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00:00I'm Maggie Malloy and I'm on a mission to help Irish house hunters discover the
00:05overlooked gems of affordable European property. We're on the hunt in Italy,
00:10Spain, Portugal and France for great bargains. You've definitely surprised us.
00:16Feels nicer in the sun for sure. Property experts in each country will help guide
00:20our search. Vanity and toilet you'll be like 3,000 euros. And our very own
00:26intrepid reporters Kevin McGahern and James Cavanagh will be getting to know
00:30the regions we visit. Can we give it a bit of welly? I suppose we could. Clubs are a
00:36great way to connect with people. They'll be giving our house hunters a head start on
00:40local complexities, customs and most importantly the crack. What you just said
00:46is I want to live. It's wonderful. I want to live here. From forever homes in Portuguese
00:51villages. Massive crack. Not in a good way. To sun-drenched Spanish cities. We need to
00:57talk about this price. You could throw anything at me. I'll help find the best
01:01homes a modest budget can buy. It's a cracker of a house. It's massive inside. So grab
01:07your passport, pack your bags and join us on the hunt as we go in search of cheap
01:12European homes.
01:19Rugged coastline, rolling hills, that familiar green hue. You'd swear we were still in Ireland,
01:27but we're not. We're in Brittany, north-western France. Our house hunt begins in the fairy tale
01:33town of Jocelyn, a place of cobbled streets, riverside views and proudly Celtic roots that feel instantly
01:41familiar yet entirely new. So we're in Jocelyn, Brittany today. And one thing I noticed on the
01:49drive in, the landscape is weirdly similar to Ireland. You're totally right. It's very like
01:55Ireland here. You know, the architecture is very similar. It's just a real kind of familiar vibe to
02:00the place. Because it's colder up here in this end of France, it's actually cheaper as well, which works in
02:04our favour. Nice. Really rural, a little bit colder, so we get lower prices. And that's just the perfect
02:11situation for me and you.
02:12That keeps Maggie happy. It does, it does. There's lots of similarities between Brittany and Ireland,
02:17similar music, similar sports. They're big into the GAA. The Breton language is closely linked to the
02:23Irish language as well.
02:24So it's Ireland, but cheaper. I think we could sell this. I think we could. Yeah, yeah. Let's check it
02:29out.
02:29Right. For Gerry Forrest, this feels like a moment of change. A 62-year-old divorcee from Derry,
02:39now based in Longford, he's built a life around projects. From a rugby club and a microbrewery to
02:46renovating his own home, now he's ready to start again. And with his son Donal alongside him, he's
02:52heading to France to find a fixer-upper. The countryside in France reminds me a little bit
02:57about here, but they have their cuisine, their wine, obviously, and I think just the lifestyle.
03:03The lifestyle is the big attraction in France. So, like, we think steak, wine, etc.
03:08I've been saying maybe next year for a long time, but next year is here now, you know.
03:15Budget is 275 purchase and probably 50k max for Renault. What I'm hoping to find is something that needs
03:23a little bit of work, but not a major revamp. Enough to keep you busy, but it's not a full
03:30-time
03:30job either. Two-story. I don't like sleeping downstairs. A minimum two beds. Small village,
03:36small town, preferably a little bit of a garden. The character of the house has to be a little bit
03:42rustic and authentic, and just let me know I'm living in France, you know. I'm a project manager by
03:48birth. That's what I do for a living. I solve problems. Maybe I can apply those skills in
03:53France in some sort of situation, be it making myself available for some small business or some
03:59voluntary-based exercise, whatever. So, it's very important to keep busy. Keeping busy is the key.
04:04I know there's value out there still, and if anybody can find it, Maggie will.
04:16Brittany is the closest European landmass to Ireland, and has strong cultural and environmental
04:22similarities. During the COVID pandemic, there was a boom in rural property sales in this part of
04:28France, as wealthy city residents sought to escape lockdown to the countryside. But the trend has
04:35reversed in recent years, and rural properties have dropped an estimated 20% of their previous value.
04:42Looks like we've picked the perfect time to house hunt in France.
04:46Gerry is looking for a two-story fixer-upper near a town or village. So, we're focusing our search on
04:53the
04:53more populated heart of Brittany, between the towns of Jocelyn and Ludiac. The average house price in the
05:01region is €242,000, well within Gerry's budget. So, with any luck, I'll track down a bargain worth talking about.
05:10Hey, guys. Hi, lads. Kevin. So, what do you think of Jocelyn?
05:13My gosh, this is the archetypical French square, Maggie. It's like furry book stuff, you know?
05:18Yeah, it feels like Beauty and the Beast or something. Donal, you're baiting around it with the O'LAD this
05:23week.
05:23What do you like to travel it? Well, we've traveled before, and we're still traveling, so I guess we haven't
05:28got sick of each other yet.
05:29So, our first house is just around the corner. Do you want to have a look?
05:33Absolutely, Maggie. What are you going to do?
05:34I have a bit of work to do. I'll see you later on. Best of luck.
05:40Our first house is in the center of Jocelyn and dates back to the 17th century.
