Budget understandings when house hunting
Once the euphoria subsided and the countdown to moving began, the tough task of creating an actual budget to renovate became a priority.
We had created a final budget number we were prepared to spend on our house both on the purchase and cost of renovation and decoration at the beginning of our search.
When we viewed a house that was missing what had on our “must-have list”, we would take into account our guesstimate for adding the mandatory new life elements.
Getting an idea of what large elements cost before you begin a serious house-hunt is a must. Hopefully, the actual costs of ours below will help.
Here is another post that outlines the purchasing must-have list we used to get to this point. Tips to assist buying property in France
Consequently, we added these costs (or in some cases try to negotiate a reduction) to the sale price. If the total of existing and building works needed was beyond our budget, we moved on.
For us, the planning and dreaming at each property viewed was half the fun.
Certainly, most of the houses viewed required an over active imagination, a thick pair of rose coloured glasses and a strong shot of courage to find their potential. A “menu de jour” lunch beforehand also helped.
Our Project scope
“It seems a lifetime ago that we fell in love with the renovation potential of our new home here in SW France.”
It became obvious very quickly that as DIY renovation novices we were the only ones that could see or feel the true potential of our new found home.
We chose to ignore the visible flinches as people viewed it for the first time, whether onsite or via the excited emailed photos we sent to family and friends. We have learnt to control the same nervous ticks when viewing friends’ renovation dreams in their raw state.
However, from the start we stuck to our guiding budget and the maximum number we knew was not silly to spend. In other words, we did not want to over capitalize.
Because we fell in love with our new home, we could see her inner beauty waiting to emerge.
The transformation only needed removing the weather stained grey render (crepi), relocating the unsightly external wiring and plumbing and the replacing the peeling cracked windows and exterior woodwork.
Whilst the the budget line was in place from day one the YouTube tutorials bookmarks was an ever changing mark.
Man shed heaven
The huge stone barn (man shed) was what actually clinched the purchase deal for Husband. He denies this of course.
“Man cave” envy expressed by male friends regularly confirmed my suspicions. Husband grows several centimetres when glowing green eyes view it for the first time. This continues today as the workshop upgrades and machinery collection continues to fill and improve the space.
However, for a DIY project of this scale we knew that a good sized workshop and a machinery and materials storage area were essential.
Invisible spending
Budget reality was a must at all times and had to include not only the costs as outlined below for the project parts but also the logistics of achieving it. Beautifying of our house was to come very late in the renovation process.
We knew all of this on our first visit to our house. The to-do list was significant and our “must-haves” list had many gaps to be filled.
Certainly, most of the initial projects needing attention would largely be invisible after the big bucks had been spent and before any dreams of a pool or gite/guest wing could be realized. Let alone the beautifying process.
The to-do list at purchase
Because the major works needed were detailed in the property settlement report provided by the Notaire, we had no illusions about the task/s ahead.
The comprehensive offer/purchase document is required by Law in France and must be undertaken by the vendor and provided to the buyer.
The report includes expert opinions on all the basic utilities, the energy rating, pests, lead and asbestos. Furthermore, it covers surrounding area anomalies/threats and even seismic activity.
DIY vs Contractors?
Our first step was to define our works versus those that needed professional help.
We then sorted the big jobs that needed certification or were beyond our strength or (yet to be acquired via YouTube) skill set. Then prioritized according to sensible order of works schedule.
Removing walls, pulling ceiling, floors and structure apart came first. As did any external digging and major works to allow for septic, new mains water and sinking of power underground.
From there we could begin to install utilities and begin putting the house back together.
Top of mind was always the balance of budget savings versus importance of technical installations.
Neither of our past lives brought the necessary skill sets needed for complex building works. Nor did we yet have a grasp on the local language – something one might think is a must before taking on such a life change in a foreign country.
A warning: do not assume that English speaking builders are better or easier to use. A lesson learnt the hard way!
The purchase contract mandates
The daunting “to-do” report in our purchase contract largely needed qualified trades-people.
French systems for electrics differ from those of our home countries and English standard systems will not be well received from the Electrics suppliers such as EDF.
Our work orders included all utilities and waste systems which did not meet any of the minimum standards and/or were dangerous. There was also lead paint, asbestos but luckily NO pests.
