#17 Don't buy that French ruin until you've heard what veteran estate agent Dan Newton has to say
Episode 17, Season 1
Listen & read You can listen to this episode below, and read the companion blog with tips, checklists, and resources a little further down.
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The art of buying and selling property to renovate in France
If you’re thinking about buying a property in France - whether it’s a ruin to renovate, a half-finished project or something more liveable - this episode is essential listening. Dan Newton has been selling property in France for nearly 40 years. He was the first British person to hold a full real estate licence in Brittany, he’s overseen hundreds of sales, and he spent years running renovation projects alongside his agency work. He’s seen it all - and he’s refreshingly direct about it.
In this conversation, Dan joins Rosie and Sue to talk about the buying process, renovation budgets, the DPE, property investment in France, and the things people consistently get wrong before they’ve even signed anything.
Who is Dan Newton?
Dan arrived in France at 16 for what was meant to be a year out after his O-Levels. His parents - a painter and a writer - had moved there for the good life, and after a bureaucratic dead end trying to get art school funding on both sides of the Channel, Dan stayed. A magazine article about his family’s life in France prompted 450 letters from readers asking about property - all arriving by post, before the internet existed. A business was born.
His parents’ original company, Find and Renovate, oversaw around 400 renovation projects across Brittany, with Dan’s father working as maître d’œuvre and Dan himself going around sites to check progress. He later qualified as a fully licenced agent immobilier - something that requires serious credentials in France, as he explains - and set up Agence Newton, which has been running ever since.
Why renovation budgets catch people out
One of the most striking things Dan shares is that when buyers get proper renovation estimates done, around two thirds of them walk away from the sale. That’s not a small number.
The reasons are familiar to anyone working in the French renovation industry. Buyers from the UK often arrive with the old rule of thumb - buy the property and double the price to cover renovations. It doesn’t work, especially now. A full renovation project at €100,000 could easily need €50,000 of roof repairs before anything else is touched.
American buyers, Dan says, often apply the logic of timber-frame construction - houses that go up in weeks - to solid stone properties that play by entirely different rules.
And then there’s the square meterage problem. A London townhouse might have an 80m² roof. A French farmhouse bought for the same money could have a 300m² roof. The scale of everything - labour, materials, time - multiplies accordingly.
Dan’s advice: if you’re seriously considering a renovation project, get proper estimates done before you fall in love with the property. And if you can’t face the estimates, think carefully about whether a property that’s already basically liveable might be a better fit, even if it costs a bit more to buy.
The roof: look at it first
Dan’s single most consistent piece of advice for buyers is to check the roof. Even if it looks okay, ask: if you’re going to spend two or three years renovating this property, do you want to find out five years later that the roof needs replacing too?
A good roof isn’t just about keeping the rain out. It affects the DPE, it affects the structural timeline of everything below it, and it’s one of the most expensive single items in any renovation. As Sue says, their own house cost less than €20,000 ten years ago - and the roof cost more than the purchase price.
Does flipping property work in France?
Short answer: not really, not in the way people think.
The market works against it. The system works against it. And if you do it without the right legal structure, the tax office can come after you too.
The official status for property trading in France is called a marchand de biens. It comes with specific tax rules - including paying only a third of normal notary fees on purchase - but the property must be resold within five years. Most French marchands de biens aren’t doing full renovations; they’re finding off-market deals or splitting large properties into multiple units.
If you want to make money from French property, Dan’s view is that it’s more about location and DPE than aesthetics. A well-insulated, energy-efficient property with a good rating will sell more easily and for more money to the French market than a beautifully decorated one with a G rating.
The DPE: what it actually means for you
The Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique (DPE) is France’s energy efficiency rating system, running from A (most efficient) to G (least). It takes into account the heating system, insulation, glazing and more.
A few things worth knowing:
For old stone properties, Dan is sceptical of the current DPE methodology. The calculations are based on modern building techniques and don’t fully account for the thermal mass of thick stone walls - walls that can keep a property at 21°C inside when it’s 42°C outside, without air conditioning. A low rating on an old house isn’t necessarily a true reflection of how it performs.
For buyers, a low DPE on an old property is almost the baseline - it’s where the market is. A good rating is a bonus that adds value; a bad one doesn’t necessarily subtract it in the way it would for a newer property.
For landlords, the rules differ depending on whether you’re doing long-term or short-term lettings. For long-term rentals, the property currently needs to meet a minimum DPE rating. For short-term holiday lets of fewer than 90 days per year, the DPE requirement doesn’t currently apply, though Dan expects that to change.
For sellers, if you’re renovating to sell to the French market, prioritising the DPE (insulation, heating system, glazing) will do more for your sale price than the aesthetics will.
The French buying process: what to expect
The French system can feel bureaucratic to buyers from the UK or US, but Dan argues it’s actually more robust and safer for everyone involved.
Once an offer is agreed, a compromis de vente (initial contract) is signed by both parties. Everything is set out in writing from the start - conditions, clauses, timelines. The notaire then does the legal work, which typically takes around three months.
