What do French buyers actually want in an old farmhouse?

I am selling my house in Haute-Vienne and moving further south, but I have no idea about the French property market.

What are buyers looking for? Is it worth mentioning the strawberry beds? Should I photograph the door-knocker in the shape of a woman's hand? Will people like the trapdoor in the sitting room floor? Do people care about multiple bookshelves? Are the heart-shaped decorations on the cupboard doors too much?

English vs French agents

I asked a couple of estate agents to come over and tell me what might be worth doing. "Don't do too much.

People like to think there's room for a little DIY so they can put their stamp on the place," said the first one, who was English.

"But the kitchen lino is hideous. Can't you take it up?"

She's right. It is hideous and I have been meaning to remove it for the last decade. Especially as it conceals wonderful old floorboards of all different widths.

I have already taken the lino up on the rest of the ground floor so I know it's really only a matter of scrubbing and oiling. I put that job on my list.

When the second, French, agent paid a visit, she was amused.

"The English always prepare their houses before they sell them!"

"Why wouldn't you do that?"

"Cleaning them will not improve the price!"

"Surely it's just common sense?"

"French people don't sell houses as often as the English. They just stay in the first house they buy until their children either take it over, or sell it once their parents are dead. And they don't have time to come from Paris just to pick all the cherries."

In the end, she agreed that the hideous lino had to go but was completely unfussed by the rest. Her view was that in any case the house would only appeal to people who wanted an old property.

The exposed 19th-Century fireplace, the traditional staircase, the oh-so-English wallpaper (I bought it from Leroy Merlin) were all part of its “charme”.

Two loos is good apparently, and she liked the original front door. She wanted to know if I was selling the sheep with the house and warned me that if I sold them to French buyers, they might end up in the pot.

What surprised me most

As for the stuff I assumed was a drawback – the orchard, the courtyard garden, the huge barn, all the outhouses – apparently people want this stuff.

The barn is big enough to convert into two large houses, or a mega gîte. And the triangular patch of land outside the barn would make a nice terrace. (I'd better get someone to bring their industrial-sized strimmer over to clear it.)

I had a DPE survey carried out and the house received a C rating, which isn't too bad.

Both agents were optimistic they could sell it very quickly and even the notaire seems hopeful, so here we go.

My farmhouse is on the market for €246,000 and I will let you know how I get on with selling it.