Apparently in France new building standards are only applied at the time of sale of a property which are then applied to the new owners. Beware!
Our costs for the big ticket utility upgrades
The amounts below are our actual costs for the mandatory works.
We had estimated these before purchasing without any real understanding of costs in France. During the house search process we grilled real estate agents and through this came up with an average based on their estimates.
In every case except heating, our cost guidelines were very close to the actual costs incurred.
We set a medium standard to each project. In other words, we were not hoping to turn our ugly duckling into a chateau nor were we looking to cut corners and re-create her to a minimum standard.
New installed utilities and waste management were specified as traditional. If we had decided on new technologies or cutting edge smart home systems, these costs would have increased significantly. As we have always based our time here on up to 15 years, costs were amortized and looked at as “our” return/savings on investment.
The numbers below reflect this decision.
Septic
(fosse septique) sand filter system €11,500 including ground works, new venting and connections.
Electrics
Total re-wire throughout
Splitting of three phase incoming power
Installation and splitting of power distribution boards
Plus sinking of wiring to house underground and new metre box
Significantly more power and power outlets
TOTAL CIRCA €15,000.
Plumbing
Five bathrooms
Two kitchens
A laundry
Boiler room creation
Plus external watering outlets etc
TOTAL CIRCA € 20,000.
Heating
Refurbishing and moving of existing oil tank
A new Bosch blue flame oil boiler
Summer use electric hot water heater
TOTAL CIRCA €7,000.
We did not choose solar which may have been a mistake but the costs at that time were exorbitant.
Underfloor heating (lower/ground floor level only)
We decided to refurbish the cast iron radiators on the second floor and laundry/utilities areas and add thermostats.
This budget number is almost impossible for us calculate as we had to remove all floors and excavate, add a damp course and drainage which did not exist.
However, total costs for all of these were in the vicinity of €11,000.
Ceiling Insulation
Ceilings to high thermal standards €6,000 plus VMC (moisture control system)
Contingency budget – utility phase
We were lead to believe that there were no major structural elements needing attention.
However, things such as roof or physical structure that may have evolved as we peeled the layers away were covered by a €25,000 contingency utilities budget. We also had a total number of 10% contingency across the entire project.
I am delighted to report some years on, other than a few additional beams here and there to cope with our house amendments (wall removals or floor strengthening for additional bathrooms) this stayed the case.
The new elements to complete our dream – the “must-haves”
After actual infrastructure and utilities had eaten away at our capital, it was time to draw on the budgets set aside for the additional elements. It also meant trying to put our house back together again.
NEW WINDOWS
New high spec and finish (no painting required) double glazed PVC windows throughout. >€17,000 for 21 sets of 2m high double french panelled R57 rated.
RENDER REMOVAL
Exposing the stone facades – we initially thought we would do this ourselves but €20,000+ later we are thrilled with the professional job undertaken by skilled stone masons.
To save on costs however, we undertook much of the pre-works ourselves and laboured for the works teams.
INTERIOR STONE REVEAL (Pierre apparante)
After a quick lesson from our neighbour, we purchased pre-mixed bags of lime mortar from Gedimat at €12.50 a bag to create the exposed stone wall features on the interiors. The hall, fireplaces and laundry were true DIY and apart from the great physical effort of removing old render and plaster and digging out the original mortar, it did not require outside help. One bag of mortar would complete approximately 2.5 sqm.
SWIMMING POOL
Our initial budget guestimate of €45,000 included an electric cover and terracing. I am thrilled to report that our 11m x 5m concrete pool came in slightly under however some quotes received were more than double.
Beware of companies that think English speakers have bottomless renovation accounts.
GITE/ANNEX
We allowed €100,000 for the 120sqm plus 6mx10m covered terrace including landscaping of the area. This included husband and I working side by side with the builder who and completed the annex to a shell with basic utilities in place. We completed the kitchen, two bathrooms, tiling and all decorating chores.
We undertook most of the procurement within this budget number.
Key items such as the 5m bi-fold oak doors were imported from the UK. As this was a new build but attached to the house we worked on €1000 per square metre as it shared many house resources. In the end we achieved slightly less than this to full finished specs.
