07 July 2016

Maison à vendre à Saint-Aignan

Some people we know are selling their house in Saint-Aignan. They're Dutch, and they've owned this vacation house for 20 years. We were invited over there for a glass of wine Tuesday evening. They asked us to spread the word about the house being on the market.


I found it on a realtor's web site this morning. Here's the description:

Située dans un environnement calme et agréable aux portes de Saint AIGNAN, cette charmante MAISON DE PAYS, SH 150 m², offre en RC (poutres, tomettes) : cuisine A/E, salon avec cheminée foyer ouvert, 1 chbre avec sdb/wc privatifs + une 2nde partie non communicante avec 1 chbre spacieuse, sdb/wc, buanderie - À l'étage : pièce palière, 3 chbres mansardées dont 1 commandée, sdb, wc - Vaste grange et four à pain non attenants - Terrain clos de murs et arboré de 600 m²

and my translation:

Located in a pleasant, peaceful area on the outskirts of Saint-Aignan, this charming country house, 1600 sq. ft., has on the ground level (tile floors, exposed-beam ceilings): a kitchen with cabinets and appliances, a living room with an open fireplace, a bedroom with a private bathroom and WC, plus a spacious bedroom with a separate entrance and a bathroom, WC, and a laundry room. Upstairs, there’s a mezzanine, three bedrooms, a bathroom and WC. There’s also a spacious barn, and a bread oven. The walled-in property (6000 sq. feet) is landscaped.

SH means surface habitable, or living space. WC is water closet, what they call a "loo" in England, I think — in other words, a half-bath (toilet, sink). Often, the room called the salle de bains or bathroom in France doesn't have a toilet in it.

Salon avec cheminée

The house has a bedroom suite with a separate entrance that I haven't seen. The living room and kitchen are spacious and pleasant. One of the three bedrooms upstairs, which appear to be converted attic space (like ours), is accessible only through another bedroom, according to the description (une chambre commandée). I bet that space could be used as an office. That would still leave four bedrooms in all.

Cuisine A/E means cuisine aménagée et équipée — with cabinets and appliances

The house is on one side of a large courtyard, with the barn on the other side. The courtyard is completely walled in. I believe there is more land outside the walls — with fruit trees and room for a vegetable garden, maybe. I'm not sure about that though.

The bread oven (le four à pain)

I of course am doing this post because it's interesting to see what a maison de pays in the Loire Valley looks like. I'm not being paid. The photos are ones I found on the realtor's web site, and you can see more photos by clicking on the this link or the one above. The asking price is under $200,000. Oh, and I should probably point out, in light of the recent flooding, that the house is on high ground.

19 comments:

  1. This house is lovely. I wonder if it is what they call a longère. The price seems very reasonable. Of course, this is depending on the structural condition of the house. I guess you can ask for a floor plan from the Agence immobilière.

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    1. P.S. In your translation, the equipped kitchen is missing. Lol!

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    2. Oops. It would hard for an American to imagine a house without a kitchen!

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    3. I think it does fit in the longère category. It's attractive and tempting, but longères are notorious dark inside. We like all the big windows we have in out house, and all the light. Even on cloudy days (most of the time) we have good daylight compared to what you get in a longère.

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  2. I recently was househunting (farther south) and I can attest that is a very attractive price.

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  3. sounds like a deal compared to the prices in Biarritz where my daughter bought

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  4. This temps me to up and move

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  5. Want to bet the buyers will be Americans, hedging their bets before the US election? The house looks lovely and not dark at all in these downstairs photos.

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    1. Well, I'm thinking they'll more likely be Dutch or British, but who knows?

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  6. That outdoor oven is interesting. The house is lovely. I hope you get another good neighbor.

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    1. The house is two or three miles from here. The owners are people we met and became friendly with because of our blogs. We've known them for 7 or 8 years now.

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  7. I can actually afford that house !! I want it . ha ... and I thought I was clueless when I arrived here in Fl to live .. imagine me in France. alone. speaking Frenglish ..

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    1. Houses here are less expensive than they are in many parts of the U.S.

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  8. Lovely place. I can think of several people that would like it. As would an elderly orange tabby. ;-)

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  9. What a pleasant-looking house, and I should think a walled garden or courtyard would be a big plus for someone with small children or pets.
    Why are the neighbors selling? Downsizing, as seems to be the thing lately.

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    1. They are downsizing and going back to live in the Netherlands full time.

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