Cost of renovations in France

I thought I would publish this reply I made to an enquiry for a property I am selling as I get a lot of questions about the cost of renovations.

There is a big difference in DIY or home repairs in the UK or USA compared to old houses in Southern France. Houses here are typically stone built using building techniques which had not changed for a thousand years. It is hard to date some houses as the contruction and style altered little from the 10th to 20th centuries and the massive beams and stones with lime morter and roman tiles are a million miles from timber frames and concrete blocks.

I have seen only too often financial problems when an enthusiastic purchaser starts a renovation project, only to find their money has run out less than a quarter of the way through the project.

The bottom line is that there is no cheap solution, skimp the work or do it badly and the property is probably worth less than you paid for it. Do it well and you will have a gem of a property, but it may not be the bargain it looks at first sight.

Caveat Emptor

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Hi

Please contact me now about medieval house to renovate

medieval house to renovate ref35

What do you anticipate the costs for renovation and what is the availability of craftsman? Thank you.

Carol

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Hello Carol,

It is impossible to give a simple reply to any questions relating to costs, my personal observations suggest that any property in France, to a good standard of occupation and quality, will cost from 2,000 euro per square meter of living area – plus a premium for land/gardens/convenience/etc. This is for property in Languedoc, Paris is from 6,000 to 12,000 euro and prices through France vary from 1,200 euro to 12,000 euro per square meter or more.

I have a lot of property on offer and some interesting old properties are not expensive, but conversion can be expensive – renovation will cost from 3,000 euro per square meter and there is no limit to costs – this particular property is interesting – it is in a super village and has potential. The owner will accept a fair price and you can have a rare property. You could own a nice small property for under 100,000 euro

Always take care selecting work-people, there are many good tradespeople in France, but there are also a lot of fools and rogues – I can advise a little to avoid bad mistakes.

Let me know your wishes

Best Regards

Tony