Book Reviews

- looking for a book about buying or restoring a property in France?

Buying & Restoring Old Property in France

David Everett - pub. Robert Hale, 1999, Softback, black & white, 192pp, £10.99, language: English

First published in 1992, we have the second paperback edition. The back cover claims this to be the definitive guide. We beg to differ. The information was outdated even at the time of the reprint, there is very little practical information on buying a property in France, and genuinely useful information on how to restore a French property is scant, to say the least. There is a handful of poor quality b&w photographs which, frankly, are irrelevent. Even worse are the hopelessly bad drawings - the drawing to illustrate a bathroom layout is comically bad. If you suspect that I may be being unkind, check the reviews on Amazon....

Selling French Dreams

Alan Biggins - pub. Kirkdale Books, 2002, Softback, black and white, 247pp, £7.99, Language: English

This is a novel based on the author's personal experiences in France. It is an entertaining read, and much will ring with a familiar sound to anyone who has lived in France. There are many amusing incidents, cautionary anecdotes and practical nuggets. The story surrounding the search for the fosse is probably my favourite. Whilst this does not set out to be a 'how-to' guide, those viewing the idea of a life in France through slightly-too-rosy glasses might care to read this first.

Living and Working in France

David Hampshire - pub. Survival Books, 2000*, Softback, black and white, 456pp (+ advertisements), £12.99 (US $21.95), Language: English

One of the best known books on the subject, this book does carry a great deal of information. How much of it is essential and how much is padding to make it appear more comprehensive is debatable in my view. There are cartoons throughout the book which would be much better replaced by something useful. It has been revised several times since we purchased our copy* so we hope that the information is more up to date than it was (even though the proportion of 'padding' seems as high as before). One caveat though: 'Buying a Home in France' is by the same author and publisher. You won't need both books - we found that almost the entire content was repeated, verbatim, in 'Living and Working in France'.

Renovating and Maintaining Your French Home

Joe Laredo - pub. Survival Books, 2004, softback, black and white (plus 8pp colour section), 465pp, £11.95 (US $19.95), Language: English

By the same publishers as the previous book, this volume curiously quoted reviews for David Hampshire's books on the back cover. In addition, it also shares the same awful 'word processed' page layouts, giving the book the same cheap air. This is not a bad book by any means, but I have to question the author's wisdom (and design sense) in including style tips in the decorating section. Ignoring the irritating cartoons which precede every chapter, there are a few reasonably clear and fairly useful diagrams. The few colour photographs seem to be more about expressing the author's personal taste than maximising the opportunity to enlighten the reader. Those gripes aside, the book does have a fair amount of useful information. Some of the 'Survival Tips' are worth noting, too.

'The Sunday Times' Buying a Property: France

Mark Iqoe & John Howell - pub. Cadogan Guides, 2002, Softback, black and white + colour sections, 344pp, £12.99 (US $19.95), Language: English

Revised and reprinted in 2008 (£14.99 / US$19.95), this is by far the best guide we have found on the subject and one we are happy to recommend. There are profiles of the various regions (including photographs which give a flavour of the architecture and geography) and a list of the types of property you can buy at various budgets. You will find that the 'dictionary of useful and technical terms' really IS useful, and the DIY Inspection of Property checklist is clearly written by someone who knows what they are talking about. We would still advise taking an expert with you to double-check before you sign a contract, but this checklist should help you to evaluate a property before getting too involved. There is a useful section on finding property other than through an Estate Agent (Immobilier) and the guide to the legalities is easy to understand and well-written. What's more, this book isn't padded out with the sort of superfluous twaddle found in some other books. If we could buy only one guide to buying a property in France, we would buy this one.