05:45It has two bedrooms and a private garden with plenty of upgrade options. It may be small,
05:52but it's a beautiful property in a wonderful location. It's for sale at €189,000.
05:59We're met at the house by architect Paul Sheraton, who knows the ins and outs of building styles,
06:06techniques and regulations in France. His expertise will be invaluable for our search.
06:12We have a town square just up the road. We have the canal. We have shops, restaurants,
06:19everything you need, and this idyllic little house. What do you think of it?
06:23Authentic is the word. And the location of the street, nice and quiet. Absolutely location, perfect.
06:28I love the windows, even that one up on the top. You could probably shout your order down to the
06:31corner
06:32there and get what you want, yeah. Well, this house dates from the 1600s.
06:36Oh, good lord. Can you believe? Yeah, it's in good condition for 1600s, isn't it?
06:40Better condition than me. Some things that have been added on over time,
06:44which I'd like to see taken off, taken back to the original state condition, that would be really cool.
06:49Okay, like what? Well, for example, you see the brickwork around the windows, around the door.
06:54Oh, really? That would normally be red. It'd be red brick. You've obviously got this lovely
06:58plastic sheeting above the doorway. You might like that, I don't know, but I'd like to see that gone.
07:05But overall, it's in, for me, it's in good condition. It's an excellent example of local, local architecture.
07:16So, Jerry, what do you think? Impressed, Maggie. Impressed, yeah. First thing caught my eye,
07:21it's got a fireplace. You've worn my heart already. Okay. You've got your living and you've got your
07:26kitchen and that little bit of combi in the middle. No, no, it's perfect for me living alone. I like
07:32it.
07:32If I described it as spacious or I described it as quaint, I think I'd be right in both
07:37senses. So, it's ticking a lot of boxes straight away. I think so. Something I have noticed is that
07:42this is single glazed windows throughout the property. I mean, you wouldn't think of today,
07:46but it does get quite cold here in the winter times, obviously. So, you'd probably want to think
07:50about getting those upgraded to double glazed. Could maybe do with a bit of a modernization,
07:55just to maybe make it to your taste as well. So, guys, I want you to have a look at
08:02the bathroom
08:03in here. Wow. This is, you know, unexpected. Yeah, it's not your traditional
08:10saldo ban and toilet separation, is it? No, this is a... Oh my gosh, yeah. Wow.
08:15A little bit of a mini wow there, Maggie. Yeah, yeah. When you come up onto this floor,
08:19you of course have that lovely bathroom. You've then got a bedroom here, which is a substantial size.
08:24You've a little kind of an alcove in here that at the moment has been used like a closet. There
08:30seems
08:30to be tiling in there from a bygone era. Would you consider renovating that and turning it back into
08:35a bathroom or putting that back into a bedroom? 100%. It's almost like overused as a bathroom.
08:41As long as you can get to the waste pipe and the bathroom is just next door, so there shouldn't
08:47be a problem with that at all. From a technical point of view, from a planning point of view,
08:50you can do what you want, so, yeah. Sounds good, yeah. This is a big, big room again. We have
08:57beams,
08:57Maggie. Do you like a good beam, do you? Oh, I mean, yeah, this is the... this is the real
09:01thing,
09:01Maggie. And again, we've got light coming in from both sides. This is excellent, you know.
09:07The house really is deceptively small from the outside, isn't it, now that we've gone from top
09:11to bottom. Paul, would you change anything? I think I'd like to have a look underneath this
09:16finish on the ceiling, just to see the amount of insulation that's there. That would be important
09:21for me. And again, the finish, there's nothing to do in this room. It's done, you know. The floors,
09:27the roof, this is finished. No reno up here. We're obviously in the centre of town, so garden
09:34space is limited, but I think when it comes to the house, it kind of suits it size-wise. What
09:39do you think? Now, this is actually quite nice. It is a little bit small, but you know what,
09:43Maggie, it takes me an hour to cut my grass at the moment, and I could really downsize from that
09:48little bit. The way it is and the way it's been kept is definitely given a bit of inspiration to
09:53see what actually can be done with the space. So we haven't talked about price. It's on the market
09:58for 189,000. Oh, wow. Yeah. Talk to me. That's a little bit lower than I was expecting in my
10:09head.
10:09Okay. Yeah. Well, I want to talk to you a little bit about pricing on the houses as well, because
10:14in
10:14France, not everyone realizes that if you offer the asking price on a house, it's yours. It's not like
10:20Ireland, there are no bidding wars. This price that is listed, if you can offer that day one,
10:27legally, you can buy the house. But there's also a climate of underbidding by 10 to 20%,
10:35and it's not looked badly on at all. Excellent. Okay. You're talking me around,
10:40Maggie. Right. Just keep it all in mind. So, yeah. And this is only number one.
10:46While Maggie has been doing her thing, I've been digging around for insight into life in
10:51Brittany and project opportunities for Gerry. For a fellow that's founded his own rugby club,
10:57microbrewery and renovates his own homes, I'd say he'd be up for anything. Hello, Kevin. How are you?
