Thank you for your comments Carole.

We relocated to S. Germany last summer where we are currently considering investing in Commercial Real Estate to supplement our income. (see my other post on the subject)

We had originally considered selling our holdings in the Deux-Sevres but there were so many properties on the market that it seemed to be the very worst possible time to sell. Since we had originally purchased in 1993 the property value (at the top of the market)had actually gone up nearly fourfold by the summer of 2007.

We found renters therefore, and the income from the property now just covers our monthly payments on the 15-year mortgage. Soon the mortgage will be paid off and we will be able to enjoy the income from it until the market becomes more buoyant.

To finance our future German investment we sold an appartment in Provence where the market has held up better. I hope to invest this cash in Germany where the yields are higher.

We determined the price of the appartment we sold in Aix by assuming that it was producing a yield of 3.8%. Yields there dropped as the values appreciated, the rate of rent increases lagging that of real estate appreciation...

All my best.

Neustria