Frequently asked questions

How do I find out about building grants ?

See our page on grants at 'Applying for a grant'

I've had a bad experience with French builders, how do I know you can be trusted ?

The building industry is full of stories about cowboy builders, unfinished work, last minute extra pricing etc. Worse still, some of these experiences have happened with qualified builders.

With French Property Renovation you firstly have the advantage of speaking in English, so you can form your own impression as you would with a British builder. Secondly we are always acting in your interests, rather than that of the tradesman. Indeed, we get quite a ot of of our work from people who have been previously let down in one way or another.

The best recommendation of all is that o far we have 100% happy customers !

How much do you charge ?

Sorry to be a bit vague on this one but prices do depend on the size, type, and location of the job. We get asked about grants a lot and a preliminary investigation normally costs £100. The second most popular service we provide is providing building surveys and valuations, which are normally either 1/2 a day's work (£300), or a full day (£500).

Can you help me buy an investment property ? Do you think this is a good idea ?

Good question ! We are not estate agents and normally suggest you go through the normal channels to find your property. However there is no harm in letting us know where you would like to live and how much you want to spend, as in our travels we do come across some bargains.

As far as getting a return on your investment is concerned, our standard reply is that this is only a good idea if you manage to get somewhere at a knock down price (sometimes literally!!). If you sell within a certain period you have to pay profit tax which is a big disincentive to trying to make a quick profit. There are ways of getting round this, but they are complicated and involve spending more money - if you are worried about red tape then don't go to France !

Do you charge for building estimates ?

Yes. We started off doing them for free but soon realised that a lot of people were using us as a free valuation service, and sometimes wanted to do the work themselves.