The village of Courbefy in France is for sale – comprising 19 buildings – and all for just €330,000 (£278,000).It’s not a lot of money compared with British property prices – less than it would cost to buy a two-bedroom flat in Clapham, a four-bed semi in Bristol or detached villa 10 miles from Glasgow – but you get an awful lot for it.
Tennis courts, a swimming pool, stables, family homes and even a village hall were all put up for sale by judicial authorities in nearby Limoges – buyers have until Friday to get a bid in if they want to get their hands on it.
But so far, there have been no bids.
A sign of decline
The village, 30 miles from the city of Limoges, was once home to 200 people – it now has nothing by vegetation and is only visited by "thieves, ravers and squatters" one local told ‘La Figaro’ newspaper.
People started moving out in the 1970s as farming in the region declined, in the 1990s there was an attempt to rejuvenate Courbefy by targeting holidaymakers with restaurants and hotels but this failed. The last person moved out in 2008.
The village – close to a 13th century chapel – is now for sale after the man who bought it in 2003 with a view to turning it into a tourist hotspot went bankrupt, leaving debts of more than £400,000.
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The court of Limoges said that unless a bidder comes through by Friday, Credit Agricole bank will become the village’s owner.
“We couldn’t buy Courbefy back because it’s too big an investment for us,” explained Bernard Guilhem, deputy mayor Saint-Nicolas-Courbefy.“We already look after the recreation park and we cannot be everywhere,” he added. “This totally abandoned village breaks our hearts and we hope Credit Agricole will arrange something there again.”
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