And we agreed on a property. Life in Mazamet.
After much deliberation, and while we still had guests, we made an offer on the property above. It was accepted, we signed the private contract and we’ll be at the notary signing the official version tomorrow.
It’s got six flats (five of which are already rented) distributed over the 2nd and 3rd floors. Three two bedrooms, a one bedroom and two studios. The ground floor is a really fantastic blank space, which we’re going to make into a three bedroom with a nice 300m2 garden all to itself. It’ll also have its own entrance door from the street.
It was an obvious yes. The apartments all need some degree of work, but they have nice spaces. The building was originally an atelier for leather products. The ceilings are high, the stairs are elegant- the place oozes potential. The exterior architecture is plain, but some colour will hopefully increase its charm. In any event, it’s a very solid, well built structure.
Mike is happy because it’s an easy straightforward project, and I’m happy it’s a big enough project to be interesting and challenging from a creative perspective. In any event this purchase means we now have a quite decent portfolio of rental properties. I think we can still add another three to five apartments to the list in the next year, but there’s no rush.
In other news we had a great time with our visitors. The Mazamet summer market was on on the day of their arrival- which was terribly convenient. Beautiful produce, local organic/bio products etc. etc. Many of the producers make food with their products so people can try them out. Later in the the evening there’s music. Just lovely.
My Mazamet 
Out of curiosity, do flats such as these traditionally have any sort of parking or garage facilities?
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Generally none at all. The first block we bought does because it started out life as a house with a decent sized garden.
This second one is across the street from a square that has a large parking lot, which is one of the reasons we chose it.
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Ah .. fair enough. Guarded Parking and garaging are huge selling points for property over here. Without either you might as well kiss your car goodbye!
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This sounds a great property to add to your portfolio with enough about it to keep you interested in design features. You’re right that a touch of colour would vastly improve the exterior charm.
The downstairs space sounds just perfect for a little antique shop though the 3 bed flat would be more useful to people needing a place to live.
I’m glad you’ve been having such a good time with the visitors.The market was perfectly timed and sounds interesting.
Hugs
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I’m guessing a splash of colour is on the books.
And what’s the story with the single chimney?
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There are two. It’s only a guess based on the room sizes, but I think the one you see was for the showroom streetside and the other one was for the main office which was garden-side. That means sewing staff worked in the cold…
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Looks nice. Congratulations on the purchase!
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Thanks!
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I was wondering why you’d gone so quiet all of a sudden. Congratulations! This block sounds like the perfect compromise that meets all your needs. 🙂
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You really are becoming a slumlord. Be nice to the tennants, I hear the French have interesting ways of dealing with the aristocracy when you piss them off. :p
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I told you I’d be a Lord one day!
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So, a good time with your guests…and progress on the purchases front as well. Yes, you do deserve your place in the Post Office queue…
So how will you manage the renovations? Can you do the occupied flats with the tenants in situ or will you have to rehouse them temporarily?
Near any historic monuments…or does the town have an urban planning scheme? Either might restrict the choice of colour for the facades.
Does Mazamet do grants for renovation of rental properties? There used to be any number of schemes offering 30% in return for a guarantee of letting the properties for nine years…used to be called ORPI in my area….
You’ll have fun with this.
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Three of the tenants said they’re happy with the current state of things, which I find odd, but I can’t just barge into their apartments and force renovations on them based on my own aesthetic sensibilities. The smaller apartments are occupied by students who are here to attend the hotel school. They seemed very flexible and amenable to whatever we want to do.
As for the colours of the facade… From my own garden I can see a rather hideous red and orange building. I’d very much like not to see it. Now that I’ve got a building in one of the town’s main squares, I imagine the mairie may be willing to work with me so I’m happy, and everyone else is happy that I don’t have it painted in the same red and orange I have to look at everyday 😉
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Congratulations on the newest addition to your property family.
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