Hi claydon. I skied Vercorin last winter. It's part of Val D'Anniviers ski area. The road to Vercorin I thought was narrow and bumpy,(for the Anniviers), but I liked the ski area for it's tree lined pistes, and rather nice restaurant at Cret du Midi. I'm buying elsewhere in the immediate area, so have a basic knowledge of the prices. It seems a bit high, but may be a luxury property. As with anywhere in Valais, investment is for the long term, it's 10 years before you can sell on. My suggestion is for you to contact one of the Estate Agents in the Anniviers and go for a long weekend to look at the area.

Hi ski fan. Thanks for your reply. I thought 370 000chf seemed reasonable compared to other similar type properties in the Valais. Could only get a one bed in Leukerbad for the same price although it came with a 5 year 12 000 chf rental guarantee. Have seen another ptoperty in Vercorin, 3 bed 400 000chf with permit. What are the pros and cons of buying with permit or from new? Any purchase would be as a long term investment so the permit issue might not be that important. Plan to visit mid-October - do you have the details of any estate agents in Anniviers? Any comments/thoughts most welcome.

Regards Claydon

Re Vercorin, I've stayed there and there is more than one road up to the village from Sion (takes bout 25 mins) and it certainly wasn't bumpy. As for prices, compared to St Luc and Zinal they are very similar and certainly not over priced. The village also offers probably the best views of the main 5 villages.

As well as size and luxurious nature of the property, you have to factor in location and I know the property Claydon mentions is right next to the lifts.

Ski Fan I'd like to add, you are partly wrong about the 10 years. The 10 year rule was repealed earlier this year and reduced back to 5 years, which was backdated to 2006 for all villages in Valais.

That clock starts ticking once you receive your permit. However if the permit takes 3,4,5 years to come through etc then it means you can't sell for 8,9 or 10 years. Hence you are partly right dependant on what the wait time is for a permit in the village you are buying in.

The are extreme circumstance where people can sell before, such as a Death, Divorce, Insolvency etc and a special case is made to the Canton by the Notary. Under these circumstances the property has to be sold at the original purchase price and any profit from Capital Appreciation is lost.

Hope this helps!

Topper T is right that the 10 year rule is now 5 years for onward sale.

Is property in the Anniviers cheaper than property in the 4 valleys (Nendaz, veysonnaz etc)? Seems cheaper than what I'm buying at pracondu - 441000CHF for 63m2 plus 5 m2 balcony, but perhaps is because of the smaller ski domain?

What is the ski domain around Vercorin? Am I right in assuming that if you buy a property with a permit then you are in a position to sell on immediately should that be necessary? Any purchase by myself would be for the long term so like I said previously not really sure that it is an issue. Does Topper T know the time wait for permits in Vercorin? I am quite attracted to the price of the Vercorin new build 2 bed at 370 000chf. Obviously need to visit the area but it sounds like the area ticks a lot of boxes. Has anyone visited/considered Leukerbad? What is the skiing like in Leukerbad compared to Vercorin?

Thanks to all for replying - all very interesting and helpful - keep it coming please!

Claydon

Topper T, thanks for the info about the 10 year rule changing back...again. It was 5 years when I joined the list, and my solicitor does not communicate much!

claydon, perhaps try contacting Anniviers Immobilier, situated in Grimentz.If they can't help, then they will know someone who can, since they are a local family.

TopperT, we are probably talking about different roads. The main road up from Chippis may be fine, however the road between Vercorin and connecting internally within the Anniviers at St Jean/Mayoux I feel was both narrow and bumpy this year, when compared to the main Anniviers access road to Vissoie. My definition of narrow is not getting 2 cars to pass easily, and some rock debris on the road.
EASON, if you are happy in the 4 valleys, you will hate the Anniviers

Hi ski fan - no worries, we bought in 2005 also so like you are on the waiting list for the permit. Reason I know its reduced is I sell properties there. Not saying anymore as I'll get this thread removed.

