Before You Buy: The Essential Renovation Reality Check

Multi renovation award finalists Matthew Chalk from MC Renovation gives some tips on what to do after seeing that perfect house.

Hypothesis. You have seen your French Property dream but it needs work. Whats next? Getting a quote and what to expect from it.

Unfortunately, it is too easy to get caught up in the pipe dream; you have seen the house of your dreams and have mentally planned it out in detail within 5 minutes! This is when you have to take a breath and step back.

Building costs have rocketed in recent years and choosing to ignore the obvious failures your house may have will come back and bite you financially. This is when you should consider professional help. The obvious next step is to engage a survey and have a detailed quote for the works.

The majority of the building sector will now charge around 300 euros for quotes on a property that you do not own. This is usually refundable on the work being taken up and prevents every weekend of the artisans year being taken up following the dreams of house hunters! It is also a wake up call - if you are not prepared to spend a little money and face the financial reality of the project then walk away, you're only kidding yourselves! This simple first step of getting a proper costing on your project before putting in an offer could prevent you from losing your life savings.

So, lets presume you have taken the sensible route and need a artisan to quote for you. Ok, so its not the wild west but if you are looking for an English speaking builder you must beware of the cowboys.

Two things to do straight away.

Firstly, ask for and check the Siret number which will give you the establishment details of the business and secondly, ask for the decibel assurances to be shown (these are the 10 year insurances we have on our works). If they cannot provide these, then walk away. If an English speaking artisan is not of importance I would recommend you ask at your local Maire for suitable artisans local to you.

It is rare in France to find a company that does everything so be prepared to multi task different trades or pursue a project manager (maitre d’ouvre), although this can be costly and is still not a guarantee of fluidity of work. A good builder will already be working with a network of skilled artisans he can call on to quote for you as well such as electricians, plumbers, groundsman etc.

Right, what do you want in your renovation quote?

Firstly, it must be very detailed stating exactly what products are being used, quantities and labour charges, demolition, waste removal, its a long list. Do not accept a ball park figure. As a specialist in working on old properties, this is absolue key. I cover every aspect discussed with a client. There's not enough time to talk about this at huge length but let's talk options and goals very quickly.

For instance, your house needs to be thermally comfortable which means conforming with energy regulations on insulation. Ideally your builder should be RGE registered and can talk you through at lengh the different solutions for your property.

Visually, at the end of the project, it all it needs to look stunning! You can mix old and new, of course, we don't need every stone and beam exposed to know we are in a old building of characheter but achieving this balance is hard so here's what you do.

You ask to see the builders other jobs before signing any quotes. Simple but imperative. If they have done it before then they can show you. Remember you have options at every point of the build and imagination is free. Great looking houses do not have to come at a peak price but they do require experience and skill.

Let's not forget electricians and plumbers who will also have a key role in talking you through the minefield of possibilities when it comes to heating and air circulation etc etc! They'll be able to look at the pros and cons, the vmc options for example. For instance, I wish that I had been told more about the double flux vmc system. A vmc takes stale air out the house, a double flux vmc puts fresh air in at the same time which is great I hear you say! Well yes, until winter comes and the neighbours log burning smoke is sucked in the house!

Contrary to popular belief the building regulations in France are as set as anywhere else and conformity is obligatory.

Ok, so you have the quote back from the artisan for your work. Now, let;s presume this project is going to be a near enough a total renovation. Does the quote you have include everything you require? Really every single aspect covered?

Get the pen and paper out and write it all down, old school! Take your time, cover every aspect. Everything costs and if you forget to include the kitchen or painting, or garden even, then the financial reality can become a nightmare. What I am saying is be really thorough, ask questions, cover everything.

If you plan to do the work yourself over a long length of time … it rarely succeeds and the amount of ‘started but not finished’ properties on the market reflects this!

A final thought is to check with the agent that the property does not fall under SAFER or is in a zone of historic importance. In either case it's not always an issue, but it can be so best to check early on in the process!

Now, we have wizzed through this subject with sufficient substance to inform you that good decision making is not just from the heart, it's also from the pocket. Money is hard to make and easy to spend, so be careful and be sensible!

If any of you are looking at buying or have bought in the 22 and 56 departments and require works doing then feel free to contact me via the website www.mc-renovation.com