What surprises most buyers: after signing the compromis, there’s often almost complete silence for two to three months. In the UK, solicitors and agents are in regular contact keeping everyone updated. In France, because everything was agreed upfront, there’s simply less to say - until about two weeks before completion. Dan says this is probably the single thing that causes most anxiety for foreign buyers, and it’s worth knowing in advance.
Clauses matter. If your purchase is dependent on getting a loan, or on planning permission for what you intend to do with the property, those conditions need to be written into the compromis. Rosie and Sue know of cases where buyers pulled out and lost money because the right clauses weren’t in place. Your estate agent - if they’re properly licenced - should guide you through this.
On deposits: a deposit of up to 10% of the net sale price is typically paid at the compromis stage, though it can be negotiated. Five to six percent is more common currently.
5 essential questions to ask before you buy property in France
Dan’s advice is that French estate agents are legally obliged to answer questions honestly - but they won’t always volunteer information. Ask directly, before you commit:
What’s the septic tank situation, and when was it last inspected?
Are there any planned developments nearby - e.g. wind turbines, new roads, infrastructure?
Are there any known neighbour disputes or rights of way issues?
What’s the roof condition, and when was it last worked on?
What’s the DPE rating, and how was it calculated?
Vice cachée — what it is and what it isn’t
Vice cachée (hidden defect) is a clause in French law that allows a buyer to claim against a seller if a defect was deliberately concealed, wasn’t visible at the time of purchase, and makes the property partly or wholly unusable for its intended purpose. All three conditions need to be met.
Dan says vice cachée claims have gone from almost unheard of to around half a dozen cases a year at his agency - most of them unfounded. People discover a leak a year after buying and try to claim it was hidden. The process to prove a genuine vice cachée involves expert reports and can take several years. It’s not a quick route to getting money back.
A word on unlicensed property finders
This is Dan’s rant - and it’s a good one.
In France, agent immobilier is a legally defined, licensed profession. Dan was the first British person to hold one in Brittany. Commercial agents and negotiators can work legally under the umbrella of a licensed agency, but they shouldn’t be calling themselves estate agents, even if that’s the natural English translation.
More significantly: property finders are increasingly operating without licences, often via Instagram or Facebook. Under French law, anyone who intervenes regularly in property negotiations is considered an estate agent and needs the appropriate licence or to work under a licensed agency. Most property finders operating on social media don’t have either.
If you’re using a property finder, check they’re licensed or working under a licensed agency. If everything goes smoothly, it probably won’t matter. But if something goes wrong, it will matter a lot.
Similarly, Dan flags the growth of AI-generated property listings and unofficial property portals. A portal that just hosts listings is operating legally. The moment it starts syndicating those listings to other portals - Rightmove, Greenacres, etc. - it becomes, legally, an estate agency, and needs to be licensed as one.
Dan’s tips for buyers
Location first, property second. Find the area you want to live in before you find the house. The house is the easy part.
Check the roof. It’s the most expensive single item and everything else depends on it.
Research planned developments in the area — your notaire will find some things, but ask the agent directly too.
Sort the septic tank question early. Costs vary from around €5,000 to significantly more depending on the land and property size.
Ask about neighbours. There’s no official report on this, but the agent knows and must answer if asked.
Don’t choose off the internet. Visit the area first. Fall in love with the place before you fall in love with a property.
Dan’s tips for sellers
Depersonalise, but don’t sterilise. People want to feel a house is lived in — they just don’t need to see 500 photos of your kids on the fridge.
Listen to your agent on price. They know the local market. Setting your own price and expecting a quick sale at the top of the market rarely works.
Glossary
Agent immobilier - a fully licenced estate agent in France; a legally regulated profession
Commercial agent / négociateur - someone who works in property sales under the umbrella of a licenced agent immobilier; not the same as being a fully licenced agent
Marchand de biens - an official legal status for property traders in France, with specific tax rules
Compromis de vente - the initial sale contract, signed by buyer and seller once an offer is agreed
Acte de vente - the final deed of sale, signed at the notaire’s office at completion
Notaire - a French public official (lawyer) who handles the legal side of property transactions
DPE (Diagnostic de Performance Énergétique) - France’s energy efficiency rating, from A to G
Vice cachée - hidden defect; a legal clause allowing buyers to claim against sellers for deliberately concealed defects
Fosse septique - septic tank; required in properties not connected to mains drainage
Décennale - the mandatory 10-year structural liability insurance held by registered artisans
Dommage ouvrage - a complementary insurance taken out by the project owner before works begin, covering defects without waiting for liability to be established
Maître d’œuvre - project manager; the person contracted to manage renovation works on the owner’s behalf
Find Dan Newton
YouTube: The French Estate Agent
Facebook: Dan Newton Pro
Website: agencenewton.com
Facebook group: French Homes for Sale
Connect with French Reno Diaries!
Email: frenchrenodiaries@gmail.com
Maison Bretagne (Rosie Ellis) | S.R. Charpenterie (Sue Peake-Russell)