chroniques d’une fraise

Getting a broker was definitely the right decision for me — just three days after he submitted an application to the best mortgage he could find for my profile, and one I was very happy with, the bank in question accepted. As of this afternoon I have money to buy my apartment! (Not yet signed […]

For the benefit of any bankers who want to send their clients running as fast as they can to competitors, here are a few quotes from my banker today. I wrote them down in French, so will give the originals and their translations.
After I asked whether it were possible to adjust monthly payments to account […]

Signing on my apartment is proving to be a great learning experience. I’ve always been shy, and dealing with all that surrounds such a major purchase, in a foreign country, for the first time ever anywhere, is not at all easy for me. I don’t have a partner to fall back on when I realize […]

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Loan offers much better than my worst-case scenario are coming in, and with the compromis de vente (sale agreement, a legally binding document for buyer and seller) signed by all parties, barring exceptional circumstances, the apartment will be mine! These photos are from […]

Last Saturday I stumbled via SeLoger.com onto a 45 square meter (480 square foot) apartment with an 18 square meter (200 square foot) covered terrace — with northern exposure, on a quiet side street, 200 meters/yards from a Nice-Sophia bus stop (!!!) and 300 meters/yards from a tram stop. The ad said it was in […]

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Photo of today’s lunar eclipse when it was total, as seen from my balcony. More of my eclipse photos, though this one is my personal favorite. All were taken with my Nikon D40 body and Imado 135mm f/2.8 prime lens; this one is […]

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I’m still recovering from my nasty flu bug, thus the reason for contemplating the plants on my balcony yet again. Also called stone pine, these trees are abundant in this part of France. Thanks to a commenter on my previous stone pine attempt, […]