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French property of the week: Stunning stone farmhouse in Languedoc-Roussillon

If you're looking for a property in the south of France then why not a beautiful stone farmhouse with stunning views over the Cévennes hills in the former Languedoc-Roussillon region.

Published: 15 December 2017 17:23 CET
French property of the week: Stunning stone farmhouse in Languedoc-Roussillon
All photos: Leggett Immobilier

Where is it?

The property itself is described as “isolated” which will tempt those who want a lot of peace and quiet but it is located near the village of Saint Cecile d'Andorge in the Gard Department.

The village is located in the picturesque Cévennes national park in the former region of Languedoc-Roussillon, now part of Occitanie. 

The increasingly attractive Mediterranean city of Montpellier is just under two hours drive away to the south. 

The international airport at Marseille is just over two hours drive and offers international flights to the UK and other parts of Europe.

How much does it cost?

The current price is €555,000 or £489,305 depending on exchange rates.

Describe the house

The 4/5 bedroom stone farmhouse has been almost entirely renovated and so is in an excellent condition. The house is surrounded by over 14 acres of countryside, which include fine walks.

The stone has been pointed, both inside and outside the house, and original materials like lime have been used to finish the farmhouse. There is underfloor heating throughout, and all rooms have WiFi.

With a view to large families or a B&B, there are two magnificent bedrooms on the ground floor, both with state of the art bathrooms.

These rooms look out over the Cévennes national park, and can be accessed from inside, or externally.

The main terrace faces W and S, and is sunny all day…you can even have Christmas lunch here if the weather is good. From here you have a panoramic view over the valley. 

There are three bathrooms in all and the total size of the house is 200 square metres. There are also barns and outbuildings on plot whose total size is 61 273 square metres.

Why buy it?

Leggett Immobilier say: “This lovely stone farmhouse, on four floors, looks out over the stunning landscape of the Cévennes. The house has been virtually completely renovated, using fittings and materials of a very high standard…..with a remarkable result.

The house is built on a hillside, and although there are neighbours, you feel alone in the grandeur.” 

And the pictures:

 

For more information on the property CLICK HERE.

 

 

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PROPERTY

French property: What is buying ‘en tontine’?

If you're buying property in France, you might be thinking about buying 'en tontine' - this has advantages especially when it comes to France's strict inheritance laws, but can also have tax implications.

Published: 25 March 2024 11:17 CET
French property: What is buying 'en tontine'?

What is it?

The ‘clause de tontine’ sometimes also known as a ‘clause d’accroissement’ is a clause that is inserted into the property deeds when you are buying a house or apartment.

It can only be inserted during the purchase, and cannot be added later.

It’s basically a ‘group purchase’. It’s most commonly used by unmarried couples who are buying together but it can be used by larger groups too – for example a group of friends buying a holiday home together.

You will have to ask a notaire to draw up the tontine clause during the property purchase and it can only be used if 

  • the parties are equally involved in the financing of the purchase
  • the parties involved have a roughly equal life expectancy (for this reason tontine clauses may be rejected if there is a significant difference in age between the purchasers)

What’s the point of it?

The main reason that people use it is to sidestep France’s strict inheritance laws, which assign that a certain portion of every estate must go to children, at the expense of a partner. 

READ ALSO How France’s strict inheritance laws work

For this reason it is particularly used by couples who have children from previous relationships.

On a property with a tontine clause in effect, when one owner dies their share of the property passes in its entirely to the other member/members of the tontine.

This cuts out children from inheritance, but means that a surviving partner is not evicted from their home in favour of the children of the deceased. 

It also has the advantage of making the intentions of the deceased clear, to avoid arguments among heirs after their death.

It should be noted, however, that the tontine clause only takes in the property that it covers – other assets may be subject to French inheritance law so it’s therefore probably wise to arrange a will, to ensure your wishes for your estate are met.

The surviving party can ask a notaire to update the property deeds to show that they are the sole owner, if they want. Be aware there will be a fee, which could reach four figures for the privilege – and it doesn’t actually involve any change to the property title.

Drawbacks

The advantages of the system are clear, especially for blended families, but there are some potential drawbacks too, which mean that anyone considering buying in this way would be well advised to take proper legal advice before they start.

Inheritance tax – while a tontine will help you to avoid restrictions on inheritance, it does not exempt you from inheritance tax. French inheritance tax is structured according to your relationship to the deceased, and people who are neither married nor related to the deceased pay an eye-watering inheritance tax rate of 60 percent.

The only exception to this top rate of inheritance tax is if the property is your main residence and it is valued at under €76,000 – in that case, tax is paid at a rate of 5.8 percent.

Married couples and family members pay a much lower rate or not tax, but if you’re not married to your tontine co-purchaser, be careful that you’re not lining yourself up for a massive tax bill in future years.

Wealth tax – depending on the value of the property, it could tip you over into the ‘wealth tax’ category when you inherit. France’s wealth tax is a real estate based tax and is levied on anyone who has real estate assets (property and land) worth €1.3 million or more.

The calculation includes property held en tontine.

Tax savings – you might hear tontines being advised as a way to limit your French tax liability.

While this used to be true, changes to tax laws means there are no no significant tax advantages to buying this way – the same is true for buying a property via an SCI, which used to represent a tax saving until the law was tightened up.

Disinheriting family members – One side effect of the tontine clause on mixed families is to effectively disinherit any children of the first person to die.

Because the property passed to the survivor, under French law, only their direct descendants – rather than any family by marriage – are entitled to automatic inheritance.

That means that the children of the surviving partner will be entitled to the statutory share of the entire asset (between 25 and 30 percent depending on the number of children), but the children of the first person to die will be entitled to nothing. Obviously you can choose to leave them something in your will, but you can only leave them some or all of the estate which is not automatically given to the children on the survivor.

Divorce/dispute – if the members of the tontine split up or (in the case of friends) fall out, then they can either sell the whole property or agree to buy each other out.

However, if one party refuses to sell, then you have very limited legal options – unlike a standard property purchase a tontine is not regarded as joint ownership, so one partner cannot be forced to sell as part of a divorce procedings, for example.

Basically the tontine can only be ended or changed with the agreement of all parties – so if you can’t agree between yourselves then you may be stuck with it.

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