Sharing France with you

Viewings Fast Pass

The property market in France is as hot as the weather right now, and this looks set to continue.

Our property consultants everywhere are dealing with unprecedented demand.

If you are 'on the ground' - or about to be, with an immediate intention to buy,

please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

and we'll do everything we can to get you in front of a property consultant ........and your new home.

Come and see us in Monflanquin!

There is something quite magical about the bastide towns of south west France. Perched on hills and dating back around 700 years, they punctuate the countryside and offer a wealth of fabulous architecture. One of our favourites has to be Monflanquin in Lot-et-Garonne.

Max Germa Immobilier has been a fixture of Monflanquin for many years and we were delighted when the company recently joined forces with Beaux Villages Immobilier.

Max and his assistant, Anne-Marie, have both now taken their planned retirement and we thank them for their efforts and wish them every happiness in the future.

There is a new team in the Monflanquin office who will uphold the values of service, quality and commitment that sit at the heart of both Max Germa and Beaux Villages.

Stop by and meet Fred Filliette, Iona Welvaert and Vanessa Hopkinsat the shop on the central square to discuss a property sale or purchase. They’d be really pleased to see you!

All the Max Germa properties for sale are now on the Beaux Villages website as part of an enhanced local portfolio. Start your search here.

Friendly faces everywhere

It’s that time of year when these sunny faces start popping up all over south west France. Throughout July and August you’ll see fields of them busily growing to provide seeds and oil. Nothing’s wasted - even the stems and leaves can go to make cattle feed.
There is a bit of an old wives tale that they turn their heads to follow the sun (hence the French name, tournesol or turn to the sun). When they are young the heads do track from east to west during the day, so there is a nugget of truth in there, but by the time they are flowering they are quite set in their way and direction.
Crops are rotated so the sunflowers don’t appear in the same fields each year. Each spring is a waiting game to see if this is going to be a year with sunflowers just over the garden fence or if we’ll have the pleasure of gently bowing silky heads of barley or the maize as high as an elephant’s eye.
We’re not ashamed to say we’re elated when we get a sunflower year! If you’d like these towering lovelies over the garden fence or just up the road, we’ve got thousands of country properties in rural areas for you to choose from.
Let us have your property spec and your travel plans and we’ll include sunflowers in the tour. Email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and our lovely team will get right back to you.

Village People

A village home can be the perfect property choice - a tiny town with the country on the doorstep.

Torn between town and country? Want the support of local resources and the companionship of a community around you, but still yearn for wide open spaces and peace and quiet? We think there is a way to have it all.

Village properties have been growing in popularity over the past 5 or more years and for very good reasons. It’s possible to have a taste of everything a bigger town can offer and, while a village won’t have the range of shops and commerce of a town, it has other things going for it that might swing the balance.

Beaux Villages, International Associate of Savills

Now more than ever it is essential to have a strong presence in the international market to attract buyers. Beaux Villages has long had an extensive global marketing strategy and we are delighted to have strengthened that through our relationship with Savills.

We chose Savills for their innovation, their brand values and their global reputation.
Savills elected to partner with BVI because we fit with their ethos of being ‘best in class’.

Anyone buying or selling with Beaux Villages will gain from this association which is firmly rooted in providing a quality service from mandate to completion.

Travelling to the UK from France

The British Embassy, Paris has published their latest guidance for those resident in France and travelling to the UK.

Many of you have asked in recent days and weeks about quarantine measures when travelling to the UK. This evening, the Home Secretary announced new measures starting on 8 June to guard against a second wave of coronavirus infections. They include 14 days’ self-isolation for anyone entering the UK, bar a short list of exemptions.
We’ve summarised the measures below but for more information, please visit www.gov.uk/uk-border-control

Why now?
At the start of the Covid crisis, enhanced monitoring was used on incoming flights from the worst-hit countries, e.g. China, Japan, Iran, Italy. Once the virus was spreading significantly within communities in the UK, the impact of putting in place additional border restrictions would have been negligible to the spread of the virus.
Now, as the transmission rate in the UK falls and the number of travellers arriving in the UK begins to increase in the coming months, imported cases may pose a larger threat as they could become a higher proportion of the overall number of infections in the UK and increase the spread of the disease.

What are the measures?
Contact locator form – arriving passengers will be required to fill this in to provide contact and travel information so they can be contacted if they, or someone they may have been in contact with develops the disease (NB: we’ll share the link here when it’s available);
Self isolation - passengers arriving in the UK will be required to self-isolate for 14 days and could be contacted regularly throughout this period to ensure compliance;
Enforcement - Anyone failing to comply with the mandatory conditions may face enforcement action, including a fine of £1000. Find out more here: www.gov.uk/uk-border-control
Spot checks - Border Force will undertake checks at the border and may refuse entry to any non-British citizen who refuses to comply with these regulations and isn’t resident in the UK. Failure to complete the form could result in a £100 fixed penalty notice. Public health authorities will conduct random checks in England to ensure compliance with self-isolation requirements.
These measures will be brought in from 8 June, and reviewed every three weeks to ensure they remain effective.