Try to know exactly what you are looking for

Yet also try to be sufficiently flexible to be able to find French houses that might be suitable. As an example, we often get clients who visit, in the course of one day, barns for renovation for 30,000 euros and houses which are habitable and just need redecorating for 130,000 euros. This is not necessarily incompatible with being serious or with buying properties, but it tends to indicate someone whose field of search is still rather wide. On the other hand, if you have too narrow an idea of what you want, this can mean that you restrict houses which might otherwise be exactly what you are seeking.

Try not to fit too many appointments into too short a time

To look properly you really need a week, and it's ideal to have appointments with two agencies on no more than 2 or at most 3 days of this week. This means that you have time to think between visits and time to revisit any properties of interest (make sure you have a good map, a compass, and make notes of how to get to each property!).

Stick with one area per trip

We often have people who aren't sure which region in France they want, and so they spend two days here, two days in Brittany and two days in the Charente (and waste a lot of travelling time in between). This doesn't make the process easier for anyone concerned! If possible, it's really best to try to narrow the search area within the Limousin (ie. which department, and if possible which part of which department). But this can take a few trips to do. Once you've done it, though, your trips become much easier, as you can discount whole swathes of potential agencies and french properties just by location. Then again there are some lucky people who find the right house on the first trip with the first agent!