FRANCE:SINGLE AND two-storey houses in a holiday development in a popular tourist spot on France's south-west coast are being offered for sale to Irish investors costing from around €119,000 to over €211,000.
Les Mathes-La Palmyre Residence is a sale and leaseback development 4kms from Royan, a traditional seaside resort about an hour's drive south of La Rochelle - Ryanair flies there direct from Dublin. It is for sale here through Springvale Overseas Properties.
The town, which has Belle Epoque mansions lining the seafront, is a fashionable spot with French tourists. It has also long been popular with many Irish holidaymakers, including politicians like John Hume. (Some years back, he was working on final moves towards the Belfast Agreement while on holiday there).
The climate means that it is neither too hot nor too cold in the summer, say fans of the area.
For sale are 138 houses with private terraces arranged in hamlets on a 16-hectare (39.5-acre) site. They range in size from 24.10sq m (259sq ft) to 44.70sq m (481sq ft). There will be sports and recreational facilities on the site, including heated swimming pools.
Nearby are the broad sandy Atlantic beaches which have made the area popular. Royan is about two hours away from Bordeaux at the mouth of the Gironde estuary. The scheme is being developed by Groupe France Epargne (GFE), and is managed by holiday club VVF. The developers are offering a return of 4.2 per cent on the sale and leaseback investments, which it says is "guaranteed contractually for 23 years". The commercial lease has a fixed and renewable term of 11-and-a-half years.
GFE is also offering sale and leaseback apartments in Paris's north suburbs to investors. Villeneuve-La-Garenne is five minutes' from the Stade de France, well-known to Irish rugby fans.
One-hundred and ninety-five apartments are for sale costing from €82,869 up to about €200,000. Again, GFE is offering 4.5 per cent rental yields. Appart'City Cap Affaires is the management company.
The popularity of sale and leasebacks has taken a beating among some investors following the collapse of high profile companies like Transmontagne in France last year. Lenders warn investors to make sure that properties are in good locations where rents are less likely to fall or fail in troubled economic times. And investors should check out the track record of the developers/management company which takes care of a development.
www.springvaleoverseas.com
