Friday, may 26, 2006

Let's talk about money

When you hear, see or read about all those poor wretches, that have a second house or have emigrated, then there is always this airy attitude about finances. As a curious listener, you want to know everything about it, but not a word is spilled on the subject. Whoa... just plain lucky, we ran in to this dead cheap dump that we bought for a few tenners from a peasant, it was some hard work but we tidied it up and we will live happily ever after. All these stories make me sick to the stomach, it is impossible! If you know the prizes of these hovels in the South of France then these lucky people must have at least a hundred thousand euros at hand, because for less you won't find nothing less then a ruin.

Hovel 1

When Ruud and I still rented a pricey flat in Rotterdam, and from our monthly hard earned money we retained a deficit on our bank accounts, I thought: this cannot last like this. We work our butts of, earn a lot of money (in those days) and everything is spend on outdoor diners, holydays, parties. How could it be that our accountant from those days, a pathetic worm that lived in an apartment in a suburb, has a second home in France. That´s when I learned about top-mortgage. One has a house that's being evaluated higher than when you bought it, one can lend the difference and from that money one buys a second house. Just as easy.

Hovel 2

That was the situation then and it still is. Of course what nobody heard or saw was that Jan van Gurp needed his (mediocre) mathematic skills badly to keep a sight of his towering high costs of living. But at those days I didn't know yet. I thought: great idea, we buy a house and after a few years we sell it. And so it was done. We bought a house and sold it two years later. Not because we wanted, but because we had to due to the recession, that too was a lesson we learned. But we were lucky, the house was situated at the Kop van Zuid and had become worth much, much more in a few years time and so we hit jackpot. And now I myself have to say… pure luck.

Hovel 3

How rich we are, of course it is never enough for a house in the south of France. An additional mortgage, let me tell you right here, is easily arranged for by oneself and you certainly don't need a so called French native speaking mediator for this. Ruud and Jitze went together to France and raided the Credit Agricole with a lot of charm. With that one can get everywhere and almost anything in France.

posted by Ruud at 1:30 PM

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