Hot spot: Paris

City of light

The channel tunnel provides the convenience, the UK property market provides the profit, and children fleeing the nest provide the occasion to make a run for it at last. Paris is being invaded by Britons of a certain age.

The channel tunnel provides the convenience, the UK property market provides the profit, and children fleeing the nest provide the occasion to make a run for it at last. Paris is being invaded by Britons of a certain age.

"Most of my clients are middle-aged couples whose children have grown and flown," says a UK-based French property agent who prefers to be unnamed. "They downsize to a smaller property here and still have enough for a one-bed flat in Paris. They cost £2,500 to £3,000 per square metre, so a 50sq m property (about 550sq ft) costs about £120,000 (€195,200)."

Most of the flats sold are for weekend use and many buyers insist on being within 15 minutes of Gare du Nord, the station serving tunnel trains. His clients plump mostly for the Marais, Bastille and Republique areas.

But don't expect UK-like value rises in Paris. "Prices rise on average 1 per cent per year in Paris," the agent says. "You buy a flat for £100,000, and with 2 per cent to the notaire, 5 per cent stamp duty, and 3 per cent to the agent, you pay £110,000. But when you sell, you get only £100,000 or so. Because of high moving costs, most Parisians rent until they can afford an apartment large enough to live in for many years."

British graphic designer Lynne Bridge bought a Paris flat in August 2000 and sold it a year later. "Most estate agents said they had nothing for sale, and I got my flat because I was in the right place when someone died. The family had to sell due to high inheritance taxes."

A year later, she advertised her flat on the internet. "I was shocked. Quickly I got about 50 phone calls and 30 viewings. I sold it in less than three weeks."

Judy Braham is managing director of Paris-based Executive Relocations, which works with corporate clients to find properties and help with work permits, schools, car registrations, French courses, tax counselling and other mundane nasties. "If you are under 40, you can get a mortgage fixed for 25 years for 5.2 per cent," she says. "It's a wonderful time to buy in Paris."

THE LOW-DOWN

Transport

Paris is served by many UK airports, some with low fares. Brittany Ferries offers 33 per cent off to members of their Property Owners' Travel Club (0870 366 9702). P&O also rewards regular travellers; 0870 242 4999. Eurostar offers upgrades, lounge and point rewards.

Prices

Two one-bed flats are selling for £120,000 each, but the flat in the 16th arrondisement is 40sq m, and the apartment in the 11th is 53sq m. As a guide, a 20sq m studio sells for £50,000 to £60,000, and a 65sq m two-bed flat for £65,000 to £75,000. A 140sq m three-bed in the 10th costs £350,000. See www.dkassociates.co.uk

Vocabulaire

The resident concierge is a dying breed, replaced by a Syndic ( Le Syndicat des Copropriétaires de la Copropriètè). Advertised properties may be with an estate agent ( professionnel) or private ( particulier). A Haussmannien building refers to town planner Georges-Eugene Haussmann (1809-91), who gave the City of Light its long straight boulevards and dramatic vistas.

Properties

Houses with gardens are rare in a city dominated by apartments that are measured in square metres, subdivided into piéces (rooms) and occasionally benefit from a cave (storage area). The website of London-based French property agent David King Associates shows a two-bed flat has 60 to 80 square metres and a three bed flat 80 to 120 square metres.

Your chambre or mine?

The private Chambre de Commerce Française de Grande-Bretagne publishes Make Yourself at Home in France. The book has chapters on documents and other formalities; purchasing, renting or building property; investment; estate planning; taxation; insurance; and finance and banking. Individual chapters are by British and French experts. £20 (020 7304 4040)

Local knowledge

Informative property publications include French Property News, Everything France and Living France. Property Purchasing Guide to France by Lynne Bridge is available only as an internet download.It is 13,000 words (about 30 pages of typed single-spaced text), 19 euros (£11.70) from WebFrance International (http:// www.wfi.fr/).

Professional advice

UK Law firms specialising in French property: De Pinna Notaries, 020 7208 2900; Russell & Cooke Solicitors, 020 8789 9111; Riddell Croft (Ipswich), 01473 384870.

Contacts

David King & Associates, www.dkassociates.co.uk; 020 8673 6800; Executive Relocations, www.executive-france .com; (00-33-1) 4755 6029.

Knight Frank; 020 7629 8171