Military campaign

February 2011
We arrived in Paris in the early morning of on Saturday 19th February 2011 and caught the train to Limoges, where we spent the first night. After collecting our car the next morning, we headed for La Creuse and there began an intensive week of visiting properties and meeting agents in the towns and villages of, among others:

La Souterraine, Arnac, Lauriere, St Sulpice, Lafat, Colondannes, Chalus, Excideuil, Dussac, Objat, Chabrignac, Donzenac, Uzerche, Chamboulive, Coussac Bonneval....

It felt like a privilege to have access to some of those old buildings, with their magnificent roofs and cool interiors smelling of hay. Some were still in use; others had urgent need of TLC.  The weather was icy cold, there was often mud and lots of it, and we were often exhausted, but it was exhilirating too. The Military Operation was going according to plan. We were where we said we'd be; and miraculously, so were they!

Some of the agents spoke English; some were English; others spoke no English at all. G was - and is - my hero.

We managed to see some 13 properties that first week. All but two had a major if and a but.

Possibility # 1. The barn in Lafat was beautiful. It was large but not cavernous and was part of a small village. It had a small lean-to outbuilding which was characterful and had Potential. And it had a nice flat garden heading off down to a stream. Its cons were that it faced north, so the grass was dominated by moss. It was bigger than we needed (and therefore more expensive to renovate and maintain). And it was about as far north as we wanted to be. Perhaps too far north, from the point of view of winter weather and reliably warm summers...

Possibility # 2. The barn in Chabrignac was beautiful. Not very large but tall. And it had a commanding view of the stunning countryside in almost all directions. It was big sky country, here. It faced south-ish. It had a small four du pain, a meadow with three apple trees, and a field under cultivation. Part of a hamlet of about 6 dwellings. Its cons were that it sat at a crossroads, though the roads were quiet; that it had a neighbour's metal shed right hard up against it. And its field was not adjacent to the barn, whereas the neighbour's field was. Adjacent, that is. Odd.

We spent a quiet weekend at Uzerche, holed up in the Hotel Teyssier, on the river. The town was almost deserted and it was hard to imagine it a bustling centre in the summer. We had a wonderful walk along the river, watched formations of geese flying north overhead, and picnicked on bread and cheese and saucisson while watching kayakers on the river.

The following week, we revisited the two barns we were keen on and spent hours cogitating and discussing their relative merits.

We put an offer in on Chabrignac the day before we had to leave, and a few nailbiting hours later, it was accepted. We had taken our plunge into the waters of French property purchasing!