Some people look at property for sale in France and go all soft and dreamy. You can understand it really. From chic apartments in Paris or Cannes to great old solid stone barns covered in climbing flowers in the middle of nowhere, there’s something for everyone. Dreaming aside though, is French property a good investment or could you end up loosing your chemise?

The answer to that would have to depend on your definition of investment. As a purely financial investment looking for the best returns, French property is not what it was. Frankly, it hasn’t been for some time. The days when you could buy an old ruin for $20,000 or a habitable house for $40,000 are long gone, as are returns of 20% plus per year.

However, if you love France and are looking at property for sale in France as either somewhere that you are going to renovate or somewhere you are going to spend holidays then yes, for long term security and modest growth your money will very likely be well invested and you should get much pleasure from your purchase.

In Bulgaria, every Ivan, Dimitar and Georgi wants to be an estate agent. Doesn’t leave much room for a Nottingham boy with a knack for spotting good land. But with a new avalanche of English property buyers about to hit the market and most of the cash destined for the Black Sea Coast, it’s all business for the agents, but are the buyers getting the most from their Bulgaria property investment?

Why here? It’s not just the good value of the land. Take a walk through a blizzard in Sofia, the capital city, like I did last winter. The snow is falling thick and fast and cars fly past me down the boulevard seemingly trying to break the world land speed record. Realising that I have a free afternoon I turn my head and through the falling snow and over the rooftops I can make out the looming white shape of Vitosha mountain. Let’s time this. Forty-nine minutes later I am looking down on the city with a snowboard attached to my feet flying down the mountain at death defying speed. What a place to live; work in the morning, snowboard in the afternoon. A lazy countryside, yet more rugged mountains and quaint villages lie a few kilometres beyond. Beaches stretch along the coast further out.

Of course there is more to Bulgaria than a few mountains and beaches. The countryside is varied and spectacular, littered with pretty villages. The people are warm and friendly and will invite you to drink a rakya with them, not caring that you don’t speak a word of each others language. On semi-major roads it is not uncommon to see a top of the range BMW overtaking a horse and cart. Eating out in a fresh seafood restaurant is cheap and the fresh fruit you find at road side stalls along the highway is some of the most delicious I have ever tasted. The country is also a major exporter of quality wine.

Finding reliable people who provide property services in France for expats that speak English can sometimes be a little tricky. There are plenty of people who have moved to France that offer very competitively priced property services of all types and there are also a reasonable number of English speaking French tradesmen who are also happy to provide a service to the expat community.

This is particularly true of interior designers and soft furnishing suppliers who lets face it are going to be involved in the styling of your house or other property and influence the image you present to the outside world whether that is family, friends, guests or business associates. Bottom line is that your home, holiday accommodation or business premises say a lot about you, and its important that you get the presentation and image you want.

The first issue you need to resolve is how to find them, this is not so difficult if you look in the right places and there are a number of expat websites that provide and maintain directories of local businesses by region in France.