Buying renovation property for sale in France

Finding and Buying your Property to Renovate

Finding an area

I assume you already have a region of France in mind. I assume you have visited the area several times, in all seasons, and know that it will meet your requirements in terms of climate, accessibility (airports and roads) and facilities offered.

I expect you haven't but that is how you should in theory start your search. In reality France is just too large to explore even a few areas in detail before you make this all important decision.

New improved transport links have opened up a lot of France that was previously quite inaccessible. Low-cost airlines fly to several places in France from several places in the UK. If you are buying somewhere because it now has good links to the UK with a low-cost airline, bear in mind the possibility that the route may close if it is not profitable.

I recommend you think about year round climate if that is a large part of why you are moving. Nowhere in France is set in blazing sunshine all year around, and temperatures in the south of France can fall very low in the winter. A week spent visiting in January might deter rather a lot of people I think.

 

Finding a property

Searching through properties on the internet is a good way to get an indication for the prices in an area. But many of these properties will be too close to a road, a pig farm or a neighbour. Many will simply not be very nice or not in a nice area. So until you really get out to France and start looking you won't know what to expect. Estate agents often have several ruins and derelict buildings that they don't post on the internet - they prefer to post the newly renovated 'show houses'. So don't be put off by the lack of properties in an area until you have actually asked a local estate agent.

Consider first the type of property you want to buy. Generally these can be described as 'habitable but run down' or 'complete wreck'

Habitable but run down: this type retains most of the original building, and therefore usually a greater feeling of authenticity. There may be original features that can be retained and restored. It is easier to have a feel for the origins of a building if there is a complete building to start with. This will help you during your restoration work.

Complete wreck:  this type of property allows more of a 'clean-sheet' approach. For example you will have greater flexibility over internal layout if there are no existing internal walls, and it is easier to implement major changes such as under floor heating or a complete rewiring if there are no existing floors. New built extensions can blend very well with existing walls if they are built in the same stone and pointed the same.

Surprisingly, cost is often not the issue here. You will pay less for a ruin or a wreck, and spend more renovating it. Costs are discussed elsewhere, but it is not possible to make a general statement that it is cheaper to buy a ruin - try the cost exercise on the costs page as a guideline.

When you start looking at renovation property for sale in France, you will need to look at several before you start to be able to compare. It maybe that the first one you look at is your dream home, but it is unlikely. Most of us can't look at a complete ruin and have an immediate vision of how the finished house will look, so try also to look at several finished houses to get a feel for the local style.

Original features (fireplaces, beams, stone sinks, original quarry tile floors etc) may look a bit shabby or nondescript when you inspect the property, but will become the centre-piece of the room later on, so these are very desirable. Location is paramount, as always in property purchase. Try not to be over-influenced by a garden, although established trees are a good feature. A good view is worth a great deal. You will probably want to be in the countryside, but not isolated. Try not to let one of these features over-influence you though. A beautiful house with fine stone fireplaces, but 15 kilometres from the bakers, is often not a good idea.

Once you are clear about the difference between a 'major updating' project and a 'complete renovation' project, which may well approach the status of 'new build', you need to start your property search. I'm not going to discuss geographical areas or how to find an estate agent on this website for the moment - I will assume you have already done that...or have a plan to...and have now found the property of your dreams.

As always with an important purchase, let your heart rule your head, but only to a certain point. Go back for a second look, or a third. Write down all the advantages and disadvantages of the property. In the countryside this is still important. If your first visit is a calm wind less day, it may only be the second that you discover you are adjacent to a goose farm or fertiliser treatment plant. Roads that seem quiet on a tuesday afternoon in October may be dangerously fast and busy at 9.00 or in the summer tourist season.

It is very tiring looking around lots of houses, when most are clearly unsuitable as soon as you see them. A week in an area is not usually sufficient to find the perfect house (I would say never, but my wife bought our house on the first day she arrived in the local town - although she had spent a few weeks in neighbouring towns first). Don't let the estate agent pressure you into a purchase that you are not sure about - the estate agents in France are not usually high-pressure salesmen, but they do still want you to buy a house through them.

Remember to check the 'Planning permission' situation before you sign a contract.

More specific considerations at the time of purchase can be seen HERE