Dateline’s latest episode looks at why some Australians are joining the wave of foreign buyers snapping up French castles and the race to restore them. Watch Châteaux For Sale now on SBS On Demand.
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Chateaux For Sale
episode • Dateline • News And Current Affairs
episode • Dateline • News And Current Affairs
For Australians Felicity Selkirk and her partner Tim Holding, a former Victorian politician, restoring a château in western France wasn’t always on the cards. But since Tim left his political career in 2013, moving to Paris represented a change of pace.
After months looking at French properties, the couple fell in love with a heritage estate that happened to cost less than a house in Sydney.
They bought Château de Purnon, a 105-room château on 24 hectares of land in 2020 – for $1.2 million. That’s less than Sydney’s median house price, which hit $1.7 million this year according to Domain’s latest house price report.
But the once grand estate was on the cusp of dilapidation.
"The locals thought we were batshit crazy when we first arrived," Tim told Dateline.
"The roof was full of leaks and the water was coming in and we were moving buckets around trying to keep the château as protected as we could."
The cost of restoring a château
In 2024, Tim and Felicity were able to get the roof replaced, making the château watertight for the first time in decades. Five years into owning the property, they were finally able to start work on the inside of the main residence.
They say it was the "optimism of inexperience" that kept them going. But with only six of the 105 rooms done, it's an immense project.
The couple decided to start a YouTube channel to share the restoration journey of the estate and to connect with friends and family back in Australia.
In a Q and A on YouTube last year, the couple estimated that the first phase alone will cost €2.7-2.8 million (approximately $4.8-$4.9 million) with further repair costs needing to be determined through surveys of the property — which establish what type of work is required and also allowed under heritage laws.
For Felicity and Tim, preserving the estate and its historical architecture is the priority at Purnon.
"It is not feasible at all to do everything that needs to be done here in our lifetime," Felicity said.
"What we can do is we can make sure that we save and protect as much as we can in our lifetime and that will be our legacy."
Tim said: "We never came here hoping to play Lords and Ladies."
"For both of us, it just seemed like such an incredible adventure to not only live in a château, but to be part of a journey of restoring it."
Funding the restorations
Château de Purnon holds "historic monument" status, which is the highest level of heritage protection in France. Buildings given this status are divided into two categories, those of national importance, or significant regional importance. This status is granted by the French Ministry of Culture.
This status qualifies the couple for government funding, which varies across federal, regional and local governments and councils. The national budget for heritage restoration is €326 million ($582 million) per year, and regional grants provide subsidy rates, up to 40 per cent for restoration works on heritage monuments and 20 per cent for listed properties.
As well as the funding from the government, the couple’s other significant income stream is paid subscriptions on their YouTube channel, streaming platforms and paid brand deals. People who pay gain access to exclusive weekly videos following specific renovation projects.
Felicity and Tim partly fund renovations through paying online subscribers who watch their videos. Credit: SBS Dateline
While Felicity and Tim vlog their adventure, other Australians like Ben Ashcroft-Dinning are helping foreigners secure a property settlement.
Helping foreigners buy a château
Ashcroft-Dinning is a buyer's agent. Originally from Melbourne and now based in France, social media has also been crucial for his career, which began with a Facebook group about châteaux in 2020.
Ben Ashcroft-Dinning acts as a buyer's agent for foreigners looking to buy French châteaux. Credit: Will Reid / SBS Dateline
"It wasn't the listings right at the beginning."
But the group of château enthusiasts has grown to nearly 100,000 members, leading to him offering to facilitate interest in buying chateaux as a buyer’s agent.
Why foreigners want châteaux
While his clientele is primarily from the US, where "the château kind-of fairytale is popular", Ashcroft-Dinning said Australians do engage with his service, something he puts down to a national affinity.
According Ashcroft-Dinning, the Australian housing market is influencing his clients. He said that a liveable chateau the size of a large home could be picked up for between around €1-2 million ($1.7-$3.5million).
These properties are "quite luxurious but really much more affordable than you think, especially compared to Melbourne and Sydney house prices", he told Dateline.
There are approximately 45,000 châteaux in France. While many are still in French hands, either through inheritance or family trusts, mounting costs for maintaining heritage properties are leading some families to want to sell.
On Propriétés Le Figaro, an international luxury real estate website, there are more than 1,000 châteaux listed for sale and around 30 are listed for less than $1 million.
Consequences of foreign ownership
For French locals though, a foreigner’s bargain dream can be a double-edged sword.
Saint-Blancard, a small village of 350 residents in southern France close to the Spanish border, is grappling with the fallout of foreign investment gone wrong.
The residents of Saint-Blancard fear the village's historic castle won't survive the winter. Credit: Kumi Taguchi / SBS Dateline
But instead, it has fallen into disrepair, with some damage irreparable. Villagers fear the castle won’t survive the coming winter.
Residents such as Sandrine recognise that while there were "many, many reasons" why the owner’s grand plans didn’t come to life, the neglect of the building has been hard to watch.
The castle in Saint-Blancard was bought by an English man in the 1990s. Credit: SBS Dateline
"We have this sense of pride. We love these stones."
As overgrown plants travel up the castle walls and parts of the roof have collapsed, calls for the owner to sell have gone unanswered.
There have been pushes from the French government to have chateaus remain in French ownership. Through initiatives such as Loto du Patrimoine, or Heritage Lotto, launched in 2018, proceeds from the sale of scratch tickets are used to fund heritage projects.
Some of the damage to Saint-Blancard castle is irreparable. Credit: Will Reid / SBS Dateline
However, further cuts to heritage funding continue to reduce this type of support. Rural landmarks such as Saint-Blancard’s castle have been classified as "low priority" in comparison to larger landmarks such as Paris's iconic Notre Dame cathedral, which has been rebuilt at an estimated cost of €800 million ($1.4 billion) after it was badly damaged by fire in 2019.
Expert says foreign owners need the right motivation
Frédéric Didier, regarded as France’s chief historic monuments architect, said private and foreign ownership of châteaux is fast becoming essential.
"The state is not a bottomless pit with bottomless pockets," he said.
As the heritage architect behind the €390 million ($697 million) restoration of the Palace of Versailles, he said the French government already has trouble maintaining its own heritage properties and that different strategies are needed to address the numerous châteaux across the country.
Frédéric Didier said the French government can't afford to fund restoration for all of the country's historic châteaux. Credit: SBS Dateline
"We must act as if, with every destruction, every loss, it’s as if we are amputating something that belongs to all of us," he told Dateline.
While private ownership is needed, Didier emphasises that owners need to have the right motivation and deal with French cultural heritage respectfully.
Respect is something Tim and Felicity have valued in their local community of Verrue through the process of restoring Château de Purnon.
"There's a lot of emotion in this community about the château. It goes back a long way and there's a lot of emotion about us and what we're doing," Felicity said.
Despite initial awkwardness communicating through a language barrier and cultural nuance, locals have embraced their ownership of Purnon.
The local mayor even officiated the couple’s wedding at the château this year.
Felicity and Tim say locals have embraced their ownership of Château de Purnon. Credit: Will Reid / SBS Dateline
"We've committed to this project; we're integrated into society here," she said.
"And so, our life is all about Purnon and, making our work there successful."
