Second home in Uzès: the guide

The old centre and the castle quarter offer the noble stone: village houses with uneven floors, apartments in 17th- and 18th-century private mansions, staircases, fireplaces, shaded courtyards. It is the simplest second address to live in, everything on foot, the market at the door; it is also the scarcest, because the doors of the centre can be counted and change hands through personal connections. An apartment there locks and reopens without logistics; a whole house needs its roof and walls watched.

Bourrac and the outskirts give the Uzès compromise: simpler houses with a small courtyard, a few minutes’ walk from the place aux Herbes, for those who want the life of the centre without the level of the castle quarter. The farmhouses of the Uzège, finally, offer the countryside, stone, vines and olive trees, provided you accept the car for everything and real upkeep: a mas is run like a small estate, all year round, even when nobody is there.

The real question of a second home is the time between stays. In the old centre, the stone asks it insistently: a closed house must be ventilated and kept frost-free in winter, its roofs and downpipes checked after the heavy autumn rains that are frequent in the Gard. A trusted stonemason, a neighbour or a caretaking company for regular visits: remote management is prepared before the purchase, not after. Any building work is planned ahead too: in the site patrimonial remarquable, the protected heritage area, façades, joinery and lime renders require the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France, who sets the pace.

The mas adds its own constraints: the upkeep of the land, the pool and its compulsory safety device, water from the well or the spring, non-mains drainage inspected by the SPANC and, in areas exposed to forest fire, brush clearance compulsory over 50 metres around buildings, whether the house is occupied or not. Home Select builds this logic of absence into the selection: the condition of stone and roof timbers read on file, the minutes of a small co-ownership, water, access and easements of a mas checked before the offer. The works themselves are costed before committing.

The Uzès market works mostly in spring and at the September rentrée, when families search seriously; in winter, the town belongs to its residents again and sellers have time to talk. But the calendar matters less than access: the right address comes before the right advert, through the notaire, the neighbour and word of mouth. A second home in Uzès is therefore sought with patience: a brief set in winter, a watch on what will never be listed, a decision taken when the right door opens.

Home Select runs this search remotely, steered by its management, with a network of 15,000 partners who flag properties before any listing: the brief is set by video call or by phone, each property is vetted on documents then pre-viewed on video with the seller’s agent, and its price set against comparable DVF sales. Then come the negotiation, the securing of the offer and the coordination of the notaire. You travel only for the decisive viewings, grouped into a single trip. The taxation of a second home according to your situation belongs to the notaire and a tax adviser.