They bought Château de Purnon, a 105-room château on 24 hectares of land in 2020 – for $1.2 million. That’s less than Sydney’s median house price, which hit $1.7 million this year according to Domain’s latest house price report.

“The roof was full of leaks and the water was coming in and we were moving buckets around trying to keep the château as protected as we could.”

The cost of restoring a château

In a Q and A on YouTube last year, the couple estimated that the first phase alone will cost €2.7-2.8 million (approximately $4.8-$4.9 million) with further repair costs needing to be determined through surveys of the property — which establish what type of work is required and also allowed under heritage laws.

“For both of us, it just seemed like such an incredible adventure to not only live in a château, but to be part of a journey of restoring it.”

Funding the restorations

Château de Purnon holds “historic monument” status, which is the highest level of heritage protection in France. Buildings given this status are divided into two categories, those of national importance, or significant regional importance. This status is granted by the French Ministry of Culture.

As well as the funding from the government, the couple’s other significant income stream is paid subscriptions on their YouTube channel, streaming platforms and paid brand deals. People who pay gain access to exclusive weekly videos following specific renovation projects.

Felicity and Tim partly fund renovations through paying online subscribers who watch their videos. Credit: SBS Dateline

Their English language content following their restoration efforts has attracted global interest and even financial support from some of their almost 300,000 YouTube subscribers. This perhaps unconventional source of income has been essential to the restoration.

While Felicity and Tim vlog their adventure, other Australians like Ben Ashcroft-Dinning are helping foreigners secure a property settlement.

Helping foreigners buy a château

Ashcroft-Dinning is a buyer’s agent. Originally from Melbourne and now based in France, social media has also been crucial for his career, which began with a Facebook group about châteaux in 2020.

Ben Ashcroft-Dinning acts as a buyer’s agent for foreigners looking to buy French châteaux. Credit: SBS Dateline

“I honestly thought it was going to be this tiny, really niche Facebook group that very few people were going to join,” he told Dateline.

But the group of château enthusiasts has grown to nearly 100,000 members, leading to him offering to facilitate interest in buying chateaux as a buyer’s agent.

Why foreigners want châteaux

According Ashcroft-Dinning, the Australian housing market is influencing his clients. He said that a liveable chateau the size of a large home could be picked up for between around €1-2 million ($1.7-$3.5million).

On Propriétés Le Figaro, an international luxury real estate website, there are more than 1,000 châteaux listed for sale and around 30 are listed for less than $1 million.

Consequences of foreign ownership

Saint-Blancard, a small village of 350 residents in southern France close to the Spanish border, is grappling with the fallout of foreign investment gone wrong.

The residents of Saint-Blancard fear the village’s historic castle won’t survive the winter. Credit: Kumi Taguchi / SBS Dateline

Saint-Blancard’s local castle is in the centre of the town. When a British buyer bought it in the 1990s, the community felt hopeful that the heritage building would be preserved.

“We have this sense of pride. We love these stones.”

The castle in Saint-Blancard was bought by an English man in the 1990s. Credit: SBS Dateline

As overgrown plants travel up the castle walls and parts of the roof have collapsed, calls for the owner to sell have gone unanswered.

However, further cuts to heritage funding continue to reduce this type of support. Rural landmarks such as Saint-Blancard’s castle have been classified as “low priority” in comparison to larger landmarks such as Paris’s iconic Notre Dame cathedral, which has been rebuilt at an estimated cost of €800 million ($1.4 billion) after it was badly damaged by fire in 2019.

Expert says foreign owners need the right motivation

“The state is not a bottomless pit with bottomless pockets,” he said.

While private ownership is needed, Didier emphasises that owners need to have the right motivation and deal with French cultural heritage respectfully.

Frédéric Didier said the French government can’t afford to fund restoration for all of the country’s historic châteaux. Credit: SBS Dateline

Respect is something Tim and Felicity have valued in their local community of Verrue through the process of restoring Château de Purnon.

“And so, our life is all about Purnon and, making our work there successful.”