Eason, my suggestion is go check out the Val D'Anniviers before you buy. The whole area is stunning and its where the Swiss tend to head to ski so while rentals with Europeans may be lower, you'll get good returns against capital invested.

Prices are lower in the Val D'Anniviers than the 4 Valleys because its still relatively undiscovered and as such land prices are lower.

Also if you want to ski the 4 Valleys, we've driven from Vercorin to Nendaz and Vercorin to Les Collons in approx 45 mins. It will mean buying a different ski pass but its very easy to get to.

As for property prices, Vercorin tends to be cheaper than St Luc and Zinal is cheaper than both. Grimentz is pretty much closed to non Swiss though know of two UK agencies selling apartments there for non Swiss. It is however more expensive than the other 3 villages and I don't personally like Grimentz as its too boxed in by the mountains.

If you buy a property with a permit you cant sell immediately in Valais. You still have to wait 5 years, but you don't have the added time of waiting for the permit.

Hope this helps! Steve.

TopperT, I would agree that rental returns are strong in the Anniviers. A Scots friend who purchased a 50sqm slopeside apt in Grimentz, has only one week remaining available in the coming winter.
Unlike you, I loved Grimentz, though found Zinal dark and hemmed in by the mountains. The lift company RMA reported 6% increase in turnover last winter, and is currently looking for new investors. Additionally I have been told that they are going ahead with the Zinal/Grimentz link. AFAIK the land opposite the Co-op is the preferred site.

EASON, this english language blog will give you a good taste of the skiing and terrain around the area, with lots of photos. No, it's not mine, he's way better

My thanks to orka for providing a very useful link to an Estate Agents' blog within the Anniviers. I found the pdf's of newspaper articles most useful, and spent most of yesterday linked to a well known translation site, catching up on the news of developments.It was particularly interesting to read about the additional commune's now at risk of moritorium or other restriction, as foreign buyers have switched villages, to beat the ban.

One of the things that I'd emphasise is how limiting it could be if your location isn't connected to a larger ski area (like Veyzonnaz is to the 4 Valleys, or Champery is to the Portes du Soleil). I do like many of the self-contained resorts like Ovronnaz and, in the summer, the lack of connection isn't such a big deal. But if you're thinking of returning regularly, then just be sure that you'll be happy. The driving to another resort is OK every so often, but it can be a hassle, and means that you have to wait for the last person in your group to arrive at the end of the day.

msej449, although each village's own ski area may look small, the Anniviers is linked by free ski buses in winter which hub in Vissoie,and shuttle between Grimentz and Zinal. Additionally 2 of the resorts are linked in one direction on skis (subject to ability and conditions), and St Luc and Chandolin are linked in both directions and also by bus.But yes, if you have basic ski skills one resort may feel limiting. I think that I'm likely to spend the next 10 years just discovering the places to go on skis in the Anniviers. By comparison I looked at Anzere, which keeps on promising to link with Crans-Montana, and the south facing aspect swung my decision against the village.

Have to agree with Skifan about Anzere, very nice for a sun tan but not for an extended ski season which is why we went with La Tzoumaz for the north facing aspect as well as the good (and soon to be improved) links over to Verbier. I think we can also drive, if the ploughs do their work, around to Nendaz/Veysonnaz without going down to the valley floor and back up so all in it's a good location for us. As Dave says, the odd day trip in the car for a change of scenery is great (we once drove from Chamonix to Verbier in little more than an 1.5 hours to ski Mont Fort a few years ago) but the links in the 4 Vallees do it for us. Best wishes all and here's hoping for early premier neige and an extended season.

Ruddsyboy

I also like the little villages of the val d’annivers in winter and especially in sommer because of the charming nature
The promising link between Anzere and Crans Montana is not for soon because the skicompany of Crans montana has said that it will invest in the infrastructure of today because last season was not good for the skicompany there.They will discuss the link only after a succesfull launch of the first project of 1500 beds in Anzere and that will take several years.

