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Category Archives: France

Could a mortgage for your ski home in the French Alps get any cheaper?

Buying a French ski property with a mortgage has never been cheaper, thanks to lenders offering some of the lowest mortgage rates ever seen in France. Due largely to historically low European Central Bank rates (Euribor), fixed rate French mortgages are now available from as little as 1.7 per cent...

Posted on 13 October 2016

Non-owners of French ski homes feel pain of weaker pound more than owners

Brits departing on half-term family ski holiday - or property viewing trips - in the next week or so should be aware of the effect the pound’s recent weakening against the euro - and budget accordingly. A swing in the exchange rate since the start of the year means that the...

Posted on 12 February 2016

Currency swing gives the French Alps the edge over Switzerland with foreign buyers in 2015

Dramatic exchange rate movement in January means property in the French Alps is around eight per cent cheaper for UK buyers compared to the same month last year, while Swiss homes have increased in price by around 13 per cent, said ski property specialist Skiingproperty.com in January. Volatile currency markets...

Posted on 22 January 2015

The 2014-15 ski season approaches – so what’s new in the Alps?

Tignes-le-Lac has grabbed the headlines by being named France's most improved resort in the new edition of guidebook Where to Ski and Snowboard (WTSS), which has marked its 20th birthday by commending resorts for improving over the last two decades. WTSS noted that Tignes-le-Lac was “seriously inhospitable” 20 years ago...

Posted on 24 September 2014

Stronger Sterling benefiting UK buyers in the French Alps in 2014

Brits on the verge or in the process of buying a property in the French Alps are benefiting from Sterling’s persistent strength against the euro during 2014, with the exchange rate barely dropping below £1/€1.2 this year and the current rate hovering around an 18-month high of €1.23. The difference...

Posted on 30 May 2014

Sochi drives first-time skiers to dry slopes – next they’ll be in the Alps!

A national campaign to encourage more people to give skiing or snowboarding a go has exceeded its targets just six months after its official launch, with over 10,000 people in the UK doing a one-off ski or snowboard session or six-hour course. Ahead of the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games...

Posted on 11 March 2014

‘High fliers’ can head to the French Alps for fun on and off the slopes

Thrill seekers have plenty of black ski runs to choose from in the French Alps, but now they can get their kicks dangling up to 250 metres above the slopes, thanks to the opening in February of the world’s highest zip wire in Val Thorens. Called ‘La Tyrolienne’, the 1,300-metre...

Posted on 04 March 2014

Meet a British owner in the French Alps who is “living the dream”

For David Windell, an accountant from West Sussex, owning and renting out his chalet in the Savoie region of the Alps enables him to pursue his two passions in Iife, skiing and paragliding, for five to six months of the year. David bought his six bedroom property in the village...

Posted on 26 February 2014

Why moving to the Alps to be a ski instructor needs careful planning

Owners of ski homes with aspirations to pack in the nine-to-five day job one day and move to the French Alps to teach skiing should ensure they have all the necessary qualifications before realising their dream. Cases of British and other foreign visitors to the Alps being apprehended by the...

Posted on 04 February 2014

GB Winter Olympic hopeful Chemmy Alcott flies a flag for Flaine

Britain is pinning its hopes on its fastest girl on skis, Chemmy Alcott, to bring a medal home from the Winter Olympics in Sochi next month, but how many of us know she developed her passion for skiing in the French resort of Flaine in the Haute Savoie region? Chemmy...

Posted on 29 January 2014