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French golf course for $125,000…or less 
 At the international real estate show in Dublin last weekend, I talked to Paul Skott, who helps people find house, vineyards, and other properties in Lot-et-Garonne, France, which is between Bordeaux and Toulouse. He told me about an interesting golf course for sale right now in the area. The course, Golf de Castlejaloux, is an 18-hole, par 72 municipal course. The person operating the course right now, wants out. So for about $125,000 you could secure the rights for a 78-year lease, which would then cost you Ffr18,000 a month. In the deal you get the golf carts, the maintenance tractors, the clubhouse, and 10 chalets you can rent. There are currently about 150 members of the club. The course is not making money right now, Paul thinks, because they’re not doing any marketing. There’s a spa nearby, and talk of several casinos being built nearby as well.
 I certainly wouldn’t recommend getting into this deal without serious legal attention to the actual lease and contract, but if you're interested in managing a golf course, it’s worth investigating. It sounds like part of the deal would be that the current head of maintenance would be kept on. To get in touch with Paul, call (33-5)53958623, fax 53952258, or E-mail: paul.skott@wanadoo.fr. There’s another golf course for sale outright in the area, called Golf d’Albret. It’s listing for Ffr20 million, but Paul thinks you could get it for Ffr15 million or less.

Tax-free apartments Andorra has no taxes, no army, no poverty, virtually no unemployment, and one of the lowest crime rates in Europe. It’s small, covering only about 464 square kilometers between France and Spain. Andorra is also the shopping mall of Europe because, although duty-free status ended in 1993, the country is still exempt from the EU’s value-added taxes. About 10 million people come here every year to shop. 
 Andorra’s citizens and residents pay no taxes on personal income, capital gains, capital transfer, inheritance or profits. There is no sales tax, and property taxes are nominal (average $120 for an apartment, $240 for a house), and cover the country’s basic services. To qualify for these tax benefits you must be a resident; only 200 –  500 of these permits are handed out every year. But you can stay in Andorra as long as you want—even as a tourist. Some people take advantage of this and use Andorra as a place to base their “perpetual traveler” lifestyle. Property in Andorra is expensive. But you can find small, inexpensive. At the overseas homes exhibition in Dublin, ROC properties had two cheap apartments on the books: one is a two-bedroom apartment in Arinsale village (ref#: 316), for $66,700. The second is a two-bedroom apartment in the center of La Massana (ref# 804), for about $37,000. Contact ROC properties, tel. (376)83-53-46, fax 83-76-64; E-mail: rocpropietats@andorra.ad, web-site: www.city2000.com/property/andorraproperty.html. A good contact in Andorra for real estate and relocation services is Servissim, tel. (376)86-04-14, fax 83-71-79; E-mail: servissim@andorra.ad, web-site: www.servissim.com.

Costa Blanca apartments: $32,000. At the same real-estate show, almost every agent in attendance was selling property on the Mediterranean coast of Spain, mostly the Costa Blanca (roughly from Denia to Cartagena) and the Costa del Sol (roughly from Nerja to Gibraltar). If you buy on either of these coasts, expect lots of company. These places are very developed—and there are literally dozens of other buildings springing up right now.  The good thing about these developments is that there should always be plenty of tourists to rent your property when you’re not there. And the prices should certainly go up as the Irish and British continue to flock here. One of the best deals I saw if you’re interested in this kind of property, is the Casares Del Mar, located between the small towns of Estepona and Manilva, right on the beach. Here you can get a small, 2-bedroom, 76 sq.-meter apartment for EUR90,753 (US$87,262).  I’m soon heading off to the Mediterranean coast of Spain for two weeks. I’m flying into Barcelona, then will head up the Costa Brava, into southern France, then perhaps back down the Spanish coast south of Barcelona. Look for my full report next month.
 —Michael Palmer, Waterford, Ireland

Two Frank Lloyd Wright Houses for sale 
Curtis Meyer Residence (1948),Galesburg, Michigan. Located, along with four other Wright homes, on 72 rolling and wooded acres near Kalamazoo Michigan, the Curtis Meyer house itself faces east down a gentle slope. Using circles and circular segments throughout the house, Wright designed a central 
two-story drum into the crest of a hill. The bedrooms look over an inside balcony to the living room below, giving that room a two-story high ceiling. The kitchen and an office are also in the central drum area. Concrete block and solid mahogany are the construction materials. This 2345-sq.-ft. home has one and a half baths, a fireplace, and a basement. The original Wright-designed dining table and built-in seating follow the curve of the adjacent wall. There are original mahogany bookshelves and storage units throughout the home. Also included are Wright’s working blueprints as well as copies of correspondence between the Meyers and the Wright organization during the planning and construction periods. Price: $249,900. Contact: Jeff Lee, Preferred-Carlson Realtors, (616) 344-8599 ext. 1142. To see the house go to: www.home2michigan.com Robert H. Sunday House, Marshalltown, Iowa. This late Usonian (circa 1958), brick home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It has three bedrooms, two-bathrooms, two fireplaces, a living room, a dining room, a kitchen, a family room, a two-car carport, a workshop, and an enclosed garage. The house is approximately 2500 square feet, includes much of the original furniture, and sits on a private, wooded, 01.8 acre site, semi-circled by a creek. Price: $360,000. Contact Eugene P. Cassidy, 1701 Woodfield Rdm Marshalltown, IA 50158; tel. (515)753-9192Sutton Place, J. Paul Getty’s house. Sutton Place, the Surrey home of J. Paul Getty, once the richest man in the world, is for sale with an asking price of about $33 million. The property is 30 minutes from London, sits on 775 acres, and measures about 55,000 sq. ft. The Tudor mansion was owned by Getty from 1959 to 1980…this is where the famously-frugal tycoon installed a pay phone for his guests to make calls. The property has several lodges surrounding the main house. Cluttons estate agents are handling the sale. Web address: www.cluttons.com