o be completed. The last thing you want is to buy thatperfect renovation project only to find two years down the linethat the roof is still leaking because you haven't the money tofix it as you spent it elsewhere!In England, before you buy a property it is standard practice tosend in a chartered surveyor who can estimate the various costsof building repairs. This is not the case in France. You willneed to ask a local builder, architect or a British charteredsurveyor in France to check the structural state of the buildingand estimate what the repair costs will be before you buy. Youshould then add at least 25% for any hidden extras that thearchitect/surveyor may have missed.It is also very important that you are realistic about the timeframe in which your house will be ready to move into. A job thatyou might expect to take six months in England will probablytake a few ...

...months longer in France especially if you don't speakthe language as it will take some time to find builders who comerecommended and whose work you approve of.Once you have bought your quaint but dilapidated farmhouse inthe south of France which you have chosen for its laid backatmosphere, don't be surprised when your tradesmen adopt thesame attitude in their work regime... You will have to keep ontop of them at all times to ensure that the work is completed onschedule and that everyone is synchronised. If, for example, the electrician is booked to rewire the housewithin a certain time frame and he is delayed or does not turnup, then other jobs such as plastering that follow will alsohave to be delayed and rescheduled. This rescheduling may not bepossible for some weeks which could in turn put other jobsbehind schedule... patience is something that you will have tolearn to embrace!For instance, an English couple that relocated to the Rhone-Alpsregion in the south of France found that their project actuallytook two years rather than one year as predicted. They spent thefirst few months cooking with camping gas and portable cookerwhile the kitchen was being built - so be prepared to rough it alittle during your adventure! Not that it's a bad thing: it canactually be very enjoyable cooking and eating in the greatoutdoors after a hard day's work watching the beginnings of yourproject slowly become the home of your dreams. This particular couple actually spent the first few weeks livingwith their neighbours rather than staying in a hotel while thehouse was unlivable. The two of them simply went over to sayhello and in a great gesture which you would find hard to comeacross in any part of the world, they were invited to stay foras long as they needed even though just moments before they werecomplete strangers!The project was finally completed two years after they firstbought the house and, regardless of all the headache and hardwork they put in, if you ask them now they would say they reallywouldn't have done it any differently. The stone farmhouse hasbecome a haven of tranquillity and something that they can bothbe very proud of as, every evening when they drink local wineand eat Provencal food in their scented, colourful courtyard,they can look up at their house and truly say "We did that"....