Set amid the gently rolling countryside of southwestern France, on 1.4 acres of grounds, stands a house known as Le Petit Château.
The name may suggest modesty, but this is a substantial country property. It has a two-story, five-bed main house with a turret and a rear terrace. Next to the house is a covered pool and the property is backed by lush woodland.
A short walk leads to the Charente River where a riverside leisure area provides swimming, canoeing, paddle-boarding, fishing, and a waterside restaurant.
It’s the sort of home many buyers picture when they imagine owning in rural France.
And it’s on the market for a price that may surprise you…
We recently shared this French manor house on our Your Overseas Dream Home Instagram account. Check out the post here.
To step back for a moment…
Stunning stately homes dot the countryside of France. According to various counts, there are more than 40,000 châteaux in the country. And they can be more affordable than most people understand…even less than the average cookie-cutter house in the U.S.
A property we recently shared on our Your Overseas Dream Home Instagram account is a prime example…
A country manor house that’s on the market for €524,000 (about $619,200).
That buys you a substantial house, extensive grounds, a swimming pool, and a guest house. That’s a lot of property for your money, especially when you consider that in many parts of the U.S., that sum might not even get you a three-bedroom suburban home. This manor house costs substantially less than the median price of a single-family home in California (which is $906,500 according to Forbes).
Let’s dig in…
The driveway of Le Petit Château, a substantial country home set on expansive grounds near Ruffec.
This impressive country house stands at the end of a rose-lined driveway in the Charente countryside of southwestern France, five minutes from Ruffec where a weekly market fills the town square.
The property spans approximately 3,050 square feet across a main house and a separate one-bed guest cottage. It also has a covered swimming pool.
The main house holds five bedrooms and four bathrooms across two floors.
The main house’s stairs curve upwards, leading to the four upstairs bedrooms.
The ground floor features an L-shaped lounge and dining room with wood-burner, a kitchen opening onto a rear terrace, a second dining room with fireplace, and one bedroom with a private bathroom.
A sweeping staircase rises to the first floor where four additional bedrooms occupy the upper level, three with en-suite facilities.
The property includes heat pump central heating and a basement providing nearly 1,075 square feet of storage. Here you’ll find a workshop, store-room, wine cellar, and the boiler room.
The one-bed guest house on the grounds spans 430 square feet.
Ruffec offers shops and services within its market town center.
A railway station provides direct connections north to Paris and southwest to Bordeaux, both regional capitals with international airports and cultural attractions. The fast train from Ruffec to Bordeaux takes about an hour and a quarter. And you can be in Paris in less than three hours—close enough to visit regularly if you want to, without sacrificing the sense of being in the countryside.
Manor house…extensive grounds…covered pool and guest house…river access…all for less than the median home in California.
This highlights just how affordably you can get amazing lifestyle opportunities in attractive destinations in Europe.
Wishing you good real estate investing,
P.S. If you’re interested in this listing you should hire an attorney and do your own due diligence. We haven’t done any due diligence on it.
P.P.S. For more listings of affordable overseas dream homes, click here to follow our Your Overseas Dream Home Instagram account.