11:03Lovely to finally meet you. Likewise. I've discovered Anne-Marie Nafton, originally from Kilkenny, who moved to the town of
11:10Wellgut with her husband in 2023. She set up a traditional bed and breakfast in her new hometown,
11:16and I reckon this may just be the kind of business idea that Gerry would be interested in.
11:22Now, this is our little side of the house. Oh, wow. Which is very important to us because we can
11:31shut ourselves off from the being. You need a little sanctuary. You need space. Yeah, yeah.
11:35From all the stag parties. No, we don't do stag parties at all. It's a lovely kitchen. It's very,
11:42it's very warm and you've got your own little personal touches here. The lovely thing is that
11:47this is the original kitchen. So this kitchen is probably a hundred years old. Wow. And how have you
11:53found fitting in? Fitting in is very, very easy. Why? It's like being in Ireland, except people speak
11:59French. Okay. The other thing is, is that over 35% of the population are English speaking. Do you think
12:06being Irish is an advantage? Yes. In this area? Absolutely. Why is that? Because for Bretons,
12:14as soon as they, usually what they say is, what part of England are you from? And I say Kilkenny.
12:19And
12:19then they say, oh, you're Irish. And I say, yes, we're both Celtic. And that's it. Then you're in.
12:25I mean, even to the extent that we're now offered rounds in the pub and nobody else is.
12:33So they're aware of our drinking habits as well. They are. Wow. This is lovely. So you seem to have
12:39a real grow for running a B&B. What do you get out of it? We have one room, which
12:45is a couple. And it's
12:46great to be able to explain what Brittany is like and to show them the various places that they can
12:52go to
12:52visit in the area. For me, now this feels like home. And when I go to Ireland to see my
12:59mum,
13:00I'm going to Ireland to visit. When I get on the ferry in Cork, I'm coming home. And that's what
13:05this is.
13:07Anne-Marie is showing me around the neighbourhood and offering a few helpful tips on settling in
13:13Brittany. So this is the Mary. I've seen these all over. What are these? It's the town hall. When we
13:21move to
13:22Welgwat, we thought we actually had to go and introduce ourselves. So we did. And the woman said,
13:28nobody has ever done this before. But in our minds, it was that we wanted to have an inn into
13:35Welgwat,
13:36so that when we came back the next time, they would know who we were. So that's a good tip
13:41for all
13:41immigrants. Yeah, absolutely. First step to integration is just tell people you're there.
13:45Absolutely. Make them aware. If you need a pothole filled outside the house, they'll know you.
13:51They will.
13:54So would you have any advice for somebody maybe getting into the B&B business?
13:58Absolutely. I think the most important thing is that you choose to locate your B&B where people
14:03want to come. As opposed to somewhere off the beaten track? If people want to come to you,
14:08you don't have to go and find them. Right. The other thing is you must make sure that everything
14:13you're going to do is legal. Are you registered for business? Yeah. Have you done X, Y and Z? And
14:20you
14:20have to be able to say that you have. So you need all your ducks in a row? You need
14:23all your ducks in a row.
14:24Any other advice for somebody looking to better integrate? There are loads of clubs in the area. And
14:30remarkably, there's a GAA club in Rustrennan. I'll check that out. Well done.
14:36You're a good woman to know, Amory.
14:39It looks like Kevin has a GAA club to find. But for now, with the day drawing in,
14:45it's time to debrief back in Jocelyn.
14:50This is the life, isn't it? You like this relaxed way of life?
14:53I could get used to it, Kev, yeah. What made you decide to come to France?
14:57When I was 19, I was at college in London. And one summer, I just jumped in the ferry to
15:02Dover
15:02and hitchhiked my way around France for a month. Really?
15:05And that took me through all the highways and byways of rural France. And I got such a
15:10love for the laid-backness. I thought, yeah, this would be nice to come back here someday.
15:15A lot of it's to do with the heart, though, isn't it? It's to do with memories you've had from
15:19here.
15:19We got engaged in Paris. I mean, that's another big one, like, you know. And Donnellan,
15:23we obviously started here for six months and I did some visits here as well. So there's always been
15:27that kind of drawback to France. And look, it's convenient. It's a narrow way. It's a natural fit.
15:33How do you feel about your dad moving here? I'm glad. I'm personally, I'd be happy if he
15:37chooses France in the end because, look, my own experience in France has always been great.
15:41Is there anything you want me to look out for for the next house?
15:45A little bit more work for me to do, Maggie. Really?
15:48I thought today, yeah. That's the first time I've heard a man say that in my life.
15:52Yeah, there's not enough to do. There's not enough to do. I'd like a bit more knocking
15:56down to sort of do and rebuilding, like, you know. I don't want to be turning a key in a
16:01door
16:01and sitting down and going, hmm, now what do we do? Yeah. Next house, take a few tiles off the
16:05roof.
16:06You'd like a house in worse condition and no one has ever said left.
16:11Hello, Maggie. Busting her arse trying to get nice houses for you.
16:14Okay, I'll give it a go. I'll give it a go.
