Château Les Forges is a striking example of a French manor…
The house has a castle-like appearance, with two large wings framing a central core, giving it a sense of formality and grandeur.
Tall dormer windows deliver light to the interior, while above pitched roofs rise steeply in the traditional French style. On the second floor, a large terrace provides views of the vast, manicured grounds.
This is a stunning, stately property. And today it also boasts a range of modern amenities, including a heated swimming pool, two tennis courts, and 27-hole golf course that has a clubhouse and bar/restaurant.
Yet right now, you can own a stunning apartment there for just €99,950 ($111,200)…
You can own a home on the grounds of this stunning chateau with access to a pool, tennis courts, a 27-hole golf course…all for less than €100,000.
Located in western France’s Deux-Sèvres department, Château Les Forges is set on an estate of 21 acres.
The river city of Poitiers, with its Romanesque architecture, is a 40-minute drive east (Poitiers is just 90 minutes from Paris by high-speed train). The historic port city of La Rochelle, with its glorious Atlantic beaches, is about 90 minutes southwest.
Stunning stately homes like Château Les Forges dot the countryside of France. According to various counts, there are more than 40,000 châteaux in the country. Since the mid- to late 20th century, a considerable number of them have been subdivided to create apartment/condo communities. That means owning within a French chateau or on its grounds can be shockingly affordable.
Currently on the market in Château Les Forges is this one-bed, one-bath apartment.
Listed for just €99,950, it’s in a building that was once the stables. That building has been meticulously preserved and renovated, and now houses two attractive apartments.
The one currently on the market spans 807 square feet and has a living room with chestnut floor, fireplace, wooden ceiling beams, and French doors with access to both a terrace area and gardens. There’s also a kitchen with all modern appliances, and a wooden staircase leading up to a bedroom that has a Juliette balcony with views over the château grounds.
This one-bed apartment in Château Les Forges has a small outdoor terrace area with a Juliet balcony above.
As an owner here, you get access to the estate’s amenities. That’s a sensational opportunity when you consider the lifestyle…
Days spent strolling the fairways of the lush, expansive golf course…lounging by the heated pool in front of the chateau…playing tennis in the warm summer sunshine…walking the expansive grounds…visiting local medieval villages to enjoy coffee and pastries in ancient squares…
All for less than $112,000.
With a 30-year mortgage of 80% at 3.6% interest (the average rate in France), that’s only around €361 ($402) per month.
And you don’t even have to pay utility bills…
Ownership of the 21-acre grounds is shared among the 27 home-owners who have apartments here. This ownership comes with a quarterly maintenance fee of €1,800 ($2,000). That pays for your utilities and a full-time caretaker to maintain the pool and grounds.
At about $667 per month, this fee is not insignificant. But look at all you have… And when compared this to the HOA fees you’ll pay in communities in U.S. states like Florida, which can often top $1,000 per month, it’s very reasonable…particularly given the size of the grounds and the upkeep necessary on a historic property like this.
Now, to be clear, neither me or my team has visited the chateau or done due diligence on the property. I share it because it’s a fascinating listing…and it highlights just how affordably you can get amazing lifestyle opportunities in attractive destinations in Europe.
As I say, opportunities to live in a chateau like this can be quite accessible. To give another example…
This two-bed apartment spanning 1,100 square feet is in an absolutely stunning historic chateau set on 16 acres in the central Loire Valley. It’s on the market for less than €200,000. And you’d have golf, historic villages, and the renowned Loire wine-growing region on your doorstep.
This grand old structure has been converted into a residential community, and you can own a two-bed home here for less than €200,000. Listing here.
Sure, in major European cities like London, Paris, Barcelona, Lisbon, Dublin, etc. you’ll typically need a big bank balance to afford a nice property that offers an incredible lifestyle.
But look outside popular tourist hotspots and the major economic centers, and you’ll find that countries like France, Spain, and Portugal are home to thousands of picturesque towns and villages where the pace of life is slower and property prices can be amazingly affordable.
Even a relatively small budget can deliver an incredible home. And if you have a bigger budget, the kinds of homes you can get can be mind-blowing…
Consider that, according to Zillow, the median list price for a home in California last month was $759,333.
Well, for hundreds of thousands of dollars less than this amount, you could own this magnificent mansion…
This magnificent five-bed French mansion offers 5,300 square feet of living space across five floors.
My team came across a listing for this stunning five-bedroom, five-story village house in Montaigu de Quercy in the southwest of France. This village is nestled in the rolling hills of the Quercy region (you’re about 90 minutes from the city of Toulouse, and just over two hours from Bordeaux).
Set across 5,300 square feet of living space, the mansion has five bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace, and a terrace with views of the village. There’s also a kitchen, dining area, a library, a music studio (the former owner was a famous British musician), a wine cellar and multiple basements. The home was fully renovated and modernized in 2011, and has a heat pump and double glazing. The asking price is €495,000 ($550,800).
Again, if we look at what that money will buy you in the U.S….well, it’s about the same as the average value of a typical single-family home in New Jersey (which is $550,459, according to the Federal Reserve).
All this is to say that, no matter what your budget, if you look in the right spots overseas, you’ll find truly life-changing opportunities.
Ronan McMahon, Founder, Overseas Dream Home & Real Estate Trend Alert
P.S. For more listings of affordable overseas dream homes, click here to follow our Your Cheap Dream Home Instagram account.
P.P.S. Have a question or comment for me or my team? A question about owning in France? A destination you’d like us to scout. Share it here. I’d love to hear from you. Here’s a question I got from a reader…
Margaretta S. asks: I’d love to hear more about towns in Greece including on the mainland.
Ronan says: Hi Margaretta. Greece is a destination that’s very much on my “next places” list to explore this year. In fact, right now, one of my team members is deep in research mode for a scouting trip there in the next couple of months.
Greece is a destination that has a special place in my heart…I backpacked around the islands when I was in college, living every young man’s dream of freedom and fun.
But these days, for real estate investment, we won’t be looking to well-known islands like Mykonos and Santorini. These are places that are suffering from serious cases of over-tourism…they’re over-crowded and over-priced. Even when I was there pre-pandemic in 2018, the crowds were horribly uncomfortable.
There’s so much more to Greece than just its sunny islands…we’ll be investigating some of the countries lesser-known spots in the coming months. Stay tuned for updates.
We’re going to be looking at the quieter corners of Greece…places that the mainstream haven’t discovered yet.
These places are just as beautiful as the more popular islands…they have the same glistening white-washed houses, the crystal-clear Aegean Sea waters, and the same great Greek food and culture that are so appealing. But without the thousands of tourists, and with much more affordable real estate options.
Stay tuned for his updates on our Greece scouting plans. And if you have a destination there you’d like us to scout, share it here.
Your Daily Dream Home
Vançais, Deux-Sèvres, France
This spacious three-bedroom stone house with a courtyard is set in a quiet village in the French countryside.
On the ground floor there’s a fitted kitchen and a living room equipped with a wood stove. A hallway leads to a shower room and also provides access to the upper floor. A bedroom with laminate flooring completes the ground floor.
Upstairs, there’s a landing, two further bedrooms, and a bathroom. The property also includes an attic with wooden flooring.
Outside, there’s a large courtyard and a separate 2,600 square foot garden.
The home is in Vancais, a small village located in western France. The region is known for its traditional rural French architecture. Many buildings in and around Vancais are constructed from local limestone, giving them a distinctive honey-colored appearance.
The surrounding countryside is a delight, with fields of sunflowers and wheat, and patches of woodland. The landscape is dotted with small villages, ancient churches, and occasional windmills.
