| Graham Dooley has written numerous
articles for the press about living in Brittany and specifically about
buying property in Brittany. We thought that you would find them
useful and have included the articles on this site. The links are
below: |
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| Article:
BOB le Bricoleur
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By Graham Dooley – BRETON HOMES S.A.R.L.
Agence Immobilière, Brittany.
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I came to Brittany in 1991 and although the lifestyle of the French
was part of my dream, so was the possibility of investing in the
property market and owning a period property in a location and style
that was “in my dreams”.
| My wife and I
found a beautiful but run down malouinaise (small manoir typical
of properties in the area of St Malo to Lamballe) in a pretty
village between Jugon – les – lacs and Lamballe. Empty for 8
years, run down and mildewed, the project began, and so did
a new life in France. |
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| The irony of it all was that we came
to work for an Agence Immobilière as Commercial Agents (Sales
Negotiators) in Dinan however after only a few weeks we saw
that the agency had, shall we say, management problems so we
decided to give it a miss and do our own thing. For the next
9 years we concentrated on property management and investment
and ran a small consultancy in Brittany. |
Sylvie and Vanessa, two of our lovely secretaries at the Lamballe
Office of BRETON HOMES have nicknamed me Bob le
Bricoleur after the famous Bob the builder. A very popular man in
Brittany is our Bob. When I came to Brittany I knew very little
about the building trade however even now as I troubleshoot between
offices I always have my toolbox and drill in the car, as well as
my two dogs. Force of habit I’m afraid.
Our first purchase and project was in the Morbihan in the late 80,s
and was a result of me forgetting to put out the caravan step. Following
a few glasses of the demon rouge I stepped out of the caravan for
a pee and went arse over elbow, twisting my ankle badly. I spent
the rest of the holiday hobbling around the town on crutches and
looking in estate agents windows.
Ten thousand pound later I had a beautiful stone cottage with no
roof, no electric, in fact zilch. My bargain eventually cost me
a further £20, 000 to finish. One thing I had decided was that although
I knew nothing about French building work I was determined to do
the work correctly and promptly set about searching the French property
magazines for information. No internet for me then and I had to
obtain all the books, in French (I could not understand a word),
for plumbing, septic tank, electrics etc. The
house took almost three years to complete however with a little
help from my wife, friends and family the project was finished.
I could hardly speak a word of French on my arrival however if you
try to speak the language then the locals will respect you for that.
Mistakes happen – whilst enjoying a meal with a French family in
Morbihan a comment was made on how English bread lasted longer than
French. We explained it was because English bread contained “preservatives”.
A look of horror went round the table then turned slowly into laughter.
“Conservateur” is the word we were looking for in French, preservative
is a Condom. Rather chewy I suspect !!!!!!!
Remember it is not unusual for neighbours to offer assistance, but
if they lend you tools – chain saw etc make sure you are skilled
at using it. I was once offered a “Karcher” high pressure cleaner,
having used a small electric type before. My neighbour said the
model he had was professional as his son worked for “Karcher”. This
huge machine arrived on a van. It had a Honda engine big enough
for a Grand Prix Car. Scaffolding ready I promptly fired up the
motor, stood on the scaffolding and pressed the trigger about 50cm
from the wall. I took off like James Bond with a rocket pack and
once again had a sore arse. Lesson learned?
The time eventually came to sell following a successful period of
holiday letting which paid for my mortgage plus a little for us.
This is where I learnt the importance of following correct procedures.
As it was the purchaser was French and wanted to know everything
about the house including the colour of my underpants. Certificate
of conformity, capacity of the fosse septique, planning permission
for the French windows, and last but not least he was worried about
the proximity of an electric pylon as he had heard they have carcinogenic
effects. “Mon dieu”, this was a new one to me. However the notaire
put him straight on that one.
There is no question that if you purchase to re-sell then location,
location, location (do not say this to a French speaking agency,
they will think you wish to rent) is extremely important. However
if it is your home for the rest of your life then the sound of oink,
oink and the smell of pig swill might not be too important a factor.
Not a laughing matter!, I once took a client to a property and I
could smell the local porcherie, “Shit” exclaimed I, “what a pong,
lets move on”. “Nowt wrong with that lad”, exclaimed the elderly
gentleman who had been a pork farmer in the UK and found it was
home from home. I nearly talked myself out of
a sale.
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Our first residential
house in Brittany I estimated would cost £25,000 to renovate.
