Buying a 'Riviera' Ski Chalet

Okay, so they're not exactly coastal but it really is only a bunny hop, shush and a jump to the Riviera's local ski resorts in the Alpes Maritimes. And as we've just about approached the end of another season it could be just the moment to pick yourself up a bargain. Sadly however chalets aren't sold off like 3-day old fish at the end of a summer's day market. But the fact that chalet property prices have been rising steadily could mean buying one turns into a very good long-term investment.

Buying a chalet in the Mercantour is pretty much the same as buying a property at sea-level, just cooler. And chalets are fast becoming more and more attractive to skiers as they cost half the price of hotels. The French government also helps foreign buyers through a leaseback scheme. You rent your chalet out to a holiday company for a minimum of 9 years (but you can stay in it for a set period each year) but you do own it freehold. And remember that the rental season doesn't end when the snow does. In the No-Sno season the Alps are an amazing place to stay if walking, eating and fresh air are your bag. And apparently it's a lot of people's bag. And what makes a chalet in the Alpes Maritimes so particularly and uniquely attractive is that beaming natural free asset, the sun. It's pretty much guaranteed. And I'm also talking about in winter.

The 2011 Vacance du Ski (February school holiday) boasted ‘full houses' in all our local resorts. You couldn't have rented a broom cupboard. Which even if you could've would've been very uncomfortable once you piled in with all that cumbersome yet necessary equipment. And a broom. I've always been intrigued by the ski/beach holiday discrepancy. You rent a summer property and your string bikinis and flip-flops rattle around in massive wardrobes. Yet when you go skiing (unless you're ‘AbramoRich') you have to squeeze giant Puffa jackets and enormous boots into tiny spaces. A girlfriend and I once rented a ‘for 4 people' apartment in Isola 2000. We had heard they were small and wanted to make sure we and our Parisian-sized salaries had equal sized bedrooms for our week long break. So we were doubly shocked that there wasn't even one separate bedroom, let alone two. We immediately begged an upgrade to an ‘8 person' apartment and still found our sleepy heads far too close to the rubbish bin in the ‘kitchen' and to each other. Celibacy for the entire holiday was the only grim solution.

Yet the good news for those of you considering investing in a chalet and renting it out for maximum dollar with minimum fuss, is that ski aficionados don't really care about comfort. In fact skiing is all about danger and discomfort: cold hands, sore feet, queues, out-of-control teen snow-boarders, bunk beds, horse-hair matresses and gut-sticking hot melted cheese. But not for a second do these minus points stop people paying a small fortune for a ski holiday and genuinely appearing to enjoy it. Well they always say they do once safely back home and sitting comfortably on a sofa whose fabric is not in the startling shade of a fast food chain.

Isola 2000 and Auron, the two main resorts, are just an hour and half from Nice airport. But some of the smaller ones (Colmiane and Greoliéres), great for families with young kids and for fun day trips, are even closer. And as I'm feeling charitable I will now tag on a plug for the much maligned movie Chalet Girl. Plug over.

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