Limoges

[Lori]

I decided to look around a lot of different regions to see what 300,000€ would buy house-wise as within around 2 hours of where we are, it gets you not much more than a pile of rocks..

Anyone live or know anything about the Limoges area?

Any thoughts gratefully received.

Thanks.

[niemeyjt]

Look out for the local taxes - my father's place nearby the taxes were about 5% of the value of the house per year!

[Lori]

Thank you. I'll take note of that.

I did notice that a good number of the immobiliers ask the buyers to pay their fees. Not common in these parts.

[MAD87]

I've lived near Limoges for 31 years. It's une ville à taille humaine for me, friendly and get-aroundable easily.
We've bought houses thrice and sold twice and unless the price says FAI, you know there's agent's fees on top. I thought that applied everywhere. 300k can get you a lot in this region.

[MAD87]

I should add that we have a small "international" airport with several flights to the UK and other places.

As far as local taxes are concerned, towns with retirement homes are the most expensive (like Saint Yrieix and Saint Junien). Before we bought this house, I'd narrowed down the 'cheapest' communes with a view to retirement. There were 2: the commune we lived in at that time (Château-Chervix) and this one, whose rates are kept low by tourism.

[DominicBest]

If I was going to live that far from the sea I would look for somewhere in the Correze south of Tulle and southeast of Brive or even down into the Lot. As a large town I dislike Limoges, it doesn’t have the charm of the other Prefectural towns nearby and for me it’s a place to avoid. There are a lot of charming small towns around there however and as already pointed our €300,000 would buy a lot in most of them.

[Wilbro]

Yes Argentat is worth a look. Lots of charm and well placed for other towns e.g. Tulle, Brive la Gaillarde and others. Plenty going on there and lots of facilities.

[Lori]

Thank you all for the information. I will look into all of the towns you've mentioned. We found several homes we liked in Saint-Junien.

I've looked into the weather for Limoges. Most of the sites go up through 2020 and I think weather patterns have made some big changes over the last two years. I can't imagine Limoges has avoided those changes. Do you get 4 distinct seasons in the area?

We'd like a pool, but I'd also like it to be warm enough to want to use it. Google map aerial view shows many homes with pools. So, I presume it gets warm enough - or perhaps they heat the pools.

Are doctors scarce ? Hospitals decent ? Transport acceptable (train station, buses, airports) ? Tennis courts/clubs (husband could not live without that) ?

[Lori]

Here are a few that seemed interesting. I did notice that a lot of the homes in this area have rather low (sometimes very low DPE energy ratings). Anyone know if there is any particular reason for this?

This one may not be piscinable, not sure. Can't tell for certain if it is mitoyenne.

https://www.safti.fr/annonces/achat/mai ... 520/733936

This looks nice, but the town may be a bit too remote. I see a lot of étangs in this region. Do they cause mosquito problems ?

https://www.safti.fr/annonces/achat/mai ... 600/737071

This one already has the pool.

https://www.safti.fr/annonces/achat/mai ... 310/697163

How can this be 215,000€ ? It may need a few changes in decor and a touch of exterior upkeep, but it looks rather nice to me. Is it considered in the middle of nowhere ? It would sell for around 600,000€ round here.

https://www.safti.fr/annonces/achat/mai ... 600/628005

Thanks for all of you who have the patience to read this.

[MAD87]

I've looked into the weather for Limoges. Most of the sites go up through 2020 and I think weather patterns have made some big changes over the last two years. I can't imagine Limoges has avoided those changes. Do you get 4 distinct seasons in the area?

We'd like a pool, but I'd also like it to be warm enough to want to use it. Google map aerial view shows many homes with pools. So, I presume it gets warm enough - or perhaps they heat the pools.

Are doctors scarce ? Hospitals decent ? Transport acceptable (train station, buses, airports) ? Tennis courts/clubs (husband could not live without that) ?

As far as I know, GPs are not scarce, nor are nurses and dentists. Despite Haute-Vienne being in La France Profonde, we don't seem to lack for anything. The CHU is excellent at Limoges and there is a secondary hospital at Saint-Junien.
Côté sports, I think there are 2 tennis clubs in Limoges and probably others elsewhere. Apart from tennis, there's judo, aikido, pétanque, basketball (the Limoges team was European champion a while back), golf (2 courses I think), football and some rugby. Nearest top-flight rugby is in Brive.

The weather has indeed changed over the decades but we still get 4 seasons (just).