire day had been wasted.

After a good night’s sleep we began our final viewing day filled with optimism as we headed back to our favourite department, Gers. Our first two viewings were with the same agent whom we met outside a church in the pretty village of Marsac. It was a damp grey morning as we drove up the long and winding driveway to today’s first appointment. The pretty stone house was set well back from the road and gave a feeling of complete solitude. Even on this murky morning the views were spectacular. The garden just went on and on. It was amazing, if a little intimidating. We entered the pretty house into a lovely hallway with rooms leading off with perfect symmetry. The fabulous handmade kitchen with its huge wood burning stove and stunning views of the valley was just perfect. The reception rooms were equally lovely. Outside there was a great workshop, ripe for conversion and a couple of outbuildings that were great. So far so good.

What we had not realised about this house from the listing was it was a Maison Pierre. Traditionally these houses are all based on one level. This one had been extended into the roof space. It had been done sympathetically but did not have the same feeling of space as downstairs. It seemed that every property we had seen so far had a trade off, a compromise. Maybe we were asking too much here.

The second appointment of the day was in the beautiful village of Saint Puy and as we followed the agent there, the grey skies cleared and temperature rose rapidly. The advertisement we had seen for this property had been impressive. We arrived outside the house and it looked as pretty as I remembered it. The first thing we noticed was the garden was much smaller than the other ones we had seen but we were excited to see it. It became apparent quickly that this house would not work for us. It was just too small. On paper it had been in the right ballpark for size but in reality the advertised space was split between the house and a gite. Lesson learned here for sure. Another lesson learned here was don’t always believe the pictures. As we left our very helpful agent we mentioned where we were heading next. She looked concerned and asked us if we had been there before. We had not. Oh so you won’t know about the nuclear power plant then? Errr No!!!

We headed over to Valance and arrived early to grab some lunch and scope the place out. The place had a very different feel to most of the towns we had visited previously. It was bigger and had an industrial vibe. You could not miss the nuclear power plant, it was enormous.

We were not sure how we felt about it at this stage and we were not sure about the house’s proximity to the plant. There was only one way to find out. We followed the sat nav to the address the agent had given us. We had looked on google maps during lunch and it said we were 25 mins from the plant. Not so bad right? As we drove along the main road to the property the plant was in view the whole time but in the distance. As we turned into the long, steep driveway you had a clear view of the expansive site.

I can’t lie, it was a concern but we had come this far. We brought the car to a halt in the shady parking area outside a beautiful granite maison de maitre. The house and garden were surrounded by mature trees offering no view of the plant whatsoever. We greeted the agent and headed inside.

The cool house was a relief from the heat of the mid afternoon sun. As we entered the grand hallway our initial worries started to fade. The house was lovely. High ceilings, large rooms and the sort of symmetry and flow we had been looking for. We explored every inch. The agent was helpful and really friendly despite telling us that the clear evidence of woodworm in the oak beams was just dust and nothing to worry about.

The mature garden was lovely and the pool was an added bonus. There were ( as we had now come to expect) a few things that were not ideal, the staircase was fully enclosed and a little claustrophobic, the downstairs bathroom needed a makeover and as mentioned the beams needed treating but there was nothing scary about the work needed.

Having now seen the last house on this trip, we had a lot to think about. We had liked most of the houses we had seen, but none of them came without a compromise. Once we had returned to the UK we began the process of comparing the properties as we had done before (see guide to making a decision) but there seemed to be nothing between the houses on paper. They both almost matched our brief. The sticking point here was that each house had an issue that one of us could not overlook.

My favourite property was the maison de maitre with the unusual staircase. I loved this house with its high ceilings and quirky layout but the staircase and it’s access issues were a step (no pun intended) too far for my husband.

My husband’s favourite was the granite maison de maitre (aka the Simpsons house) with a pool. I felt so conflicted about this property. I liked the house and the gardens but I could not get my head around the proximity to the nuclear power station.

After a week of reviewing the photos and information we just could not agree. This was our future, our dream. It was imperative that we were in agreement. The only thing we could do was discount both properties.

This meant we were back where we started. We had ruled out every house we had seen and once again it was back to the drawing board.

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