16:17Well, there's a first time for everything, but Gerry would want to be careful of what he wishes
16:22for because he just might get it. Oh, yeah, here we go. Here's our blank canvas.
16:28And Kevin will be taking the boys out for some exercise.
16:36Myself and Kevin have brought Gerry Forrest and his son Donal to the heart of Brittany
16:41in northwestern France. Gerry is searching for his next big project, a two-story, authentic French
16:48property that he can renovate to create his dream home. My first pick was a stunning two-bedroom
16:54townhouse in the picture-perfect medieval town of Jocelyn. This property was bursting with charm,
17:01complete with a small garden and veranda for the price of €189,000.
17:07For me, living alone, perfect. Gerry liked the property but is looking for more of a renovation challenge.
17:13So for our next house, we've travelled to the picturesque village of Gominay.
17:18I've taken some inspiration from Kevin's chat with bed and breakfast owner Anne-Marie Neff team
17:23and found a potential business opportunity for Gerry with this charming Breton stone townhouse.
17:29Essentially, it's two smaller houses joined together. One, move-in ready with three bedrooms,
17:35and the other, a renovation project full of potential. At €142,000, it's the most affordable
17:43of the four homes I'm showing him. And for a bonus, I don't think he's going to have to be
17:48worried
17:48about the neighbours. Myself and architect Paul Sheraton are here to size this property up.
17:54It is probably the prettiest graveyard I've ever seen in my life.
17:58And the advantage is no one's ever going to build next to you.
18:01So it's perfect, really. What do you think of the outside?
18:05So this is a very typical Breton house. Stone facades using the local materials,
18:10which would be granite and schist. So talk to me about this roof.
18:14I feel like that bowing on the ridge is something in Ireland that would put the fear of God in
18:19it.
18:19Yeah. That tells me that it actually hasn't been replaced. So that's the original roof.
18:23Really? Wow. That's the original structure underneath.
18:25So it's kind of moved with time. Okay.
18:27Um, it's not a necessary problem in itself. It's big enough inside that he could easily
18:32rent a part of it out. And it's also quite a large renovation project as well.
18:35Let's see how much of a renovation it's going to be, will we? Yeah. Yeah.
18:41There's a lot of work being done in here, isn't there? Yeah. It's got a nice,
18:45airy, spacious feel to it. And it's still got that traditional feel, but modernised.
18:49I can see there's finishing that needs to be done. It doesn't have a lot of character,
18:53which I think Jerry's probably going to want. But overall, good.
18:59Okay. Upstairs now, we have two bedrooms to the right. Then we have another big bedroom upstairs
19:06that basically covers the whole size of this space again. Everything looks okay, but again,
19:11goes back to that thing of just needing finishing. Okay. However, upstairs, there's a lot more work to
19:16do. It's not, you know, like a complete renovation, but it's more than what we're seeing down here,
19:21that's for sure. Okay, okay. So we've come down along past two bathrooms, and now we're in what
19:28feels like the second half of the house, maybe even a separate house. Back here, we have a big
19:33garage behind us, a lovely big mezzanine, and a gorgeous living area. It's a lot. The garage part,
19:40you could turn into a house just by itself. Yeah, yeah. And you've got the separate access
19:44from the other roads. The potential is incredible. He doesn't need the whole thing. Some half of it could
19:49be used as a rental. So we are a little bit more rural today. What do you think?
19:55It's very Breton. It is, isn't it? Yes, very much floating the boat, Maggie.
19:59It's kind of what I had in my mind. Good. We're not going to have too much trouble with them,
20:03are we? No, I think that's the good point. What about you, Donald? It's smaller than what we saw
20:07before, but the one we saw before was deceptively large inside. There's some things that you probably
20:12want to do just to keep the maintenance up a little bit. I don't think you've seen the guttering.
20:16It's okay, but it needs a little bit of attention. Same for the windows. You want to keep the charm
20:21of the property, but maybe just, yeah, upgrade it slightly. Myself and Kevin have this grand idea
20:28for a business venture for you with this house, but I'm not going to tell you about that till later.
20:32It sounds fantastic. I'm very keen now once I heard the cash angle of Maggie, so yeah.
20:38Okay, so I have a notebook here. I want you to take that, write down any questions you have for
20:42Paul,
20:43and we'll see you in the garden in a couple of minutes. Excellent.
20:49Okay. Very modern, the first thing. What do you think, Donald? Yeah, likewise. I didn't think I'd
20:55be walking into such an open space. There's nothing to be done in here. You say that like it's a
20:59bad
20:59thing. Yeah, well, there's almost a little bit of a holiday home feel to it, isn't there? Yeah,
21:04you'd have to maybe do a bit of a work to turn the house into a home, but doable. Definitely
21:10the master
21:10bedroom, like, but again, it could be anywhere. I don't know about their decor. The authenticity
21:15isn't, isn't, isn't hitting me at all. This is your Salda ban, is it? Oh, no toilet. Very nice.
21:21No toilet in the bathroom. No, that's not unusual. No, that's okay. Well, it's unusual for me, so.