For a free standing gite/guest accommodation we had in our original plan, we estimated a budget of minimum €1500+ /sqm which also included a high percentage of DIY elements and medium quality final finishes.
REAR TERRACE ADDITION TO GROUND FLOOR
15m x 5m and elevated to include carport underneath outside of cellar areas. Our budget of €20,000 was thought by many to be optimistic but we achieved it only by scoping back some of the finishes. A post will follow showing how we saved around €5,000 with a few rolls of masking tape, a mad idea and naive enthusiasm.
WINE CELLAR
We deemed this to be a must-have to store all the wine we envisaged tasting and selecting in our area. However this is still on the to-do list as are all cellar areas which are currently used for storage and garden projects. Budget – none allocated
LAKE PONTOON and pier by the lake
Also still on the to-do list along with the tea house/gazebo I dream of. Budget €4,000
ELECTRIC FRONT GATES and stone wall entrance.
Still on the to-do list but for different reasons. We want to make sure that all major deliveries, tree removal and general landscaping is completed before installing. It will be done by mid 2019. Budget €5,000 including stone mason assistance.
Tools and machinery budget – husband wisdom
We quickly learnt that machinery rental on major jobs to be done quickly eats into budgets. Hence, Husband took on the scoping and eventual purchase of our own inventory. Here is Husband’s list and the costs of delivering it against an additional budget of €50,000. Renovation Budget often ignored
Our Budget (and actual costs) in review
Our new utilities including heating system and insulation, windows and exterior stone reveal approximately €70,000 which included many small to medium “fixes” along the way.
The new gite/cabana/annex circa €100,000 including furniture and fixtures whilst the pool and its landscaping came in well under the €45,000 allocated.
We had three quotes for pool and annex which differed by over €85,000! One pool quote was over €80,000 which did not include electrics, plumbing or ground works!
Add to that €17,000 for windows, €20,000 for the new terrace and the many hundreds of materials procurement trips for general hardware, paint, furnishings and the like, we are at the end of our major budget spend.
I have not included the room specific budgets here as these are very specific to each person/team. However here is a list of those areas we have taken on and completed:
- Turned the 90 sqm attic space into a master bedroom suite with large walk-in wardrobe, ensuite bathroom and adult relax space.
- Fitted out three bathrooms (one original plus creation of two new) in addition to those two included in the gite build price.
- Created a 90 sqm space by removal of walls to make a new open plan kitchen, huge island bench, dining and lounge space.
- New ceilings in most rooms.
- New tile floors in major ground floor areas.
- Renovated all original timber floors, beams architectural features.
- Created large pantry/larder, laundry, utility room.
- Major garden installations including revitalizing of large lake and two ponds, creation of a stream, boardwalk, potager (raised vege garden), white gravel paths and significant plant and tree purchases.
- Then comes the decoration such as curtains, lighting, furniture and the like.
However, the largest budget elements remain those outlined in more detail above. Many of the room by room projects will be covered off separately in later pages.
In fact the original budget is spent. We now make every new “home improvement”decision based upon how it will enhance our lifestyle. That does not mean it is a sensible investment decision but one we are prepared to absorb..
We still celebrate the areas we managed significant savings and hard grunt. Thousands of euros saved by upcycling, recycling and restoring elements on site. Of course, bargain hunting and learning the where to buy had a huge impact on our overall spend.
Finally, whilst the infrastructure upgrade costs were significant, we purchased this house at a very good price. Our end result is a habitable space over 400 square metres including the two bedroom/two bathroom guest house, a large swimming pool, landscaped grounds and fully furnished throughout. We love it.
The final cost of this house is less than those we had viewed in a “completed” state during our house hunt. Ultimately this was the challenge we set for ourselves.
In other words, we have a achieved a house of our dreams, fulfilled a lifelong ambition to create one and all for less than those we viewed on our search with same specifications.
But …. most of all it has been fun. We hope the info above helps guide you to your dream and the satisfaction of living it.
This post assumes you are at the beginning.
Specific project by project costs are included in other posts. Whilst the numbers outlined below are our actual ones, they are obviously specific to us.
This is our Legal disclaimer about it being appropriate to our project and as a guideline only for you