1 Vaillant
property details
for a Hub House co-operative coliving project

Area ✧ with station, supermarket, small lake and tennis all close facilities are very good
✦ could definately function as a minihub by bus, train and driving as there's a reasonable number of small villages around plus the town for which a once-a-week spot at a coworking would probably be appealing at under 30mins away; there are 2 coworkings in Decazeville but its debateable if either really are, one being in the town's incubator, the other only really having two shared 2–3 desk rooms — however preobably better to just have more space for residents; with more dynamic occasional community gatherings (e.g. every other week) it would liven the place up, creating organic connections and activities

---

climate is steady with regular showers and sun year round thus very green, low daytime average in winter but with nice orangery and the decent amount of sun it would still offer a pleasant enough retreat, with a good firepit and fireplace with comfy well let interiors, a sauna should be possible too and the green would accommodate yoga on nice days
✦ regular bus around area and to town making getting out super easy if not for anything especially worthy as the town doesn't even have a central square
✦ this location would be a mix of inward with nice spaces and convenience, and long daytrips requiring a bigger commitment and engagement every week, plus additional smaller but nominally interesting adhoc weekly outings to villages, markets and for small hikes
✦ old mining area that also happens to have a thermal station, and even a slightly dubious casino…
✦ the village is getting a significant project that will replace the old school (previously for sale) with a development/renovation apparently offering senior and tourist accommodation alongside making the main square prettier by replacing the tarmac with paving
✦ access is not actually too bad, just long; multiple departures from Paris 6:30am and 12:30pm (arriving 7:00pm), 5:45pm (arriving midnight), plus the 10:45pm night train, thus making all connections through Paris workable without overnighting; from the south it's passable with Toulouse at ~3h30 (+45mins for the airport) and trains at 1pm or 6pm (arriving 9:30pm), thus essentially taking all day from Barcelona though its direct 3h service is being reintroduced (such arrivals could be coordinated with a evening out in Villefranche thus 1h45 from Toulouse last at 7pm +45mins drive; Rodez airport is 30mins drive or 1h by bus/taxi and train with only seasonal flights to London (and Dublin/Brussels); Brive airport is a bit awkward (3h train with a quick taxi, but long change) though has all year flights to Porto

---

several weekly markets and supermarket 5mins walk, plus a few basic/hotel resturants for an escape from the house, but at 30mins walk there's two good, one with a great terrace at the fort, and of course a short bus or tain into the towns for much better variety
✦ for a quick stroll there's a pleasant little lake (just 150m) and the small village center park (15mins walk)
✦ over 600ha of old mining lands including a massive open pit mine now having a lake, with (accacia) woods reaching to the upper edges of the village 10mins up a lane and around the thermal station, with various circuits up to 2h, plus the town reachable in 1h30 with bus one way
✦ riding 10mins bike
✦ heated pool 20mins train at Capdenac
✦ whilst choice of towns is good, they are a trifle far to pop to, thus would be more notable trips
✦ easy outings 30mins train to the lovely little town of Figeac, with last back at 11:30pm for nights out which is unheard of in rural areas! but as this is more like 1h door to door (including the stroll at both ends), it's not quite so great for simply popping out, but is great for outings alone or in smaller groups, or the weekly saturday market and group dinners, nonetheless at 35mins drive, and 40mins for the equally nice Villefranche-de-Rouergue, driving the minivan may be a more common option
✦ several locations for kayaking, one 20mins drive, two by train at Capdendac and in Figeac itself with SUP but all seasonal though one association so arrangements may be possible
✦ under 30mins to ruins at Peyrusse (drive), tiny perched village of Capdenac hilltop medieval village and tower (train), Conques (drive), Belcastel medieval village and castle (drive), plus various other castles, abbeys, etc
✦ 40mins train (last 5:30pm) to the department's capital of Rodez (just 24k people) yet voted the 5th best place to live and prob better for outings than Figeac
✦ 50mins bus to medieval town of Villefranche from Aubin (30mins walk; last 8pm)
✦ 15 mins drive/train to the river Lot, 30 mins to the Cele river
✦ caving/canyoning/climbing around 30mins
✦ there's one neighbouring station that offers some slightly longer routes looping back for biking variety but not hiking
✦ better hiking is quite far at 50mins drive such as along the steep sides of the upper Lot valley
✦ several good day trips are possible at around an hour:
✦ Najac (drive, or 1h30–2h train/bus), combined with Villefranche and the river, or other sights on the way, and good for hikes
✦ Belcastel medieval village whilst not an outing itself, as a drop off can be combined with an all day hike to Villefranche along the small upper Aveyron valley, also possible as a half day bike starting by train in Rodez (pickup at the other end or long train)
✦ Saint-Cirq and the old river haulage route (drive) for nice walks with a stop in Villefranche or via some castles and the upper river cliffs, with hikes/biking in the wooded hills around it, kayaking, via ferrata and other activties in summer
✦ Rocamadour is 1h10 by direct train, again with the late return, but a long walk from the station thus better with shared taxi (5mins), yet can also be combined with a 3h hike or biking from the previous station along the valley
✦ town has a streetart festival which has now reached as far as buildings next door
✦ Capdenac will in future have a 64km greenway reaching to Cahors which is downhill all the way, however the return would be a bit much the same day and is 4h by train… which is essentially the same speed as riding it though a pickup could be arranged at a half way point