21:27The toilet. Found your toilet. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Surely you can walk that far.
21:34Holy moly, look at this job. All right. This is the house next door, is it? I think we found
21:40the
21:41reno project. That fireplace is like something out of a chateau, isn't it? Living here and sleeping up
21:47there and then bringing this up to where I wanted to be. Now, that's definitely holiday home. This is
21:53my home. Definitely. I'm also looking, oh yeah, here we go. Here's our blank canvas. Excellent.
22:01Is that a stove in the corner you could move in here, maybe? Yeah, it's another stove. Yep. All
22:05right. Okay. I can feel the idea starting to flow a little now. How'd you get on? Well,
22:12Maggie, that's the biggest small house I've ever seen in my life. I'll tell you. It's a tale of two
22:17houses, you know. We were a little bit critical about the real modern, you'd say, finished parts.
22:22And then if you didn't know him already, by the time we got to the big project, the work to
22:27be done,
22:27his eyes were glowing nearly. I would renovate that bit first. Once that's renovated,
22:33I would come back on the first part. What would you think about turning one half of this house,
22:39you get to pick which half, into an old-fashioned B&B? There's more than ample room in there
22:43to execute that business plan, along with the renovation project and the B&B. Oh, there's
22:49my days gone, you know. Yeah. Fantastic, you know. You want that. How good are you at a fry-up
22:53now?
22:53Donal. Donal. Is he a good man for the brekkie? He is, yeah. Credit where's due. So let's have a
22:59talk about this price. Hit me, Maggie. Okay. It's on the market for $142,000. Both houses? Both houses.
23:07And I would be thinking, with the kind of level of DIY you have in there, you could push it
23:13under,
23:13couldn't you? Yeah. Paul, how much would I need to spend to bring that up to minimum spec,
23:19the second house? Well, if you were prepared to do as much of the work as possible yourself,
23:25you know, figure around $60,000 to $80,000. Excellent. Yeah, good.
23:32I've found just the thing to help Gerry burn off those Irish breakfasts and integrate himself into
23:38the local community. Rostran Football Gaelic, one of the 14 Gaelic football clubs in Brittany.
23:45It's also the newest. Set up just a year ago by Corrine Herview-Coutran and Derv Julio,
23:51it's grown fast. And now the guys could use a project manager to help handle all that success.
23:58So how's it been going? Great. Just a lot more people than anyone could have expected.
24:04Is that a problem for the club? It's not really a problem, but we have to rethink the way the
24:09club
24:09works. Do you have a Wexford accent? I was born in Wexford. No way. Wow. You could sell strawberries
24:15on the side of the line. Probably, yeah. So why is GAA so popular with the Breton people?
24:21You know, in Paris and in Bordeaux, it's a lot of expats. Yeah. A lot of people in Brittany go
24:27regularly to Ireland. Quite a lot of towns are twinned with towns in Ireland. On the way in,
24:32we saw a sign for Cantorque in Cork. Cantorque is twinned with Rostranath here. Yeah. I have noticed
24:39there's a lack of bars above the soccer goals. Bricolage. Yeah. So we made up our own plastic.
24:47All right. So we would like to have infrastructure. Infrastructure. Infrastructure, yeah. For playing
24:54and to have a good condition to practice. I think I might have someone who could help. Okay. I have
25:01a
25:01manager who's mad to manage a project. Do you want to meet him? Yes. Of course. As luck would have
25:08it,
25:08Gerry has experience of founding a sports club and Donal spent some of his college days playing football
25:13for Paris Gail's GAA. I see the possibility of a mutually beneficial relationship. Hello.
25:22Ladies and gentlemen, I've got two Irish sporting legends who are very, very, I don't know what you're
25:28laughing at. Very, very famous, very famous Irish players. Gerry, you're very good at organising.
25:34I was thinking you could sit down with Derv and maybe go over the plans for the future of the
25:38club.
25:38And Donal here was thinking maybe could run some drills. Here we go.
25:43Samash? Yeah. All right. That's good.
25:47I like your jerseys. Is this the club? Yeah. Okay. Well, you have the first step to being
25:52official already. You have the Irish bar as a sponsor. So what about your governance? So what are
25:58your structures in terms of your club? Do you have a chairman or treasure ace? Yeah. And you have
26:04somewhere to meet? Basically, it could be here. Could be at the pub. You want to get a reputation for,
26:11here's where the GAA club meet every week, you know? Yeah. You want to be known in Brittany as a
26:18very
26:18strong GAA club. So you're thinking of moving around? Yeah, it's one of those ideas I'm playing
26:24with now. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. So if you were, would you come and help us here? Oh, absolutely. I think
26:29the
26:30GAA club in any country is the way for an expat to integrate. Jerry would make an invaluable addition
26:37to this young club. And I'm glad I was able to bring them together. Like, he seemed very happy.
26:44And he's willing to get stuck in. Like, he's even doing a bit of ball buying. I did a bit
26:48in goals
26:49as well. Only let three goals in. But to be honest, they only really kicked it at me three times.
