REAL LIFE


“It was the views of the valley, with plum orchards at the top of the drive that sold it to us”


a French couple! We returned to France in March, paid cash for our wreck and then stayed at the local hotel while we started cleaning and sorting out our new house. One evening, Mike and I were


having dinner at the hotel when we heard an English voice behind us. I turned around and asked the couple if they lived in the village, telling them that we had just bought a wreck of a property. When he told me he was a plumber, I said you’re the man we desperately need, as we don’t have a toilet in the house. He fixed a temporary toilet for us until we had our septic tank installed. There were many comical incidents involving the toilet, as I’m sure you can imagine, but we won’t go into that.


FUNDING THE WORK We had absolutely no experience of renovation, but over a couple of years we met artisans and people who worked with us. As our money was running out, we both had to find work. Luckily we met an English guy who looked after holiday homes in the area and was trying to find someone who could paint some of the properties. Mike took this on and I went cleaning, which I’d never done before. Later on, we met another


man who was renovating four properties in the village, which he intended to rent out to holidaymakers. He needed someone to look after them, so I approached him and he agreed that Mike and I could do the work. This included handling the cleaning, looking after the gardens and maintaining the swimming pools. We did this for about six years and built the business up to the extent that 4


FRENCH PROPERTY NEWS: March/April 2025 77 A lush setting for alfresco dining


The enclosed veranda decked out for Christmas


Bright and airy, the veranda is great for entertaining


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