Sunday 8 November 2015

Renovation project - There is no shame in walking away

Renovation project - There is no shame in walking away

We arrive in Bourbonne les Bannes the day before we are due to visit the property, the area is amazing, the villages we pass through are beautiful, small and sleepy, very few have shops or a bar and we wonder if this is the place to have a property, will people want to buy with no conveniences
but the stunning scenery and the location make up for the lack of facilitates, we can imagine sitting out for dinner over looking the rolling hills, knowing that we are within easy travel distance of Switzerland, Germany, Italy and the Alsace route.

Yes we would be happy with a house here.

We arrive at the village and see the house immediately it is not quite as it appeared in the photographs, or as the agent described, he had neglected to mention that the front of the building was twisted and pulling itself to pieces, you could see where work had been done too cover some of this.

There was no wall at the back, it was not a case of just putting in windows and doors, this would not have been a problem, the problem was the front of the house, it would have to be taken down and rebuilt.

But the stones which gave it the original attraction could not be taken down by us, we would need a team of builders or a crane these are not lightweight stone, and the façade was not strong enough to hold them.

We have just spent a fortune and what will end up as 6 days on this trip and all the agent had to do was tell us the problem with the front.

At this point I want to go and visit him and tell him what I think of him.

But we have another to view so we go to look at that village it is not as nice and we are so deflated, but we do know that this is not an impossible task to drive to France to renovate and keep a place in Spain.

It has made it a little clearer for me, our hearts are in Spain, but our heads must remain firmly in France.

We are renovating for the love of the property but we also have to make sure that we can make a profit when we come to sell, otherwise we will be left with nothing.

This is the biggest tip that I can give you.


  • Do your sums make sure the renovation will not cost more than the property will be worth, especially if you are on a limited budget.
  • If you want to resell the property you must not spend more than it will be worth, you hear this horror story over and over again.
  • We loved everything about this property and village, but we had no choice but to walk away, it would not work there is no shame in being realistic.




8 comments:

  1. I remember reading a brilliant post you wrote about the difference between English and French estate agents. I used to email set questions, wee things like is the garden and house attached?

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    1. Ha ha I remember that one, maybe now we need to add, does it have walls?

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  2. What?? An estate agents description is misleading or wrong? Never happens ;-)

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    1. What is scary is that I found them better than many Spanish ones!

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  3. I think renovating for yourself to get the property exactly as you want it will always cost more than it is worth.

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    1. Is that from personal experience? as we have found the opposite, but you have to be so clear on the location, initial cost and your skills and abilities.
      Many people go over budget, but being very clear from the outset on cost will ensure that this does not happen, which is why I said never be ashamed to walk away if the sums do not add up.
      If you are going to pay artisans to do the work, then quite often it maybe better to buy a property that does not require renovation.
      I hope you hav enot had a bad experience

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  4. So so true. It is better to walk away, there are so many more reno project homes around. We are still searching for our perfect one, but it will come along, I am sure :-) Until then, I read blogs and dream!

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    1. it is true, there are any properties available and making sure you find the correct one is essential. Enjoy the blog and I hope you find your dream home soon :)

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