Your perfect ski property in France is within reach. At SnowOnly, we've broken down what can seem like an overwhelming purchase process into four manageable steps.
As the largest dedicated ski property portal, we're sharing our 20+ years of expertise through a detailed series exploring each crucial phase of your purchase journey.
In our previous article, we outlined the four essential steps to buying your ski home: property search, financing, currency exchange, and legal processes.
Now, we're diving deep into that crucial first step - finding your perfect property. At SnowOnly, we're uniquely positioned to help, with our portal dedicated exclusively to ski properties.
We offer free consultations to understand your needs and can connect you with the most reputable estate agents and developers in the ski property industry.
From daydreaming to actively searching
You may have pictured a pretty chalet surrounded by snow-topped mountains for years. It might have five bedrooms, roomy enough for your most favourite people to stay. Perhaps it has a hot tub on a terrace, where you can bathe in bubbles while drinking bubbles and gaze out to the beautiful setting.
Going from daydreaming to unpacking your belongings in your chalet can be quite a journey, but it’s one that SnowOnly can guide you seamlessly through. Here’s how.
Free consultation with SnowOnly
At any stage of your buying journey, you can have a free consultation with us. Whether you’d prefer a video chat, call or email, the core of our communication will remain the same: we listen to you. With over 20 years of experience in the business, we can give advice about resorts and properties.
Plus, we can put you in touch with reliable experts to assist with every aspect of your sale. For example, when it’s time to turn transfer money overseas, we can connect you with Smart Currency Exchange, who can protect your budget against fluctuating currency rates.
Searching for ski properties made simple
Most property portals are based on geographical areas – but not at SnowOnly. We solely feature ski properties on our portal. This means that we are the only place that you need to go if you are looking for a ski home in the mountains, which saves you time and money on other sites.
No trawling through the internet "favouriting" properties, only to realise the mountains can just be seen in the far-off distance from a terrace.
Plus, if you know that you want to buy a ski home but do not feel set on the area yet, that doesn’t matter – you can browse ski properties for sale in all major French ski resorts. We also list properties in the United States, Italy, Austria and beyond.
Fine-tuning your search with our property portal
We currently have over 8,000 properties listed in 267 resorts in 17 countries. If those numbers feel a little overwhelming, we also have great filters for narrowing down your search. As well as being able to filter by country, resort, budget, bedrooms, price, property type (apartment, villa), we have a list of must haves.
These include security system, mountain view, furnished, pool and more.
It can be helpful to make a list of essential and desirable features for your property, especially if you are on a tighter budget. For example, sacrificing a hot tub for another bedroom.
Agent or developer?
While many buyers long for a rustic-looking chalet with plenty of history and quirks, others prefer to be the very first person to slide the key in the lock of their ski home.
There are different perks to buying resale or a new build. For example, new builds can come with tax benefits and the buyer may be able to have some input in the design of a home. If you’re unsure about which suit you best, we can talk you through both options.
Fortunately, we can connect you with both estate agents with an expertise in the resale market and developers with excitingly modern ski homes. Head here for more information on developments.
Viewing trip
Once you have consulted with us, connected with an estate agent or developer, and "favourited" some properties online, you may want to book a viewing trip to see properties in person. We would recommend going when you are financially ready to buy, in case you see a home that feels right and want to make an offer.
As buying an overseas ski property is not as straightforward as purchasing one in your home country, we would advise doing as much research as you can before you go. A good estate agent will be able to answer all sorts of questions on the area, from where the best international school is to a guide to the transport connections.
If you’re buying in a ski resort you’re familiar with, it might be a good idea to visit properties in the summer to see if you love the area as much without the snow.
If you are considering buying a new development, you may want to ask to see a completed project to get a feel for what to quality to expect from the developer.
Ready to move forward with your ski property purchase?
Of course, buying a property isn’t just about picking one – you’ve got to finance it too. Next week, we will be covering the French mortgage landscape, explaining how to secure the best rates as an overseas buyer and what documentation you'll need to prepare.
Want the complete roadmap for buying your ski property? Download our comprehensive buyer's guide. It walks you through all four steps of the purchase process, highlighting where expert guidance can make all the difference and how SnowOnly connects you with the right professionals at each stage.
