Half interest in a Normandy cottage

A vendre - une demie maison

Our house in Normandy needs more energy and investment. We have bought it
free and clear, prepared the inside for improvements, bought construction
materials and tools, and now await a half-owner (time sharer) who will help
work on it and use it for six months a year.

About the house: It is a small two story Norman farmhouse two to three
hundred years old constructed of stone with a red tile roof. The main house
is two stories each about 17' x 40', with additional shed roofed rooms
(dependences) at either end. It has a cinder block garage, electricity, and
cold running water. Very soon it will have all amenities - electric kitchen,
two bedrooms, two baths, and central heat. The lot amounts to the footprint
of the house plus a 70' x 30' front yard, as well as a 70' x 35' garden
across the street, with a couple of fruit trees and a hand pumped well.

About the area: The house is in a little village sans boulanger or traffic,
an agricultural aggregation of twenty houses five kilometers from Sees,
which is half way between Argentan and Alencon. Sees is about 200 kilometers
west of Paris (2 ½ hours by car, 2 hours by train), and about 100 kilometers
due south of Caen, the English ferry, and the Normandy beaches. The house is
perched on a hill and looks down across agricultural fields to Sees, with a
view of the Norman cathedral there. The village is in the Orne department of
Basse Normandie, an area known for cider (rather than wine), cheese, dairy
products, and horses. Sees is a town of ten restaurants, six bakeries, and
two grocery stores. The railroad station, with service to Paris and the
Brittany coast, is about five miles from the house.

About our ideal partner: We would like to find a self-reliant person or
couple with time and resources to use the house as few as two and as many as
six months a year, someone comfortable speaking French and comfortable in
the country. A French teacher or Peace Corps veteran itching for a project
and looking for an untroubled spot to write his novel would be an ideal
partner. It will probably be five years or so before we're sufficiently
retired to use the place more than one or two months a year, so if you're
looking to live in the French countryside immediately for up to five years,
this could be your chance. We are two public radio types around fifty. If
you're a high roller looking for a chateau or a Bohemian seeking a cheap
garret in the Latin Quarter, chances are this will not be your cup of tea.
If, on the other hand, you're looking for a lovely quiet spot with
interesting neighbors in a charming and civilized countryside, our situation
may very well have appeal.

About the cost: We would like $28,000 for a half share in the house plus
$1,000 per year for taxes and upkeep. Your share, which you would be free to
sell or pass on to your heirs, would be one of two in a limited liability
corporation (LLC).

Contact: Dick at (206) 463-9593 or