26:57While the guys have been connecting with our Celtic cousins, I've been on the hunt for our next house,
27:02and decided to go for something of a wild card. This three bedroom detached house dates back to the 1970s.
27:10While it's the newest property we've seen so far, it still has plenty of charm and space,
27:15with a subtle French style. And something I haven't come across yet, a huge garden. It's just a short
27:23walk to the town of Plessela. And at 170,500 euro, it's incredible value. Myself and Paul are taking a
27:32closer look. So Paul, I've chosen this house for Jerry for a few reasons. First of all, it's a very
27:37familiar
27:38style to what we have in Ireland. So I think it's something he'll be quite used to. It doesn't
27:43give him a lot of curveballs as well. For me, it's a very typical 1970s French construction. These
27:50buildings, for me, if there is an issue, it's going to be with the energy efficiency. I can see
27:54already that the windows are double glazed, which is good. But for Jerry's sake, I'm going to be looking
27:59carefully at that.
28:03Probably more modern than I thought it was going to be. Lovely big hallway. Lots of rooms all leading
28:08off it. It definitely has that 70s vibe. Yeah, I like it.
28:11So layout wise, I have a little kind of separate bathroom and washroom into either side here.
28:18One of the three bedrooms, which is now being used as an office to the right. And then big living
28:23room,
28:23big kitchen, both opening out onto probably the nicest part of the house, which is the garden.
28:29There is work to be done in this place. It's just not the kind of renovation he thinks.
28:34So I'm seeing this radiator over here. The system's looking a bit aged. I would be looking to update it.
28:41So we're upstairs now. Lovely bright landing area. All the rooms leading now off of this one space.
28:47We have two good sized bedrooms, big family bathroom. And I think for the view alone, this bedroom here
28:54would be the master bedroom for me. Beautiful. Yeah. So I've had a look underneath the eaves,
29:00in the cobblets, and I can see that they have used good quality insulation. Feeling more and more
29:05confident about the energy efficiency. We're down in the basement level now. Large room here that you
29:12could use for anything. We have a little storage room behind me, and then access to one of the
29:17garages. Two garages. So yeah, I can already smell the fuel system. We're on oil. That's quite expensive
29:25to run. I would be suggesting to Gerry that he changes that system. 1970s house. Quite a big garden,
29:34which I know you wanted. I actually kind of built these houses out of Lego when I was younger,
29:39you know. So that's kind of what I'm really, what I'm reminded of here. Like, is there a reason for
29:43the roof being so pitched? Very simply, it's to do the rain. You want to get rid of that rain
29:47as
29:47quickly as possible. Okay, that's interesting. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, there's nothing wrong with a bit
29:51of modernity. Absolutely not. But I'm hoping there's a lot of jam going in this bread. So Donal,
29:57what do you think of it? It's definitely different than what we've seen so far. I mean,
30:01we can see the full footprint of the house today. Is this what you see is what you get kind
30:04of?
30:05Actually. Okay. No. Okay. Well, we won't jump to conclusions with that either.
30:11Yeah. Ah, a hallway. An actual hallway. Pretty nice. Oh, that'll be me in 20 years.
30:1920? Maybe modernism so badly. It's not 1970s at all, is it? No, no. It's very practical. You know what
30:27I
30:27like? I like this. I like this. Bathrooms. Yes, little office. It's not what you'd expect from
30:34the outside, is it? No. Pretty bright, isn't it? Like, you know, that's a positive flick. And again,
30:38modern. Not much to do in here in terms of decor. A little bit tight. Really nice modern though,
30:44isn't it? Bright and breezy. That's the theme so far, right? Yeah, yeah. My first impression is this is
30:49a bit small. Well, it's narrow. I'll give you that. It's definitely narrow. I don't think it's too bad.
30:54And again, the colour's okay. It's bright. Yeah, there's nothing claustrophobic about
30:58any of this so far. No. From a French perspective, it is a bit sterile. You could transplant this
31:03house back home, couldn't you? Yeah. And not about upstairs. Two fine rooms. Fine rooms. Love the
31:10bathroom slash en suite. Big bathroom. Deep space in here under the, uh, under the rafters. Now,
31:16this is where they put all their, uh, all their clothes. Smart use of space, like. How'd you get on?
