Now that we had bought a home in Nice, it was time to visit Nice! See my previous post to understand that bit of lunacy, but after the holidays had passed we were able to carve out a quick week to go check out the home in January of 2023. Adrian and Ella had assured us that we still had time to back out if we really didn’t like the apartment. We packed our bags and got ready to head to France.
January in Nice seemed as good a time as any to visit. My research on the weather at this time of year seemed to indicate that it was likely to be sunny, with temps from 40-60 degrees F. We figured it would be less crowded than most other months and it would be the time to see the “least desirable weather”. We would plan to visit the major highlights of the area in between our few appointments to handle some real estate business. A great mixture to be sure!
Our travel day was uneventful and once we arrived in Nice we headed to the tram line 2 that left the airport directly and got us super close to our rental. We checked into that cute little Airbnb where our host was waiting with a bouquet of fresh flowers to great us. We were about a 10 minute walk from Vieux Nice, in the Port Lympia neighborhood of Nice. We had a charming little balcony although I wasn’t sure if we would use it with the current temps around 50F.
Our view of the Mediterranean and the yachts of the rich and famous was truly surreal to take in. I loved the vibe here! We headed out straight away to go in search of our apartment and get some nourishment. We walked along the road from the port to Old Nice, called the Promenade des Anglais. It’s here on this famous avenue that we caught our first glimpse of the pebble beaches we had been anxious to see. It did not disappoint!
We walked about 2 blocks in from the beach and found our future street. Old Town Nice was so incredibly cute. Tons of restaurants and shops lined the sidewalk-like narrow streets. The delightful market of Cours Seleya was particularly close as well. This pedestrian only zone is very charming, and looked exactly as my search through Apple Maps had appeared. We looked up and found our balcony and broke into huge grins. This home was going to be so special for us!
Over the course of the week, we were able to meet up with Ella and the seller’s realtor to visit the apartment and get the lay of the land. We also went with Ella to the Notaire’s office to complete some important purchase documents and succession paperwork, as the French laws of inheritance differ from the American laws. Writing a will by hand seemed unusual but that’s how it’s done in France. We also met with a mortgage broker to iron out some of the specifics of obtaining a French mortgage. As many times as we had done a mortgage in America with our real estate experience, the process was certainly different here. For example, most loans were between 15 and 25 years, not 30 as seen in the US.
The apartment was definitely a great find, but huge amounts of TLC were needed, as we were well aware. Seeing everything in person added a new level of understanding. No floor or wall was level, the electrical outlets were something from the 1960’s in the best case scenario. We could only imagine the plumbing was in bad shape as well. But the bones of the home were great. The light was surprisingly bright for the Old Town. The location could not be beat. These were all things we knew added value to our future home. We had made a good decision and agreed that we would go ahead with the purchase process. Cheers to us!
Here is a video of our first in-person visit to the apartment-
Stay turned for the next installment of the blog, where I will detail the places we visited and the restaurants we loved!