Old French Property - Avoiding A French Property Disaster

Oh the delights of old French property. Rambling old French farmhouses with more land than you know what to do with and outbuildings galore. Picturesque old mills by a stream. Cosy cottages with climbers meandering up the walls and tumbling over the eaves. If you're looking for a French holiday getaway or perhaps a permanent home, what could be better?

So why did I put the words "avoiding" and "disaster" in the title? What's wrong with old French property?

Well, often there's nothing wrong with it at all. There are lots of charming old places in France just waiting for you to snap them up. France is full of delightful old buildings. Unfortunately, I've also seen the other side of the French property market and I've seen too many people making decisions that just don't stack up - about property that very nearly won't stand up!

Now the last thing I want to be is negative. I love France, I love the French way of life and I own an old French property. I certainly wouldn't want to put anyone off. You can undoubtedly find the right place for you and it'll probably be surprisingly affordable.

As long as you know a bit about what you're doing and don't go into it blind.

Take our own situation. When we bought our old French farmhouse about 30% of it was just about habitable during the summer. Not in winter because it had no heating and gaps in the doors and windows you could pass sandwiches through! Of the rest, about 50% of it was accommodation for cattle and 20% of it should probably have been condemned.

But we knew exactly what we were buying. We had done a lot of research. We had a pretty good idea of what renovations would cost. In fact, we'd spent nearly two years looking for a place before the right one came up. It was our fifth trip to France expressly for the purpose of trying to find a home and we already knew the place quite well, as we'd been coming here for holidays for about 15 years.

The trouble is I come across people all the time who bought their "dream" home in France but will admit it's "not exactly what they were looking for". More than that, they've started to find things wrong with it. Sometimes little things, sometimes really major stuff.

And they'll admit that part of the reason they bought was because they didn't want to go back home without finding somewhere. I wish I could say these are isolated cases.

I know of one couple that were banking on running a bed and breakfast to support their pension. Unfortunately their roof isn't sound and it's going to cost 20,000 Euros to put right. They can neither afford to finish the work required nor afford to sell up and head back to the UK.

It's very sad. Even more so because it doesn't have to be like that.

There's no secret to buying an old French property. If you don't know the market, research it. If you don't know the French property buying process, find out about it. Ask until you're sure you understand. Be a complete pain in the neck if necessary. Agents in France are well paid - make them work for their money!

Look online, get a book on the subject and, of course, visit. You don't have to buy on your first trip. OK, it may not be cheap to visit France on a regular basis to view houses but I reckon two or three trips will be a lot less expensive than a new roof!

Don't rush. Adopt exactly the same attitude as you would if buying a house at home. That way you'll end up with the same result as we did, an absolutely beautiful old French property that's the envy of everyone who visits!

Jeff Seems is an Englishman living in France. He is author of The French Property Buyer's Guide which is vital reading for anyone thinking of buying old French property.