How many viewings is too many?

The logistics of a viewing trip can be a real pain but every now and again you get a win. This one came courtesy of a fantastic agent who arranged a full afternoon of viewings for us. All we had to do was to find the first property and she would take care of the rest. Happy days!

When we started this journey to find our french dream home we were adamant that we wanted to be outside of a town with seclusion and privacy. During the search it occurred to us that we had never looked at something in a town or village and maybe we should open our options up. After all, in the uk we didn’t live in the middle of nowhere so maybe we should look at something less remote.

With this in mind we headed back to our favourite town of Vic-Fezensac to see something a little different. The house was situated within a short walk of the town centre. We arrived outside and we were shocked at how busy the little street was. The agent explained that it was because it was lunchtime and the boulangerie at the end of the street was very popular. The exterior of the house was in need of some attention, the render, windows and shutters would all need replacing. Inside however the house was lovely. Large, light filled rooms and tons and tons of character and an attic ripe for conversion that had been decorated with old newspapers.

This house was definitely a long term project with electrics, plumbing and a total renovation of the outbuildings needed but you could see that patience and deep pockets would turn this house into an amazing home.

We were informed that we would be fortunate to get a property so close to town with a garden this size and we couldn’t wait to see it. It was a fair size and quite private but going out there burst the bubble for us. It was so noisy. I think we had tried to convince ourselves that being close to town would be great. Everything on our doorstep, to need to drive miles to the supermarket but the tradeoff was just too great.

Next up was a traditional gascon house in Bassoues. Bassoues is a small bastide in the heart of the Gers countryside. During our holidays we had often seen signs for the village but this would be our first visit. We followed the agent for around twenty minutes and pulled up outside a pretty house that sat on the edge of a narrow lane.

The exterior of the house and the gardens were beautiful but our first impressions were that it looked small. In fact it was small. There was room for extending the living space but the parts of the house that had been renovated (beautifully I might add) were too small for our needs. This was obvious to the agent from the off and we were quickly on route to our next viewing.

Our final viewing of the day took us to another familiar area, the town of Nogaro.Nogaro is a small but lively town famous for its’ production of armagnac. We had visited the lovely saturday morning market here a few times and were excited to be back,

Pulling up outside the beautiful, imposing villa we were immediately wary. Whilst fairly set back there was no denying that this house was on a very busy road. Trucks thundered past as we stood in the driveway. The house itself was very attractive and on the plus side there were gardens on all sides of the property. Fingers crossed it would be quieter at the back.

We stepped inside a large and impressive hallway with great symmetry. The whole ground floor flowed beautifully and we were beginning to warm to the property. The spacious rooms were bathed in late afternoon sunlight and the whole place felt homely.

Upstairs was a totally different story. The rooms were a great size but it was so dark. The back garden was not private enough and the traffic noise was still very loud. This was undoubtedly a beautiful home but it was not going to be our beautiful home.

We thanked the agent and headed back to Auch to regroup. Being my birthday we were heading into town for dinner and cocktails. We had much to discuss.

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