First time buyer "priced out" of London buys a 10-bed mansion in France for less

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A first time buyer "priced out" of the London housing market bought a 10-bed mansion in France for less than a one-bed flat in London.  Natasha Marie, 28, worried she would never be able to secure a mortgage in London on a single income - so decided to look at properties abroad as she had always loved France.   After moving back to her family home in Greater London, with her parents in January 2023, Natasha was able to save a deposit for a first home.  After spending summer holidays in France growing up, Natasha decided it would be the perfect place to buy a home as she could get more for her money.  She decided to look elsewhere and settled on Occitanie, France - 759 miles away - where she found a 10-bedroom mansion on a one-acre plot for less than the average one-bedroom flat in London for £500k.   Natasha - who now does her corporate job remotely - moved in December 2023 and says the restoration of the mansion is a life-long project.  The property's ceiling is on the verge of collapse, it has black mould and a rat infestation.  Natasha is living in the mansion whilst she is resorting to it and using her savings to get the building back to its former glory.

Transcript

00:00Okay, yes, I did buy a mansion in the south of France as a first-time buyer in my 20s

00:04and for less than the cost of most one-bedroom flats in London.

00:07But trust me, there is always a catch.

00:10And this one comes with collapsing ceilings, unfit-for-purpose roofs,

00:13rotten beams, black mould, outdated well, everything, electrics, plumbing,

00:17you name it, it needs fixing.

00:18House tour of my half-collapsing 18th-century mansion.

00:21And I think it's about time I take you to the first floor.

00:23The landing up here is large enough to be a room in and of itself,

00:26and I want to find a way to make these hallways usable spaces.

00:29Tell me if this sounds silly.

00:30What about putting a breakfast bar up here?

00:32Have your cuppa in the morning, some comfy chairs, wake up slowly and relax.

00:36Basically an excuse to get out of bed without actually doing anything practical.

00:40Now on to the reasons I should not have bought this house.

00:42Though if you think this is bad,

00:43serve your sanity and do not watch under bedroom number two.

00:46But let's ignore the key structural damage and look at these original hair feathers instead.

00:51I'm in love.

00:52Now the bathrooms on this floor are a bit oddly shaped, quite long and thin,

00:55and I don't know if they're original or added later,

00:57but they do have the detailing on the ceiling which makes me think they're former.

01:01What do you think?

01:01Just some light cosmetic changes in here?

01:03I should be taking this all more seriously,

01:05but if I don't laugh, I'll cry.

01:07So the path to self-delusion it is.

01:09Now use a warning,

01:10those with delicate sensibilities should look away now.

01:14Appreciate the fact that I'm risking life and limb to show you this shitshow.

01:18Now serious talk, yes, this will be expensive,

01:21but I have like a 50-stage plan.

01:23Step one is literally just getting the ceiling removed

01:26and not replacing it yet.

01:28It might sound mad,

01:29but it won't affect the overall structural integrity,

01:32and most importantly, it will take the weight off

01:34and remove the risk of it coming crashing down.

01:36And then when I do have the funds, I'll add the ceilings,

01:38and then after that the plastering and the features and the whole shebang.

01:41I admit it's far from perfect,

01:43but I have to keep on reminding myself that I took this on as a lifetime project,

01:48and I'd rather take time and do it right than rush and ruin it.

01:51Now this would be a good piece from old, I reckon.

01:53Now for this next room, hear me out.

01:55I know it's not the large grand library study

01:57that people were hoping for downstairs,

01:59but I'm thinking of making this into a cozy, beautiful space to read and work.

02:03Then downstairs, as some of you suggested,

02:05I like the idea of having that room being a parlor,

02:08salon, games room for entertaining.

02:10God, does this next room have the worst mold.

02:12Like it hits you as you enter.

02:14And in case any of you are worried,

02:15we rarely ever go into the rooms that have black mold.

02:18It's just not healthy.

02:19Only occasionally after bad weather do we check on them.

02:21I've also moved some of the furniture out to stop the mold spores from migrating.

02:24I actually don't know if that's a thing, but it feels like a thing.

02:27Now these chairs, yes, they need restoring, but they're stunning.

02:31I'm thinking of just replacing the bottom with like the base color

02:34and then keep the original material in the back

02:36because it's still in good condition.

02:37Also, I never thought that I would like this dark stone look,

02:40but the detailing is lovely.

02:42Does anyone know what stone it is?

02:43Now there are two more smaller bedrooms and bathrooms on this floor,

02:46and we've actually started work on them as a semi-liveable.

02:48So I thought I'd show you in a separate video with our progress so far.

02:51And let's face it, this video is getting long.

02:53Please let me know what formats you prefer, by the way.

02:55I don't want to do a million parts,

02:56but I think there's a limit to how much of my yapping people can stand in one sitting.

03:00And don't worry, second floor coming next.

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