31:21It's a cracker of a house. Just, just a few little things that just sort of tempered me, but oh
31:25my
31:26gosh, it's massive inside. And actually the back looks more French than the front. I need to stop
31:32judging houses when I stand in front of them. So talk to me about this garden. Do you like the
31:36size
31:37of it? Oh my gosh. It's, it looks like a small park. Let's talk about this price. Okay. The house
31:42is on the market at the moment for 170,500 euro. It's very specific. A little bit higher than I
31:50would have thought. Another little selling point of this place for me as well was it's already
31:55registered with the Mary as a B&B. Okay. Ah, another business idea. So we don't have any decisions to
32:01make yet. We go meet Kevin. Let's do it, Maggie. Yeah. I'm not sure how this house has gone down
32:08with Gerry, but as we near the end of our property search, I'm hopeful we've at least nudged things
32:14in the right direction. Have you been enjoying the house hunt? Oh my gosh. It's been such fun,
32:19Maggie. It's not as French as you think it's going to be, is it? No, no. I've been around France
32:23a few
32:23times and there's definitely a uniqueness about Brittany and it must be the Breton culture. Yeah,
32:31the Bretons sometimes get upset if you call them French. They like to think of themselves as very
32:36much a separate part. That would account for some of the raised eyebrows I faced with some of my
32:42conversations. Breton says no. That would make sense. The 27 county. Sorry. There's only one day left of our
32:51Breton house hunt, but I've still got a showstopper up my sleeve. The bed is not only in the wrong
32:58room
32:58but the wrong house. And Kevin's hoping to rekindle a long lost love of Gerry's. Cheers, sir. Cheers to you.
33:08We're nearing the end of our house hunt in Brittany. Gerry Forrest and his son Donal have enlisted myself and
33:15Kevin in their search for a two-story fixer-upper that's full of French charm. Between
33:21kickabouts with the local GAA team, we've already seen three contenders. Our first property was small
33:27but charming. The second was a tale of two houses. And the third was a bit of a wild card.
33:35But before
33:36the final house, I'm off west to Sanguineau to a 17th century former tax collector's home that's been
33:43lovingly restored into a culinary school and residence by Niall O'Reilly and Paul Eric Jensen.
33:50What did this place look like the very first day you saw it? It looked like a ruin. It looked
33:55shabby,
33:56it looked like a cow shed that had been abandoned. And did you get a feeling at all from it
34:00that it
34:00had been a grand house in its day? Yes, that's why I fell in love with it because of the
34:05monastic
34:05doorways, the stonework. What about you, Paul? I thought, oh my god, because the weeds were up to
34:12here. Really? Yeah. A lot bigger project than we realised. This renovation's been a long project
34:19hasn't it for you both? It has. So we've got it in 2001. The main house is 99% done.
34:26What was the
34:27biggest project you tackled? We had to do the roof. Of course we got contractors in to do that. When
34:31we put
34:32the doors and windows in and the roof in, lots of cars just came from all over the area to
34:36look,
34:36see what we've done. I'm very excited to see inside. So we are right in the heart of the house.
34:46That
34:46fireplace, the second you walk in, it just kind of jumps out at you. Was that here originally?
34:51Yes. Yes, it was. What else was in here? Nothing. Nothing? It was a mess. An empty room. This is
34:59an
34:59awesome kitchen. It was only the two of us. Imagine it with nine students. Yeah, it is. All busy on
35:05the
35:05island. It's quite a small kitchen then. Yeah. One of the reasons I bought the house was the granite
35:10fireplace in what is now the dining room. Okay. It was the tax collector who the house was built for
35:15in
35:151600 built that fireplace to replicate the fireplace in the manor house that he was
35:20charging taxes on. So you've clearly done a lot of the work yourselves. Who did what?
35:25Nile feeds me and I do the practical. When you look back on it, we had no idea the amount
35:31of work
35:32it would require. That's almost better though. Yeah. Absolutely. Yeah. I mean, you take down a wall
35:37and then you find that the beams are damaged in some way and you have to strengthen them. So it's
35:42one job
35:43leads to another job which leads to another job. But the school is actually paid for a lot of the
35:47renovation.
35:50So here we have a stone that comes from Lot Uhter Castle in Lot Uhter on a Cranog in County
35:57Cavern.
35:57That's so nice to have a little bit of home here. It is. It makes me feel more comfortable.
36:01And the other stones that are holding the beams are from an old fireplace. So you're reusing a lot of
36:08stuff. Yes. Yeah. All this glass at the lower level is second hand. Really? Not just saving money,
36:15but we've given it another life. So we've come up three floors now. We're in a bedroom. How many
36:21bedrooms total have you got? We have three bedrooms and a studio. This was just one room. We had a
36:26breakthrough to another room that was completely separate. Paul discovered space big enough in the
36:31middle of the two rooms to put in a sneaky little bathroom. But these are the original beams as
36:36you can see. Not much work was done to them. You just had to clean, you know, a couple of
36:40hundred
36:40years of dust off them. In Ireland, you just wouldn't have gotten to keep them because of the
36:44wet and the dam. They wouldn't have survived. But the fact that these did because it's so much drier here
36:49is amazing. Right. So we all agree this is a phenomenal house. Yes. What year did you buy it
36:56in? 2001. 2001. How much did you pay? Break my heart. Come on. I paid 30,000, the price of
37:03a car.
37:03It seemed like good value at the time. Most of the locals laughed because they thought I paid too much.
37:08Did they? Yeah. It has taken a bit of money off us, but we've done it piecemeal. So talk to
37:14me
37:14about these extensions. Well, this extension here, I think we spent about 70 or 80,000. 85,000.
37:1985,000 on that all in. And then the second extension that we just finished,
37:23that was another 60,000. Yeah. That's got everything in it. You know, it's got the
37:28on the floor heating. It's got the new glass. All in. Just under 300,000. Really? Yeah. Wow.
