Yahoo Finance published an article recently focussing on French chateaux for sale, the article had first been published in the Telegraph newspaper and Yahoo went on to feature it too. There are quotes from HH Director Tim Swannie as well as some beautiful French castles for sale around France.
Read the full article here, here are some snippets:
This week sees the launch of the new film version of Beauty and the Beast, one of the most eagerly anticipated releases of 2017. With a starry cast including Emma Watson, Ewan McGregor and Emma Thompson, much of the drama is set in the realm of the Beast’s grand castle, which, in the 1991 Disney adaptation of the French novel, was modelled on the Loire Valley’s Château de Chambord.
A 16th-century royal hunting lodge built in the French Renaissance style, Château de Chambord is one of the biggest castles in France. Even the real thing is magical, with 11 types of roof tower, 440 rooms and 84 staircases, including the spellbinding double helix staircase, reportedly designed by Leonardo da Vinci for King Francis I. It allowed visitors to come and go in secrecy.
Châteaux were specifically built in the best positions, with the best views, by the most important landowners of the time
Buyers from all over the world have been seduced by the notion of owning a French castle – but does the reality live up to the fairy tale?
As well as castles, the term château includes buildings as diverse as medieval fortresses, Renaissance palaces and the sort of country houses we call stately homes. There are more than 1,000 in the Dordogne alone, over 300 in the Loire, hundreds in Provence, the Alps and Brittany – in fact, they are hardly in short supply.
And here:
Many purchasers like the idea of owning a piece of history, but the appeal of the château is broader, says Tim Swannie of French agent Home Hunts. “Status is important for some buyers – the French château fits nicely alongside the Alpine chalet, Tuscan farmhouse and city penthouse – but that is far from being the main driver for most of our buyers,” he says.
“Location is generally the main appeal; they were specifically built in the best positions, with the best views, by the most important landowners of the time. Size also matters – they generally offer vast entertaining spaces, lots of bedrooms and huge amounts of land, too.”
Swannie says that people will either buy a château because it comes with vineyards or because they are ideal properties to run as hotels, b&bs, holiday rentals or yoga retreats. Some of these buyers are investors, but most are owner-occupiers with a passion for the property’s features and history.
“We are starting to see an increase in the number of Britons interested in starting a new life here,” he says. “We are currently working with several families, in one case two British families buying together, who are looking for a French château to renovate, with separate gîtes/holiday rentals in the grounds.