½ûÂþÌìÌÃ

Hi Natalie,

Just saw this post so you are probably already connected to the Anglophones. If not, let me know and I'll connect you.

Dennis McCuistion

Hi Natalie, My friend has just moved to Pau and is struggling to meet people also.

Can you PM me so I can possibly introduce you both.

I would appreciate that

Are there any Americans in Pau on this site?  I am a retiring college professor and I will be moving to Pau next year and am having a bear of a time trying to find a place----looking for some advice

Thanks in advance----

christy

Hi Christie,

My husband and I bought an apartment in Pau seven years ago.  We have lived here full time for the last two years and part time the five years prior.  We would love to share any information with you that would help.  Are you looking to rent or buy?  Do you need input on the specific neighborhoods?  I'm available on whatsapp as well...

Theresa Brown

@Christy Woodward

hello, American expat here living in Pau. I used Seloger real estate tool to located our flat. Its similar to Zillow. But in any case, you will need to create a "dossier" which is basically a packet providing your work, income, and rental history information. I would suggest you select an agent to work with earlier than intended, the rental market is tight and expats are not first choice due to our income coming from the USA. Dare I say the buyers market is easier and more abundant????

Feel free to keep in touch, as we will be neighbors soon!

Bonnie from Texas but loving Pau 🇫🇷

@Christy Woodward

I agree totally with Bonnie (Bonnie, we should meet!).  Sites like Bonnie mentioned are very helpful for getting the lay of the land.  To get an agent (absolutely necessary)  we simply sent an email from the USA to several of the major agencies. Only one replied.  But he turned out to be amazing!  Sadly he passed due to an accident a few years ago or I would have provided his details.  Try contacting Credot Immobière, ORPI, or ERA.  If you speak French it will be much easier!   We did not at the time, but are slowly improving;-).  Also, if you are not fluent and purchase property, you will be required to have a translator at your purchase transaction meetings.  We were assigned a fantastic woman (American married to French man) who we would highly recommend.  She has been helpful in so many situations since then (health and tax related) where we needed language assistance.  I can provide her contact info.

Theresa

Ok

@Bonnie & Theresa,

Thank you both for replying----- Bonnie I am leaving Texas myself (----not soon enough either! )

I have used just about every site there is actually (seloger, bienici, lebon, etc, etc)  My spoken french is pretty gnarly thanks to my Texas twang but I can write and read amazingly well !  Bonnie, my dossier is complete and already to go, but I haven't any reason to share it with an agent yet----.

I am not bringing a car so I want to be in the city center.  I intend to buy a small apartment but the prospects of buying without physically being there are somewhat disarming----that said, I have made one offer in another city and we went into negotiations, but the sellers just wouldn't budge on their asking price which was far too high for the apartment----c'est la vie--I took this as a sign and turned my attention to Pau which was my alternative choice city.... I actually did the negotiations on my own but when we would have gotten to the point of actually signing the compromis de vente, I would have elected to get my own notaire for the obvious reason of being across the drink----

Are you all seeing any downturn in the market there regarding prices? I saw that the latest FNAIM report came out and said prices are continuing to fall and are down -6.3% for the region but they don't seem to have budged much in Pau that I can tell----maybe that is because of the student housing market driving investment rentals----I don't know.....

Anyway, enough of my musings---- is there anyplace you think I should avoid in the city center?  If you could offer any advice, I am happy to listen, of course, I can set up a google chat or a zoom if you think you would be willing to chat that way (or if you just want to hear a "southern twang" for a bit

Thanks for your willingness to help an ole gal out here....it is appreciated and I will happily take you up on that offer to meet when I get over and get settled----I have a house to sell and then I am out---

christy

@Bonnie & Cylde

Bonnie, I sent you a pm----I don't know how often you get online or if you receive notifications of these messages, but it is there waiting for you when you return

christy