(The malouinaise) Whilst staring up at the beautiful lucarne
windows little did I realize that our new Landrover Discovery
was soon to be replaced by a Ford Sierra Diesel with 300,000
miles on the clock. And that was not all we had to sell. I organized
the local maitre d’œuvre and a meeting was arranged on site
with joiners, builders, plumbers, electrician, not forgetting
the Mayor. The estimated cost was way beyond our reach so it
was do or die. Unfortunately I cannot do any physical work above
my head, roof etc due to an old neck injury so a compromise
was reached. My wife and I do the ground work and professional’s
the roof etc..
This project took almost 9 years to complete
and it finally outgrew us |
BEFORE
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| and was sold on to the new
style of buyer coming to Brittany. “The family”. “The Commuters” |
AFTER |
T.V.A. - I recently was quoted for a wood burner through
a supermarket outlet. Cash and Carry approx €1000. The price
for a local artisan to fit it in compliance with the regulations
i.e. Stainless Steel. Flue etc was an additional €400 incl
TVA. I then went to a very expensive looking outlet in St
Brieuc – the same wood burner if fitted by them included TVA
at 5.5% instead of 19.6%. It was the end of spring (off peak)
so they gave me discount and together with fitting the total
price came to €1100. So for €300 less I had the burner installed
professionally with a guarantee for the insurance. Needless
to say we recommend this company to our clients.
Following this project a little piece of advice – if you
purchase a home live |
| in it or on
it (mobile home) before you
start any work. Get the feel for the property see where the
sun comes up and goes down; observe where |
the light shines both in summer and winter.
Just because a kitchen sink exists do not plan round it – move the
position if necessary. This also applies to planning the garden. The
clients I meet who immediately see a South Facing conservatory – remember,
it’s bloody hot in summer and too warm to sit in spring. A jardin
d’hiver on the North side not only insulates the main property but
provides a cool place to enjoy the garden on a hot summer’s day. |
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By this time I had a strange case of D.I.Y. overdose and our last
lakeside property was completed using professionals, expensive but
well worth it however when I first came to France then the money
was not readily available. I certainly learned very quickly where
to shop, to negotiate and my command of the tongue for the French
Bricoleur even surprised myself.
When you find you dream
home and if it is a project you require then here are a few more
tips that might come in useful:-
• Do not be afraid of getting at least three estimates for the work
but remember the cheapest is not always the
best – ask for references.
• Consider a maitre d’oevre and ask for a cost for the whole project
including TVA where applicable at 5,5 %
• Go to registered artisans for the work, whether French or other
nationalities. Guarantees are extremely
important especially with electrical, plumbing and
structural work.
• When completing paperwork for permis de construire, demande de
travail etc, if you do not understand the
form then pay an interpreter for a few hours work. It will
be worth it in the end.
• Tip of the day – if you are going to knock down an existing building
and rebuild then first is the
permis de construire (building
permission) and next is the demand de démolir (request to demolish).
I have
known people to go hammer and tongs with the sledge
hammer on the outhouse only to find they are refused
permission to build an extension in the same place.
• Before you start, ask the local council representative
or mayor around for an aperitif and sound them out
about your project. If they say no then usually the local
architect’s office (DDE) etc will agree
with the council decision.
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To be honest Focus on France will have to stop me writing, I
have recently renovated a lakeside cottage over three years
and have now found my dream home, a beautiful mill cottage that
will keep me going in my retirement. |
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Wait for it; I can
see the readers now saying “that will flood”.
Remember the flooding takes place in the village below, the
water mill needs the power from the head of the river and to
my knowledge I have not come across a flooded mill property
in Brittany.
We do have a few for sale!!!!!!!!! |
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Finally,
if like me when I came to Brittany, you are running out of
money and decide to be “BOB” and start the plumbing then a
lesson can be learnt from a local character who professes
to be an English plumber. So far two properties he has worked
on have had plumbing bursts because he either over tightened
joints or used soldered joints that were not prepared properly.
The water pressure can be far in excess of UK pressure, so
have a pressure reducer installed at the point of entry or
use a plumber who brazes joints. That will avoid you becoming
BOB the Swimmer in the long run. |
| Another word of advice in
relation to your purchase–
remember if you have never purchased a property to renovate
start with something small |
– perhaps a village terraced house or
a small cottage with just enough garden for a terrace. You probably
will not run out of steam and money and if Brittany is the place
for your permanent home then we can sell it on. Yes, you will probably
pay capital gains tax – a little profit, a little tax – seems fair
to me!
Good luck – and if in doubt – go for it !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you don’t, someone else will. |
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