Changing the direction slightly does anybody know anything about the skiing at St Gervais? It is a beautiful town - full of character with a good bit of skiing (apparantly) and only 20 minutes from Chamonix.

Thanks Ruddsy. I don't think there will be much to see on my site yet. Appreciate the offer.

It would be good to talk off-line and get your view from your visit. Am due to call Dieter today anyway.

Thanks Topper T, ski fan, msej449. I think I'm too far along with Nendaz to contemplate changing horses now!

A few technical points for anyone on here buying at pracondu - and apologies to everyone else. There are a number of points in the documentation which you may want to query:
1) warranties -
The Savills briefing note is express that there are build guaranties for 2 years for hidden defects, 5 years for hidden defects, and 10 years for deliberately concealed defects. The legal documents don't give effect to this - see article 8 acte de vente. Genvalco has confirmed that this is the intention and you may wish to check with the notaire that this is reflected in the documents.

2) indexing of holiday credit- the legal documents suggest that only the cash element of the rent is indexed. I understand that the notaire has obtained written confirmation that the holiday credit is also indexed. You may also want this confirmation.

3) insurance - the clauses first proposed (used for Pracondu 1, I believe) were not satisfactory, and Genvalco proposed some new clauses - if your insurance provisions are in 9.1 to 9.3 of the bail
then you probably have the new clauses. I am still not happy with them as in the event of e.g. the building burning down, Alpvision would get the insurance to rebuild, but would not be bound to pay rent until the property was lettable, unless it had insurance cover for that. The rental payments should be covered by Alpvision's insurance as standard, but that is not in the legal documentation. You may want to ensure that you get this confirmation.
Of course, there may be other points which I have missed.

Good luck, and hope to meet some of you in Nendaz.

quote:

Originally posted by djf:
Thanks Ruddsy. I don't think there will be much to see on my site yet. Appreciate the offer.

It would be good to talk off-line and get your view from your visit. Am due to call Dieter today anyway.

Not sure why my reply yesterday hasn't appeared yet? Just let Dieter know you want our email or give him yours to pass on and hopefully we can discuss in 10 days or so.

Best wishes

Ruddsy

The building at Pracondu is still continuing. My friend was there at the end of august and says the building on pracondu 2 is up to the top floor. His photos are on his pracondu page in google groups.

Is it advisable to have a swiss will dealing with swiss property (bank accounts and property) or will an English Will dealing specifically with swiss property be recognised in switzerland?

quote:

Originally posted by EASON:
Is it advisable to have a swiss will dealing with swiss property (bank accounts and property) or will an English Will dealing specifically with swiss property be recognised in switzerland?

We have just made wills to cover our worldwide assets actually, although we are not resident in the UK or Switzerland. We altered our existing wills on advice from a Swiss Notaire (not the one who did the conveyancing on our plot) by inserting a clause that "I direct that this my said last will and any codicil made hereto shall be construed and take effect exclusively according to the law of.....(presumably UK in your case?)" We were also advised to include a clause to say that our domicile is were we live and nowhere else and that we don't intend to have a domicile anywhere else (ie Switzerland). The advice was by doing this our wills could be admitted to probate in Switzerland and would be governed by the law of our domicile and not Switzerland. As always, DYOR, as there may be other implications (tax etc.) in your own country which might mean you'd be better making a specific swiss will - in our case this isn't required. Hope that helps!

Ruddsyboy

Good points made by Eason and Ruddsy. It had never crossed my mind. Must phone the lawyer tomorrow!

Thanks Ruddsy - very helpful.

quote:

Originally posted by EASON:
Thanks Ruddsy - very helpful.

Oh, finally, we were advised to consult a lawyer in the canton in which we've bought (Valais) so obviously if you are in Vaud or some other canton it's probably a good idea to get the final drafts vetted by a notaire/lawyer local to there, just in case................!

Regards,

Ruddsyboy

Anyone kn