Don't sell your property in the Dordogne

WHY not swap it for this beautiful chalet on the Costa Blanca in Spain? Holiday home owners who have decided to put their second homes on the market are finding increasingly creative ways in tough economic conditions to market their second homes.

House swapping is not a new concept. The idea first came about in 1953 as a cheap way to holiday. Members of an exchange programme swapped their home with others members, usually in different countries. 

And for holidays, house swapping is still as popular today as it was when it first started over half a century ago.

They say that necessity is the mother of invention and when times are tough it's always interesting to see new ideas and business opportunities take off.

The latest to property markets around the world is the notion of permanently swapping homes.

New businesses and house swapping web sites have mushroomed off the back of the idea that instead of having to come up with the money to buy a house in France, you can simply swap your house with someone who wants, for instance, to move back from France to the UK.

From a legal perspective, everything is exactly the same. There are simply two separate transactions. The swapping process is exactly the same as the buying process except that, in most cases, money never changes hands.

There are, of course, occasions when the process isn't as clear cut and there is an exchange of money such as in the case of a part exchange. In this case there may be a disparity between the price of one property and the other or there is an outstanding debt on one property but not the other.

Premier French Property were recently asked by a client in Finland to market their property as a house swap. 

The idea is simple. Reijo, Kristiina and Triinu Paumo have a very attractive three bedroom, two bathroom Spanish chalet for sale on the Costa Blanca. It's on the market for almost 300,000 euros.

So, it can be bought in the traditional way or swapped with another property.

Reijo explained to us that, ideally, they would like to swap it for a Dordogne property. Their ideal would be a property with surrounding land in a tranquil spot, far from the maddening crowd.

Now all we need to do is find someone with a property in the Dordogne who would like to swap with the Paumo family.

If you're interested and would like more information then please don't hesitate to contact us.