Apartment in Nice
Parler Paris Nouvellettre®
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, February 21, 2011 • Paris, France
Dear Parler Paris Reader,
As I write this I'm on route to Nice for four glorious days along the Riviera. The primary objective is to search for a suitable apartment to purchase for myself – a vacation home, a rental property, an investment and a foundation for helping others do the same on the blue coast. Fortunately, the timing is ideal as it happens to also be Carnival season in Nice – an annual event that seems to be the world's best kept secret.
Nice is nice, as they say. It reminds me of many places I've called home in the past: Los Angeles for the sea, the palm trees, the moderate climate and the opulence; New Orleans for the multi-cultural flavor, the corruption, the port (and all the spirit that seamen bring with them) and the architecture in the Old Town that isn't quite the same as the French Quarter (Spanish), but has a similar ambiance.
Vieux Nice is where I want to be. I actually like the hint of seediness – not so 'white bread' as a place more pristine, where many levels of life take place both behind closed doors and on the surface. Vieux Nice is gentrifying...fast...and that means property there will escalate in value as new owners pour their creative talents and money into old dilapidated houses. Vieux Nice will never not be that, and since property investment is based on that old saying, “location, location, location,” that's where I believe one's money is best spent.
Many vacationers may prefer apartments on the Promenade des Anglais with a sea view (for obvious reasons), but sea view for me is just a boring expanse of blue during the day and black at night. I prefer having life just outside the door and a more urban landscape, especially in Nice where the houses are of many colors, balconies are dripping with plants and the squares are bustling with people and activity.
There is much to discover and learn. Although I've been to Nice many times, it will take an extended expanse of time living there to really learn the personalities of the various neighborhoods, the web of streets and traffic patterns, the idiosyncrasies of the culture and the nature of the inhabitants. The expectation is of course, is that it's very, very different from Paris – as different from Paris as Los Angeles is from New York. There is no rivalry between them as there is no comparison, both offering totally different lifestyles.
I fully expect doing business in Nice to be a lot less straightforward than in Paris and trusting new-found colleagues will take time and due diligence. An old friend and colleague is performing the search for me – I've enlisted her just as our clients hire us to perform the search and find the property, in advance of arrival. If I get lucky enough to find the perfect “pied-à-terre” this week (with a balcony, a view, lots of sun and no higher than three flights up without a lift), there will be a scramble to put financing into place.
My approach is exactly what I DON'T preach to our own property clients – which is to get the financing in place in advance of a search, which is the only smart thing to do. Of course, I don't actually expect to find the perfect property this first go-round and in the meantime I am organizing the documents for the loan application using 2010 tax returns and the latest financial picture. The hope is to get another “equity release” loan so that the property can be financed 100% – or close, with as little 'out-of-pocket' investment as possible. The lender I have in mind has already loaned me four times for four properties, each of which have increased in value and therefore may afford a fifth equity release. Appraisals of each of the properties will be necessary to come to that conclusion.
Rental income from two of the properties has paid the mortgages along the way and with that kind of history of success, the lender is open to working with me again. When I asked for the first mortgage in 2000 on the apartment that is my primary residence, this particular lender took a risk with me while another lender wouldn't. The agent who approved the loan is in an even higher position with the bank now and we have remained friends and colleagues to this day.
For the three-night stay, I've rented an apartment in Vieux Nice from a Canadian chef who lives in Nice. This afternoon I'll visit the tourist office where a package of information and tickets to some of the Carnival events await us. Tomorrow we have an excursion by train up into the mountains planned, just for the beautiful scenery and a little R and R, then Wednesday is designated for apartment visits. By then, you'll get a detailed report on my findings – of the apartment, the city, Carnival and whatever tales are to be told.
Thursday's French Property Insider will undoubtedly delve into the property findings from Wednesday, so if you're interested and are not already subscribed, you may do so by visiting French Property Insider.
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. The photos are of the view from the apartment – on the fourth floor (European) on one of Nice's narrowest streets, rue de Jésus, but it's the apartment across the street that suits my taste most!
P.P.S. How would you like your next stay in Paris be just a few steps from the world's greatest collection of impressionist masterpieces? Just around the corner from the magnificent Musée d'Orsay is our newest luxury vacation apartment – La Maison d'Orsay! Another beautifully designed and equipped “pied-à-terre” by Interior Architect Martine di Matteo, La Maison d'Orsay is the perfect oasis after hours in the museum...or anywhere else in Paris for that matter! Visit
La Maison d'Orsay for more information.
