5 lifestyle properties in France that used to cost over £500k

TOULOUSE, France - Sept. 8, 2015 - PRLog -- North Tarn

Typical lifestyle property with built-in revenue in the form of two independent gites. It's an old fortified farmhouse dating back to the 17^th century with massive stone walls and solid beams. Totally renovated, central-heating, 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, office/study and a guest room downstairs. The gites are big – 2 and 3 bedrooms – and easy to let. The pool is a beautiful 12 metre affair with a new liner. Gardens and lawns with views over the surrounding countryside. Development potential lies in the old stone barn (with a new roof however) which could be turned into guest rooms or two more gites. Price : offers around €400k (£291k)

South Tarn

Another classic family home + two gites set-up in the region nearer to Toulouse : the Lauragais. This one has a beautiful old village just 300 yards down the road complete with auberge, bakery and castle. Only 35 minutes from Toulouse (and the airport) this gite complex operates all year round and has great potential for someone looking to run courses - yoga, languages, cuisine - for nearby urban-dwellers. The property is built on the site of a mediaeval monastery with a lot of old stonework hanging around, big garden with - unfortunately - a kidney-shaped pool. Still, there is central-heating throughout, no work of any kind to be done: just move in. Price: €420k (£305k)

Pyrenees

Hamlet with family home, two working gites and another cottage and outhouses ready for renovation. This is a very attractive property with a variety of potential uses. For the moment the couple who run it are very happy to take 10 weeks gite income and live quietly the rest of the year. It's near Bagnères-de-Bigorre, a spa town and, nearly always, a Tour de France stop. That should give you a few ideas. The 5 hectares of land include a number of mature walnut trees (organic walnuts retail for €8 the kilo here: do the math), a vast meadow and a lot of woodland. Central heating is by an industrial-sized wood-burning furnace. Fuel is, well, free. Asking price: €399k (£290k)

Pyrenees

Manor house and two gites on 1.2 hectares. Like most of the other gite properties in France, one reckons on one gite generating about €10k per year ... as long as there's a pool. And that's the case here, even half way up the mountain, in the unspoilt valley of the Neste, the quality of the accommodation and facilities attract punters all year round. The manor house - with its 7 bedrooms - could be used as a B&B to generate more income or simply as a splendid, roomy family home. Price: €307k (£223k)

Languedoc

Family home and one big 5-bedroomed gite with pool. This gite business is right in the centre of a tiny wine village. Buyers don't like village houses as a rule, fearing noise and neighbour problems ... but they're wrong. The houses give on to a very private back garden with views over the surrounding vines. The gite - a big 5 bedroomed affair - lets for €2500 per week. For we are in a Mediterranean climate where the sun shines more, and hotter! Carcassonne airport is just 25 minutes away, as is the region's main tourist attraction, the Citadel of Carcassonne. Price: offers around €420k (£305k)