Buying property for renovation in France

Check if you are ready to renovate a property

For some people, moving to France means buying a smart apartment with a view of the Eiffel Tower, shopping in Galeries Lafayette on the Boulevard Haussmann and watching ladies in Chanel take their handbag chihuahuas for a walk.

For others, it means years of hauling rocks, spreading concrete, plumbing and plastering - and realising that no one, even the French, looks stylish in dungarees.

For more than half a century France has been a place where you could find an old house for next to nothing, and work your fingers to the bone doing it up. And thanks to rural depopulation and an increasingly urban lifestyle, it still is.

So if you're tempted by the idea of renovating a property in France, it could be time to get started. In this article, we'll give you all you need to start planning your renovation.

Where to look

While you could look for a renovation property anywhere in France, certain areas have more than their fair share of older houses. In Brittany, rural areas often have cottages needing restoration, though you'll have to compete with locals who plan to retire there. Because houses are generally small, you may even be able to pick up a row of two or three stone cottages and still have change left out of EUR 40,000.

In Limousin, cattle rearing country, old farms and village houses can be picked up for between EUR 25,000 and EUR 60,000, often with up to 2,000 square metres of land. Neighbouring Berry, comprising the departements of Indre and Cher, isn't as popular with foreign buyers, but has some superb rural properties, often at rock bottom prices.

While many foreign renovators want to buy a farm or a village house, small and medium sized towns are great places to look for renovation properties. You may well find a house above a shop that has closed - though you'll need to check with the local authority to find out whether you can convert the shop into living space.

For the brave, some areas of larger cities still have plenty of renovation potential. Houses that have been divided into flats can make excellent projects. However, you may find that these areas are rather downbeat - you're taking a bet on gentrification and unless you know the area or are working with a local partner, be careful.

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How to budget?

renovation budgetObviously your budget will depend on the style of renovation involved. If you're basically just redecorating a flat that looks very 1980s, you'll obviously spend less than if your project involves complete rewiring, new plumbing and a heating system for somewhere that's been untouched since the 1930s.

However, as a rule of thumb, you might spend EUR 500-1,000 a square metre restoring a Paris flat - at the higher end if there's any demolition of internal walls, new kitchen or new bathroom to put in; and between EUR 1,500 and EUR 2,500 a metre for a typical farmhouse or townhouse. That assumes you're using local artisans to do the work.

You can cut the costs considerably if you do a large amount of the work yourself. You'll save a lot of money by doing your own clearance and demolition. Even if you get help for the rest, by stripping the place down and leaving it clean and tidy you're saving hours of expensive labour and letting your electrician, mason, carpenter, plumber get right down to work instead of fiddling around moving stuff out of the way. (Obviously, don't fiddle with electrics or remove load bearing walls. If in doubt, don't touch!) Drywalling and decoration are also large cost savings for DIYers.

Ask local artisans if there's a 'déstockage' specialist nearby. They sell end-of-line bargains in windows, doors, bathrooms and kitchen cabinets as well as returns (where builders have over-ordered, for instance). Well known building stores such as Bricomarché, M. Bricolage and LeRoy Merlin don't always have the best prices; for materials like sand and cement, Point P or Gedimat give better discounts on bulk.

However, don't be tempted to do the electrics yourself unless you are prepared to learn the French regulations. (This particularly applies to the British, since the ring main is completely forbidden in France.) You should also note that grants for energy-efficient installations oblige you to use a registered contractor, and that you won't be able to deduct the costs of DIY from your capital gains when you come to sell, so you'll owe more tax.

Planning rules

Planning permission (permis de construire) will generally be needed if you're changing the use of a building, or extending it by more than 20 square metres. Smaller extensions, and any changes to the exterior of the building, just require a works declaration (declaration préalable).

Internal changes are generally up to you - though if you are renovating a flat you will need to clear major changes such as removal of walls with the copropriété.

The competent authority is your local mairie, whether you're in a bustling Paris arrondissement or a tiny village. A good first step is to find out if there's a PLU (local urbanisation plan) which will set out the broad rules.

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renovation helpDo you need help?

Dealing with French artisans is sometimes joyous - our builder used to cook a barbecue every lunchtime before getting on with the roofing! - but can also require large amounts of chasing and paperwork. If you don't want to get stuck in, there are various ways round the issue.

You could use an architect as maitre d'oeuvre (master of works). The architect will then be responsible for getting the devis (quotes) and coordinating the work of the different artisans. (Don't confuse maitre d'oeuvre with the maitre d'ouvrage - the patron, which is you.) Some general builders will also act as maitre d'oeuvre.

Many English speaking customers prefer to use English speaking builders. Make sure though that they work to French normes (building regulations) and have a SIRET business registration number and, most important, insurance enabling them to give the ten year guarantee that's required of French builders (garantie décennale). You'll want to check those for any professional you use.

Some organisations will provide a turnkey renovation. For instance, Appartonaute in Paris will help find and renovate a flat to your requirements. As you might guess, such firms are focused on the major cities.

If you want to renovate an old house in line with French tradition - and make friends - it's worth subscribing to Maisons Paysannes de France. This organisation is a mine of knowledge on traditional building techniques and architecture, useful if you want to do DIY or if you want to find an artisan or architect who knows how to use traditional methods. Local chapters also organise open worksites and visits - usually with a good lunch provided!

(By the way, if you make your own limewash and your own ochre paint, you'll not just be sticking to traditional and ecological materials - you'll also save a huge amount of money compared to buying ready made paint!)

Will I make my fortune?
No.

If you renovate a Paris apartment you might do well. If you renovate a country house, you probably won't make a huge amount of money on it. But that's not why people buy renovation properties in France. They buy them to get the home of their dreams.

And if you do a fair amount of the work, or spread it out over a long period, you may find you're able to buy a larger and better sited property than you'd otherwise be able to afford.


Disclaimer: the author bought a house in Corrèze for less than EUR 50,000. It's not finished yet.