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In the glow of mountain snow...

01.03.2007
Author: Peter McBride
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Winter holiday in the prestigious ski resorts - very expensive. Private chalet in the French Alps or in Switzerland has always been associated with luxury - and indeed, the cost of such property can not be high. However, in many other countries, a home for the winter holidays, in no way inferior in quality and Alpine also entitled to be called a luxury, it is much more affordable.
Usually people imagine luxury real estate in the mountains as a magnificently equipped spacious chalet in the Alps, with polished natural pine floors, a huge fireplace with burning logs and, of course, with a magnificent view of the mountains. Perhaps all these characteristics are not so easy to find in one house, but the luxury real estate market is so good because it always has a sufficient number of great offers, each of which has its own merits. Although real estate in the mountains is perceived primarily as a haven for skiers, owning it opens up many other opportunities for the owner. Europeans are happy to buy mountain cottages for mountaineering, rock climbing or just spending their summer holidays in the middle of a magnificent landscape. For the rich and famous, Switzerland has long been popular as a ski resort for the rich and famous, and there are plenty of luxury chalets to choose from. However, there are strict restrictions on the ownership of real estate by foreigners in the country, and if in recent years certain indulgences have been introduced for citizens of the EU member states, it is still difficult for Russians and citizens of the CIS countries to become the owners of Swiss houses. Swiss Property Sales has launched two new chalets on the market at Les Margueronnes, located in Villars. This town is not only a great winter resort, but also great for summer vacations. Here you can go mountaineering, hang gliding, walk, ride horses, swim, play tennis and golf. The infrastructure of the resort allows you to find something to do for every taste. A four-bedroom house in Les Margueronnes costs ˆ 1.5 million, and a six-bedroom house costs ˆ 200,000 more. The chalets are built and equipped to the highest quality standards, but the main advantage of the complex is its convenient location, just a few minutes from the ski lifts and at the same time in the center of the town. The ski slope ends just a few hundred meters from the complex, so the owners have the opportunity to finish the descent almost at the door of their house. Another undoubted advantage of the complex is a magnificent panoramic view of the plains and the Dents du Midi mountain range opening from the windows. In the ski resort of Verbier, located at an altitude of 1,500 meters, Investors in Property plans to build 15 chalets with four and five bedrooms. The houses are designed in a contemporary style using stone, wood, steel and glass. The chalet offers magnificent panoramic views, including the Matterhorn, one of the most famous peaks of the Alps. The chalet can be purchased both as a second home and as an investment project. In this case, the developer invites buyers to conclude an agreement for renting the house to tourists, which will bring a stable guaranteed income. French chic Unlike Switzerland, where wealthy buyers are mainly offered spacious chalets, in France luxury real estate in the mountains is usually apartments. In the complex L'Aquila in the ski resort of Val d'Isere, you can buy apartments with one, two or three bedrooms, at a price of 510,000 euros. The apartments are very spacious, which is generally uncharacteristic for real estate in the French Alps, and yet they are decorated in a traditional style with a stone and wood facade. The apartments offer breathtaking views of the mountain peaks. The construction of the complex is carried out by a well-known company in France, Pierre et Vacances, which guarantees a high quality of work. Apartments in the complex can be bought under the leaseback scheme, in which case the property is transferred to the management of a developer company, which rents it out and pays the owner a guaranteed income. There are six weeks of the year left for the owner's personal use. Since the leaseback program has government support, the French government refunds to its participants the VAT that is paid on the purchase of real estate in new buildings. Luxury in the New World Those looking to buy huge luxury homes in the mountains are best served by North American resorts. Although winter holidays and skiing are the main reasons why people buy real estate here, the owners are provided with a variety of outdoor activities at any time of the year. Luxury options for upscale real estate are offered by one of America's popular winter resorts - Aspen, Colorado. Here for sale is a magnificent family-style house with seven bedrooms and a living area of 500 sq. m, located in the middle of a pine forest. The house is well equipped, it has a terrace and a beautifully landscaped garden. Morris and Fyrwald of Aspen put the house on the market for $ 12.5 million. A house in the mountains of North America can be bought not only in ski resorts. Chalet with a total area of 230 sq. m, built of wooden logs with polished carved walls and pine floors, can be bought for $ 900,000 - in the California residential complex Pine Mountain Club. The cottage has three bedrooms, three bathrooms, a large equipped kitchen and a huge hall with a wooden terrace around. The house has all modern conveniences and air conditioning. The complex has its own golf course. Luxury with a Perspective The word “luxury” in relation to Bulgaria sounds rather unusual and even strange, but it is in the winter resorts of this country that residential complexes are being built that fully meet the needs of the most demanding buyers. Construction in such popular places as Bansko and Pamporovo began much later than on the Black Sea coast, and therefore the developers took into account the mistakes of the seaside projects. It is not surprising that the average cost of 1 sq. m in mountain resorts higher. In Bansko, chalets with three bedrooms and a sauna, located in the Redenka Golf and Ski Club complex, cost from 193,000 euros. The houses are fully equipped and furnished with high speed wireless internet and cable TV. The complex has a well-developed infrastructure, here you can not only ski and play golf, but also swim, play tennis and do other sports. As in most other mountain resorts in Bulgaria, the houses are not built in the traditional Alpine style from wooden logs, but in a more modern manner, with a monolithic reinforced concrete frame. The chalets are small in size, with an area of a little about 130 sq. m. The layout of the houses is standard and may not be suitable for lovers of open space and panoramic views. Bulgarian real estate, of course, does not have even a small fraction of the prestige that is characteristic of the best mountain resorts in France and Switzerland, but the prospects for development along the Balkan slopes are amazing - and not least of all this is due to global warming, which is not felt so strongly in the mountains of Bulgaria like in the Alps. It is likely that the price of real estate in the complexes, which are now being sold for 2,000 euros per 1 sq. m, in the coming years will grow significantly.
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