17
www.leggettfrance.com
properties
for sale in
the Loire
W
hen Deborah and Ian Elwes
decided during lockdown that
they wanted to change their
lives, they were not alone.
Sitting in south London, the
ski-loving couple with grown-up children chose
to move to the elegant spa town of Bagnères-deLuchon in the Pyrénées.
"We wanted somewhere for cycling, skiing,
hiking, and all sorts of outdoorsy stuff ," says
Deborah, 59, a former teacher. "We needed a
place that would allow us to earn an income, and
we loved the fact the Pyrénées has lots of very
authentically French villages. Covid just catapulted
our decision forward."
The couple didn't want to run a B&B, so they
began renovating three apartments as holiday lets
and a four-bedroom farmhouse - all bought for
the princely sum of €450,000. "We had a choice
of looking at the mountains or living in them, and
we chose the latter," adds Deborah. "It's stunningly
beautiful here."
"If you are buying a holiday let to run, consider
outside space, storage for bikes and skis, and
whether you are within walking distance to
amenities," says Andrew Parker, Leggett's agent in
the area. He says you'll pay €80,000-120,000 for a
one/two-bedroom suitable to rent out near Luchon:
"A four-bedroom farmhouse costs from €200,000,
or a two/three-bedroom village house to renovate
from €65,000."
Of course, you might also fi nd a mountain
home to enjoy yourself. Madrid-based trader Paul
Dimitriadis is buying a three-bedroom apartment
in the vibrant spa town of Saint-Gervais-les-Bains
near Mont Blanc in the Alps. A keen skier, cyclist,
and hiker, he will use it with his family for four or
fi ve months a year. "I'm lucky to be able to work
from anywhere," says Paul, 51. "But I don't like
driving, so easy access from a major airport was
key."
A home by the beach in Spain didn't appeal, and
he needed somewhere to escape the sweltering
summers in Madrid. "I am an active person and
don't like the coast. In Saint-Gervais you can walk
to everything - there are eight restaurants within
fi ve minutes and the tennis club. You don't have to
have a car."
MONT BLANC
TRAMWAY
a mountain railway line in the
Haute-Savoie.
DEBORAH & IAN ELWES,
AND PAUL DIMITRIADIS