House of great character

REDUCED PRICE

House of great character for sale in the Aude

A beautifully renovated old house (circa 1850) situated in a small town/village 20 km south of Limoux. The house is some 210 square metres and is over three floors.

It consists of a large sitting room, large kitchen/dining room, 4/5 bedrooms and three bathrooms.

Unusually for the centre of a small town the house has a small but pretty and quiet garden with a summer kitchen and dining room fully equipped. Most of the garden is covered in wooden decking for minimal maintenance and is dominated by the large palm and the ancient wisteria. There is a timed hydration system for the potted plants.

Entry is from a quiet "petite rue" just off the main square.

Spacious hallway, (1.3m x 8m) with chestnut beams and halogen downlighters.

Kitchen (4m x 5m) entered from the hallway. Newly tiled and fully equipped country style kitchen with all modern appliances and large area for dining and beautifully restored chestnut beams. There is a small utility room(1.7m x 1.2m) off the kitchen with washing machine and tumbler drier. There is also a  boiler room (2.6 x 2.2m) providing plenty of extra storage.

Sitting room (4.7m x 5.7m) A fine sized room of great character with exposed chestnut beams.  It is accessed by double glass doors from the entrance hallway. The room has the original tiling on the floors but is carpeted.  There is a red marble fireplace with a working wood burning stove. It has two windows looking on to the garden and glass door which gives access to the garden. A large cupboard is currently used as office space and the room is equipped for terestrial and sky free view television.

Small downstairs toilet off the entrance hallway.

Wooden stairs with inset halogen lighting in the risers leading to first floor landing with original teracotta tiles.

Bedroom 1 (5.7m x 2.7m) with exposed chestnut beams and original teracotta tiles and one window overlooking the garden. This room has an en suite shower room (2.2m x 1.5m) with toilet ,sink, shower and heated towel rail.

Bedroom 2 (4.6m x 3.2m) is a very light and airy room which has a black marble fireplace, original terracotta tiles and chestnut beams. It has two windows overlooking the garden.

Bedroom 3 (4.3m x 3.2m) is of a similar size and the same original tiling and chestnut beams. It has one window overlooking the quiet  street to the front of the house.

Family bathroom This is an unusually large bathroom with a black marble fireplace,terracotta  tiles and chestnut beams. It has a slipper bath, toilet and sink and one window to the front of the building.

Wooden staircase leading to top floor landing with original terracotta tiles.

Half way up the stairs is access to attic storage area (5.7m x 4m)

Bedroom 4 (3.8m x 3.5m) with coombed ceiling looks to the front of the house with one window, terracotta tiles and chestnut beams.

Dressing room or bedroom 5 is with en suite shower room (7.2m x 2.5m). It has the same chestnut beams and terracotta tiles. Currently it is a dressing room and shower room combined but could easily be changed into a fifth bedroom with en suite facility.

The house has oil fired central heating (new boiler Sept 06) and was rewired and replumbed in 2007. Great care has been taken when decorating to retain the great character of this spacious and comfortable old house.

Esperaza Esperaza sees itself as a small town but is really more of a big village situated between Limoux and Quillan.  It is about 50 minutes drive from Carcassonne airport, 1hour 15 mins from Perpignan and 1hour 30 mins from Toulouse. It has all the facilities one needs, Post office, banks, bakeries, supermarkets, doctors, school and bars and restaurants.

It is a quiet town apart from a Sunday which hosts a big local market and is really the highlight of the week.  Whilst the town is quiet there is plenty to do in the beauriful area with, cycling, walking, riding, canoeing, rafting, sailing and skiing. The area is steeped in history, particularly the Cathars, and is awash with spectacular castles, tranquil monastries and imposing churches.The Spanish border is in 1 hour 30 mins away as is the Med. There are a number of decent and some excellent restaurants within a 6km radius.  There are three bars in the town all within 150 m from the front door and the boulangeries are even nearer. Whilst Esperaza does not boast any great restaurants it does have two pizza houses, a creperie, and the Cafe de la Gare serves excellent bistro fare.

There is a thriving English speaking community in Esperaza and it is home to a great many working artists who exhibit regularly.  The locals are both friendly and welcoming.