Buying a French property: Finished house or renovation project?

Have you found yourself gazing at that really cheap tumble down cottage in the middle of the French countryside wondering how beautiful you could make it? It’s tempting - right? 

There are so many enticing old stone buildings in France, ranging from a barn in the middle of a field to a run down chateau going for a song and each of them will tug someone’s heartstrings. Has that little house that’s been advertised in the Creuse for 34,000€ caught your eye whilst surfing on your ipad? Or the 12 bedroom Chateau with 5 acres of land for 350,000€? How much? Reality check, let’s take a look at some of the pros and cons of a finished house versus a full renovation to ensure that your life savings don’t end up in ruins.

Full Renovation

So where do you start? Our advice is once you’ve found what seems to be the renovation project for you, you need to be realistic about the costs. If you’ll be using professionals to do the job rather than mucking in yourself, the building industry consensus at the moment is for between 900-1500€/m² depending on the size and quality of the renovation. As a good rule of thumb, allow around 500-600€/m² for decoration - painting, refurbishing floors, ceilings etc. A medium renovation will set you back 1000€/m² if renewing the electricity, plumbing, bathrooms, windows etc. If you get into structural modification, roofs etc bank on 1300€-1500€m².

Building surveys in France are not the norm, as they are in England. There are a range of diagnostic tests which are mandatory when you buy, such as checking for a lack of lead, asbestos and termites or checking the energy efficiency or the compliance of the septic tank, but not the structural integrity of the building. For peace of mind, surveys are available, but if you’re unsure, you could do what most French people would do and ask a local reputable, registered builder who will know the local building methods and geography to have a look for you. He will also be able to give you a rough idea of costs. 

If you’re planning a renovation, think about timelines, especially if you’re planning on doing some of the work yourself. Will you be working on the house full time? Will you need to work at the same time and only have evenings and weekends or occasional holidays to work on the house? Nobody wants to live in a building site for years on end. You can count on good weather in the summer months in France, but the winters can also be cold and wet depending on the year and where you decide to move to.

DIY versus professionals

If you’re working to a tight budget, you may be considering doing the work yourself. 

If you talk to a few people about their experiences renovating in France it’s usual that bad news travels fastest so you are likely to hear tales of spiralling costs, ongoing delays and stressful times. On the other hand, dig a bit deeper and you’ll find people who have had the satisfaction of bringing a neglected property back to life, the excitement and challenge of learning new skills and who would do it all again in a heartbeat.

If the project is not time sensitive, doing the work yourself can reduce the budget. DIY = no labour costs paid to other people. Even if you’re not a DIY expert you can tackle clearing or tidying the site, painting and decorating or even landscaping. You may find that if you decide to go with an artisan, they’ll be happy for you to work with them as a labourer. If however your project is time sensitive, because you’re planning on opening a gite for the summer season for example, overrunning your timeline will cost you money in lost bookings. We’ve all seen the mad panics and stresses to finish on time on Expat TV programs!

Planning permissions

If you’re going for a doer upper, don’t forget about planning permissions! Permission is needed for all new constructions, for works to existing buildings that create new surface area, for changes to existing exterior openings, or to create new levels, as well as changes of use to buildings. If the property is near a protected building in France or within a conservation area, it will be subject to stricter controls and will need approval of the architects of the “Batiments de France”. You can have a clause added to the purchase agreement for the sale to be conditional on obtaining an “in principle” planning certificate or “certificat d’urbanisme”. Don’t take the vendor's word that planning will be a breeze. Changes in recent laws mean that even if there was a planning certificate awarded in recent years, it may not still be valid.  A good estate agent will be able to help sort this out with you.

Don’t forget outside!

Leave part of your budget for terraces and the garden. In southern France we spend a lot of our time living outside the house enjoying the beautiful weather. So it is also important to invest in a shady terrace and a well-planned garden, because this will be your summer ‘room’.

Decisions, decisions

Renovation is ideal if you want to put your mark on a property and create your ideal living space, or create an ecologically friendly living environment. Once you’re in the French system there are some interesting financial aids from the State for ecologically friendly renovations that you may want to look into including replacing insulation, heating systems, hot water and even solar panels. Don’t forget to ask your estate agent what they estimate the value of your property might be once you have done the work.  It’s possible to get carried away and overspend and while noone has a crystal ball to be able to guarantee what the market might do it’s good to have an upper limit for your investment in mind.

It wasn’t our intention, but if all of the above has poured cold water over your enthusiasm, you may find you’re looking for a house that someone else has spent time and money on renovating.

Whichever way you decide to go, there is plenty of choice in the French property market, especially if you’re not fixated on one area. See you in Bricomarche?

DIY pros

• Satisfaction of seeing your work come to fruition
• Do the renovation at your pace when time and money allow.
• Get the fittings and finish you want.
• You’ll get a year or more to enjoy the property before everyone you know wants to come and visit!
• You could end up with a better property than you could afford outright.

DIY cons

• It’s hard work!
• You’ll need to relearn all about materials and different building techniques
• Life won’t be comfortable while the work is going on.
• You can’t offset materials and labour against any future capital gains tax.

Ready to live pros

• Just that - you move in and start to enjoy life
• You know the total cost of the property from the outset
• If it’s been renovated professionally in the past 10 years you should still benefit from the builders’ guarantees.

Ready to live cons

• You might have to live with other people’s interior tastes or spend on replacing certain things
• You need to find the whole purchase price at once
• Visitors, lots of visitors!

Buy, buy, sell, sell

Is it possible to make a quick buck buying and renovating properties in France?

The concept of flipping properties is relatively new to France and it’s easy to overspend in a market where prices don’t routinely rise by a great deal.

The profit is all in how clever your initial purchase is.  Think about location (views, peace and quiet, proximity to a village with commerce) and spend enough time working out a budget.  The big trick is then sticking to the budget...

This article was first published in the June 2021 edition of French Property News Magazine