Renovating a French property is a popular project for foreigners moving to France, but these things don’t always go smoothly. We spoke to renovation expert Rosie Ellis of Maison Bretgagne for some tips.
Buying a French property to renovate is a popular dream, especially as homes in rural France are often relatively cheap.
But we’ve all heard the ‘renovation nightmare’ stories, so we spoke to Rosie Ellis, a Brittany-based Brit who runs a family construction business that works with many foreigners completing French renovation projects.
She told us: “There are a few things that can sway people off track, but people often move too fast when they first get here, expect everything to be done very quickly and launch into renovations straight away.
You can hear Rosie chat to the team at The Local on the latest episode of the Talking France podcast – download here
“Perhaps they don’t understand the costings and are too aggressive on contractor costings.
“People also apply assumptions from their home countries and assume things are the same here – things can be very, very different to the UK, the USA, even other countries in northern Europe.”
We asked Rosie for three of the most common mistakes that foreigners make with their French projects, based on her experience. Here’s what she told us;
1 Expect French admin
“People really underestimate French admin and the various permissions that you will need in order to renovate.
“There are a lot of things that buyers and renovators need to think about – even a relatively straightforward project can involve getting approval form the various administrative bodies, depending on the location and the building.
“For example if you buy an apartment you might need permission from copropriété – the homeowners association for the building – for works, even if the work is entirely inside your own apartment.
READ ALSO: PROPERTY: What you need to know about ‘copropriété’ fees in France✎
“Then there are rules for properties in protected heritage zones or extra restrictions from the mairie, even things like changing the windows, the facade, roof materials, exterior colours, shutters – they all really need validation from the powers that be.
‘Failing to get the proper permissions for your work can lead to quite significant financial penalties, and the mairie or local planning department might even ask you to tear down what you have already built or installed – it has been known to happen. So don’t assume you can do what you want to your property.”
2 Choose contractors or tradespeople carefully
“It is really important to choose the right artisan for mid to large projects, as people will almost certainly need help along the way.
“A lot of DIYers move to France, and they can handle renovations, but you need to really know the lay of the land, so a good artisan or project manager can help guide you along the way.
“In France, there are, as in all countries, reliable and unreliable contractors.
“We’ve all heard stories of people who meet an artisan in the pub or take recommendations from people they have only just met socially and can get themselves into problems. Expats can sometimes be persuaded to hire someone they can speak to in their own language and they feel comfortable with – but there are other priorities they should be looking at.
“You need to do checks; the first one is the SIRET number, which is the business registration number. People should check the SIRET to see that the person is registered to do the job they say they will do.
READ ALSO: What is a SIRET number and why is it crucial when hiring French tradesmen?✎
“Usually SIRET is on the devis (written estimate), or you can ask for it.
“The other thing that’s really important to check is that anyone you hire has their insurance – artisans should have a 10-year warranty on the structural works they carry out.
“Architects also need insurance and if you’re using a project manager, they should also have 10-year insurance, which covers any subcontractors that they hire.
“Again, the insurance policy number and company name should be on the devis, they should also send you an insurance attestation.
‘It’s usually about 15 pages long. If your French isn’t good maybe get a notaire or French-speaking friend to help you go through it. It’s important to check that everything that they are going to do is on their insurance, because things can go wrong.
“Things can and do go wrong, you’re very lucky if a renovation project goes very smoothly from start to finish.
“Even the best have problems, things can be uncovered after the work begins – especially in the old properties that us expats love to buy. We fall in love with the beauty and the history and but then there are so many problems that can come with them, so insurance is really important to have.
3 A Realistic timeframe
There are a few things that can throw a renovation project off schedule, sometimes it’s to do with the structure of the project itself, or if problems are discovered with the building.
“But there’s also the culture – the culture in France is different, for example everything shuts down in August for the summer holidays so impossible to get things done.
“Supplier delays can happen quite a lot and the culture is very different in terms of customer service.
“A lot of expats misinterpret the culture and get impatient, they don’t understand why things take so long, but its just part of life in France and after all that is the reason a lot of us moved here, for the slower pace of life.
“People do need to be patient.”
Rosie is a full-time project co-ordinator in the family renovation and construction business Maison Bretagne and she’s also part of the team behind the podcast French Reno Diaries Uncensored, which promises to speak “the truth on French property renovation.”
