Valencay, Department 36

by jax
(66)

side view of house and garden with chateau in distance

The property is a detached Berrichone cottage, has a footprint of about 60m2 and is set in 690m2 of garden, situated on the main D956, 45 km from Chateauroux and about 10 minutes walk from the town centre of Valencay.

Summertime sees the town full of tourists as it is on the Route des Chateaux and whenever weve visited, either winter or summer; theres always been a nice buzz to the place. Plenty of shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, a large supermarket and lots of organic farm produce from nearby farms. A popular place with English tourists as its accessible from both the A20 and A85 autoroutes and only about 2 hours drive from Paris. Nearest international airport is Tours, with flights from Stanstead, theres also Poitiers (both of these around 1 hour away) and Limoges (2 hours). The town also boasts a train station with connections to Paris-Toulouse and Lyon-Nantes.

The Chateau and surrounding gardens are open to the public, there is the Talleyrand Museum and also an automobile museum. Walking, horse riding, fishing, swimming, tennis and mini golf are all available or you could try the train touristique. The area is perfect for cycling.

Ground Floor (Cellars and extension):
Two earthen floored cellars each measuring approx 4.7m x 3.8m, each with a door leading out to the garden
One extension building measuring approx 5.5m x 3.2m with concrete floor, double door opening onto back garden and two side windows

First Floor:
Living room approx 5m x 4m with beamed ceiling and window onto roof of extension, tiles have been removed from floor so needs floorboards
Kitchen/Diner approx 4m x 3m with corner sink, front facing window and front door, tiled floor, some cracked
Storage/Bedroom approx 2.5 x 3.5 with side facing window, tiled floor, some cracked

Loft Area:
One large room of 30m2 approx for conversion with a door facing onto the side garden, again tiled floor, not too bad condition

The house is basically an empty shell with water and electrics connected but in need of renovation. Having been left open for a few years, the interior has become a little dilapidated but nothing major. It has a very tall large attic which could be converted into either one or two bedrooms with bathroom, overlooking the chateau. The ground floor has a tiny storage/bedroom, kitchen/diner and a living room which opens out onto the roof of the extension. The living room floor tiles have been taken up by the previous owners and stacked on the roof of the extension – they intended to put railings round the roof and turn it into a terrace. You therefore need to put some kind of wood, tiles or panels down onto the existing floor supports in the living room. You would need to put in a staircase going up to the attic and down to the cellars.

There are steps down the side of the house to two nice sized cellars which could be turned into bedrooms, there is also the extension you see at the back which could be a lovely bright study or bedroom opening onto the garden.

The garden has a well and apparently its even got some water in it! The garden is large enough for a pool with room to spare - you could also make room for a driveway.

The windows and front door need replacing, also there are a couple of slipped roof tiles but we have been assured that the roof is sound. There is no roof insulation.

Mains drainage was due to be installed by the local Mairie in 2007 but we are not too sure if this actually took place the quote to install a fosse septique in 2003 was around 1400 euros.

Yearly taxes are less than 200 euros for taxe fonciere.

To the rear is a plot of land of 1350m2 – plot no. 776 - also for sale by the previous owner and to the right a neighbour with a larger house and established gardens. The surrounding area is quiet with detached housed in large gardens and some woodlands across the road.

Price: 70,000 Euros
Contact: jax1962@hotmail.com