Looking Over Nice
Your taste of life in Paris and France
ParlerParis.com
Monday, May 16, 2011 • Paris, France
Dear Parler Paris Reader,
Nice is brimming with tourists of all kinds, perhaps thanks to the Cannes Film Festival just next door, or not -- it manages to attract an international crowd regardless of what may be happening just 'next door.' This is one reason I'm so keen on finding an apartment -- for personal use as well as investment and to help establish services for North Americans who are not so well represented here as are the British and the Italians.
Upon landing here Saturday afternoon and having the customary Salade Niçoise on the Cours Saleya, we went immediately to visit the apartment on which I had made an offer at number 3, next to the Police Municipale. Almost 80 steps up to the fourth floor (and actually five flights), without being too out of breath, we walked into a spacious two bedroom apartment that unfortunately had a floor plan that had been very poorly designed. The best views were from the bedroom windows rather than from the living room and there were numerous other issues that needed correction. Most of those could be fixed -- I call that the "smoke and mirrors" part of renovation and decoration, but the disrepair of the 18th-century building and the multiple flights of stairs, once again, would forever be a problem. We're going to cross this one off the list, sadly.
Meanwhile the agents are scrambling to find others to show us, which is no easy task. This is one of the most difficult property markets to cross my path -- even a bit more difficult than Le Marais, if one could believe it! There are numerous apartments on the Promenade des Anglais for sale, but they are decidedly more expensive if they have balconies and sea views -- but the Promenade is basically a big noisy highway and has little appeal to me personally. Old Town is defined and limited -- most of the apartments that have light or views are on elevated levels with no lifts. The buildings are old and in disrepair. The narrow streets lined with bars and restaurants make living over them noisy. Finding just the right combination for a good purchase is not only difficult, but virtually impossible.
There are other areas to consider -- around Place Masséna and near the Old Port -- and I've started to think outside the proverbial Nice box to consider these areas as well for lack of other options. All this makes me wonder if all this time is wasted or not. With so little property worth buying, even if thousands of you out there would like to have a pied-à-terre on the Côte d'Azur of your own, could we satisfy your desires...just as mine have not been? Sure, there are lots of other towns that would be lovely for second homes and a few for good return on investment -- such as Villefranche sur Mer and Cannes...but Nice is one that provides year-round returns better than the others. For those who like an urban environment with lots of cultural outlets, Nice has more than most, and is also the hub for all of the Riviera.
Sunday afternoon with a reader of Parler Paris who is also earnestly looking for a property in the adjacent towns, sitting at the Café du Palais next door to the entrance of the apartment I rejected a few weeks ago, I was struck with nostalgia and remorse. Did I make a mistake by rejecting it? What if I decided to take the chance and purchase it? And if I did, would they let me or would the seller refuse?
By the time you read this, I will have visited another apartment on Place Masséna and whatever else our buyer's agent can come up with...but I will likely be going home empty handed and still on the prowl for the dream apartment in Nice. Let's hope not!
A la prochaine...
Adrian Leeds
Editor, Parler Paris
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P.S. This exercise is leading to building a staff of trusted individuals who can assist me and our clients in finding, purchasing, renovating and renting Riviera properties in the American style to which we have become accustomed. If you are interested in learning more, email me at adrianleeds.com.