property detail ↗︎

Property ✧ compare with #322 in a warmer area having fewer towns and things to explore further afield but more nice villages and much larger though the layout of this one despite smaller would be nicer #264 in the centre of the village is a much better option and hasn't sold for ages, given the works this one likely would require
✦ unlike another 25k property 300m away in Cransac this one doesn't back onto the green, but instead has a rear courtyard and second building for more potential
✦ the roof (240m2) appears to be wood shingle and doesn't seem to have survived the giant hail (June '22 and July '24) that broke many roofs, so has apparently been leaking in multiple places since then; wouldn't be too hard to fix especially with metal roofing, and has fairly easy access, through strictly needs stripping and likely battens replacing
✦ was bought shortly after the hail for 55k, presumably somebody with their own cash who couldn't then get a mortgage to develop it, thus eager to dispose taking a loss but this regrettably means negotiation couldn't go lower than say 40k even though at this price it's still not a great deal despite being potentially twice the size of cheap properties such as in Besseges (lower cevennes), with the roof work requiring circa 20k (for sandwiched metal, ex labour which would be partly volunteer); whilst a quick fix of simply replacing broken shingles would be easy, they're likely at the end of their life anyway
✦ if a low offer were accepted and anyone else were willing to immediately back with some small stakes alongside me, I'd almost be inclined to go for it, and I'd then cover initial renovations, it would be deliverable bit by bit whilst offering great capacity with very good space planning, and allowing everyone else to buy in with small stakes bit by bit to complete to a good spec, including a few of us with studios if desired (not ideal as a base being so far from anywhere, if not not impossible, just long to reach!) *however* still better to grab something like 300m2/~75k in Besseges even though these still need refits and lack space, some are more immediately usable

---

3 buildings: a modern(ish) building (front west), combined with a probably older stone builidng (front east), and an older wooden(?) one (back north)
✦ the first 2 on street adjoined (maybe not interconnected), plus a separate one on the otherside of 160m2 rear courtyard that's fully enclosed except for one higher neighbour that partly overlooks
✦ as there's public greenspaces, outdoor space could be optimised e.g. big orangerie on west wall (optimal for morning/midday sun, and probably pleasant even in winter), firepit and BBQ on east wall (optimal for evenings) with outdoor dining/seating between for summers; yet there's still enough for a quiet garden area with views up top on the hillside

---

used to be a hotel-restaurant-pmu thus likely decent layout
✦ 175m2 ground front, 200m2 1st front, 90m2 front attic (6 dormers, 3 front and back)
✦ 30m2 ground passage to courtyard, could easily be sealed at front and open to orangerie at rear, but no interconnection into main building
✦ 65m2 rear *2 with pantiles (4.5m deep); very haphazard apparently with a broken 1st floor terrace/access
✦ 220m2 land above with trees (parcel 146), south facing, could have access from 1st floor of rear building; neighbours have all terraced
✦ 30m2 shed could be raised
✦ would add at least a 40m2 orangerie to join the front and rear which would get all day sun; if the shed is demolished, this could have a tall 30m2 section backing into the hill
✦ south-west 1.5m recessed streetfront, with 1st floor balcony; both could be reclaimed for 15m2 on each but seems pointless for 1st, however for ground would give interconnection to the passageway

---

withstanding the roof, nominal effort would make most windows usable, however all would ultimately need replacing; there's some functional bathrooms, but again all would be removed, however one part could be done at a time with onyl the first needing a rental which are cheap here anyway