Wanted: Property in St Gervais

After a relatively quiet start to the year, the property market in the French Alps is really starting to take off again.

Here at Ascendant, June and July have been extremely busy months for sales, especially in the Evasion Mont Blanc resorts of St Gervais and Les Contamines.

We now urgently need new properties to add to our portfolio, for serious international buyers keen to complete their purchase in time for the 2009/2010 winter season. We are looking for good quality one, two, three and four bedroom apartments in St Gervais and Les Contamines as well as chalets close to the resort centres and ski lifts.

If you are thinking of selling an apartment or chalet in the Alps, please contact us for more information about how Ascendant can help. Ascendant is a fully-registered French estate agency, based in the Alps and managed by a bilingual British team. We have a large database of serious clients looking to purchase property throughout the French Alps and our easy-to-navigate website is heavily supported by on-line and press advertising. In addition to our international customer base, our network of selected partners in resort enables us to effectively market your property to the local French purchaser.

Running a business in the Alps

For many people the thought of running a ski chalet in the French Alps is the ultimate job; a tantalising dream of being able to live and work in a beautiful part of the world and enjoy the surroundings throughout the whole ski and summer seasons.

In recent years this dream has become a reality for many British ex-pats and there is a thriving industry of privately-owned chalets and rental properties out there catering for tourists throughout the winter and summer months. Occasionally these properties come up for sale; mostly due to changes in personal circumstances or the pursuit of new and exciting projects in the local area. Each chalet for sale is an exciting opportunity for someone to take over the reins and make the move to France; to be self-employed, financially independent and to make the most of the fabulous quality of life in the mountains.

After a quieter winter buying season British buyers have recently started to return to the area in higher numbers and property prices have stabilised. If you are in the market for a ski chalet to run for guests this is an excellent time to snap one up, before prices start to rise.

We have a selection of properties that are either currently being operated as successful chalet businesses or that have been built with this purpose in mind. As a starting point have a look at the properties below in the Portes du Soleil area of the region. As well as two very spacious chalets which offer a huge amount of accommodation, including private quarters for the chalet hosts and at a reasonable price, we have a fabulous newly constructed property that was built with holiday guests in mind in central Morzine.

14-bed chalet in SAint Jean d'Aulps

7-bed chalet in Saint Jean d'Aulps

5-bed chalet in central Morzine

If you are planning to make the move to France to buy a ski property to run as a business then please get in touch to find out more about how we can help you achieve your dream.

Special offer in Les Contamines!

Work is now well underway on an exciting new apartment residence in the village centre of Les Contamines-Montjoie, a resort which is surely one of the best kept secrets in the northern French Alps. With just 4 apartments remaining, now is a great time to view and take advantage of a special offer of 299,000 euros for a spacious 2-bed apartment of 50m2. With reduced notaires fees of approximately 2.5% and a 10-years builder's guarantee, this high-quality residence is a real gem in the local ski property market.

Les Contamines is located in the Evasion Mont Blanc ski domain, set against the stunning backdrop of Mont Blanc, and is renowned for its high quality snow cover, quiet slopes and suitability for winter sports enthusiasts of all levels. The resort is also busy in summer, with an array of activities on offer and some beautiful Alpine scenery to be enjoyed.

The village started out as a pretty Savoyard farming community and despite expansion in recent years Les Contamines has successfully retained its charm and character. Les Contamines is nestled in a valley surrounded by stunning mountain peaks and alpine scenery. Lying on the famous "Tour de Mont Blanc" walking route, it is the last community between the French-Italian borders and is also on a pilgrimage route due to the old church of Notre Dame and an ancient monastery clinging to the mountain side high above the valley. This is an area of the Alps where you can still see working Savoyard farms operating using traditional techniques (the other day I saw a farmer loading up a wooden hay cart drawn by a huge cart horse).

Whilst retaining its sense of history, the centre of Les Contamines has a good selection of restaurants, cafes, bars and shops and is an ideal holiday destination for couples and families. Just outside the village there is a large activity park, with a sailing and swimming lake, archery, horse-riding and an acro-branching centre amongst other activities. It is a popular resort in both summer and winter; with a good mix of French and international tourists visiting the area and property in Les Contamines has excellent dual-season rental potential.

The new apartment residence has a traditional alpine design, perfectly in-keeping with the beautiful surroundings. It is made up of 16 high quality apartments, of which just 4 remain, and is scheduled for completion in autumn 2009. Prices include fully equipped kitchens and bathrooms; private garages are also available at extra cost. All the village amenities are within an easy 5 minute walk of the development and the main lifts are only 2-3 minutes away by shuttle bus (or about 15 minutes on foot).

To view details of the 4 remaining apartments, click on the links below:

1-bed apartment

2-bed apartment

3-bed apartment

3-bed penthouse apartment

To view other ski and summer property for sale in Les Contamines and Evasion Mont Blanc visit our Buy Property pages.