37:35We're happy with it. And absolute credit to us. Really it is. Thank you. Thank you.
37:41Paul and Niall took on this huge renovation project in a way that suited their lives and their budget.
37:48Instead of rushing, they took it slow, tackling one piece at a time,
37:52and little by little, they turned it into a home they could truly call their own.
38:00So, from the food to the drink. Among Gerry's past achievements is establishing a microbrewery,
38:06which she regretfully had to close due to family and professional commitments.
38:13However, in Brittany, there's a growing industry of microbreweries,
38:17or Petit Brasserie, as the locals call them.
38:21Ah, I can feel the hair growing on my chest. That's a good thing.
38:27Okay. That's a good thing. Great.
38:30I've decided to bring Gerry to Brasserie de Guerlidon in Central Brittany to meet the owners,
38:36Jean-Philippe Picard and his wife, Natalie. Let's see if we can brew up some of that old passion for
38:42Gerry.
38:43Well Gerry, this here is Jean-Philippe, JP. He is the owner of this microbrewery.
38:49I believe it's a family-run business as well. Yes, totally.
38:52And you're the master brewer? No, this is my wife. Oh. Yes.
38:59This is a brewery. Now we're talking. So everything is in-house? Yes.
39:03The brewing. Brewing. The bottling. The labelling for the cakes.
39:07Apart from yourself and your wife, how many employees do you have working?
39:11It was our goal just to be supported by our family.
39:15This is for us a way of educating our kids. Oh my God.
39:20Just that is the fact that if you do by yourself something, you can create values.
39:27Values in your mind, but values in cash.
39:30This is very dangerous. You could be creating a rival.
39:33No. He could be much bigger than you in five years' time.
39:37We not compete against other microbreweries. We compete against industry.
39:43Yes. Yeah.
39:44We want to reimplemented what existed in the past. So it means little brewery in a little village
39:51that makes sense for everybody. Wow, it sounds like a brotherhood.
39:55Yes. And almost a cult, judging by the similar outfits.
39:58Okay. This is the proof.
40:00Well, let's solidify this brotherhood over a pint.
40:03Okay, we can do that.
40:04Sounds good.
40:07Wow.
40:09Jerry, Kevin, my wife, the brewer and the president of the company.
40:13Madam President, lovely to meet you.
40:16It is a pleasure.
40:16Hello.
40:18Cheers, sir.
40:19Cheers to you.
40:21Ah, that was delicious.
40:27So, Jerry, what did you think about our little trip here today?
40:31What they've done here is a fantastic job. What they've done here is what I was aspiring to do
40:3530 years ago. If I get a shed, I'll be well on my way to doing this job now.
40:41You'll be a happy man.
40:42Very happy man.
40:42So, from what we've seen over the last couple of days, would you say that it's less daunting,
40:48the idea of you integrating into this society?
40:52Oh my gosh, yes. I mean, whatever it is about Brittany and the Bretons, it's like moving to a
40:57different county, not a different country at this stage of the game, you know?
41:00It does seem like a lost county off the coast of Ireland.
41:04I think we need to get a tugboat and do a bit of hauling, like, you know, back to Can
41:09Turk, like, you know, for old Brittany, you know?
41:15Before Jerry gets too comfortable, we have one more house to see, or should I say houses.
41:20This large property in Morbahan has a fully renovated three-bedroom house, an attached
41:26semi-renovated three-bedder, and two large outbuildings. It's an amazing collection of buildings,
41:33almost an estate, but the price reflects that at 279,000 euro.
41:40I have saved the best house for last, Jerry. What do you think?
41:44I think this is the perfect French rural retreat, Maggie. This is everything I had envisaged.
41:49Donal, what do you think?
41:50I love it, yeah, absolutely.
41:52Great, great.
41:52I really like this one. It's in great condition. The roof's in good condition.
41:57Obviously, it needs a bit of attention, a little bit of maintenance. You've got some work to do,
42:00which is good. There's one thing I'd change. It would be the windows. Some shutters,
42:06some authentic character windows, and this would look absolutely stunning.
42:10We have the main dwelling house, obviously, directly in front of us, which is fully renovated.
42:15The one on my right here with the white windows is actually partially renovated to become a house.
42:20Then we have a really nice outbuilding here that hasn't been touched at all.
42:24And then I have another outbuilding behind the house that I actually think you're going to love.
42:33It's nearly as big as the house.
42:34It actually is, yeah.
42:36The finish is magnificent, like beams, the stonework. Everything is finished, like, you know, to quality.
42:42So this is where myself and Kevin thought maybe you could set up your microbrewery.
42:46Very much like it's got visitor center written all over it as well. Great potential, Maggie.
42:51If you look behind you, they've actually prepared a space for a swimming pool.
42:55Oh, my gosh. Okay.
42:56I want to talk to you about the price a little bit early on this house.
43:00It's on the market at the moment for £279.
43:04But remember, you're in France, so don't be afraid to come in at that 20% below mark.
43:09What do you think of the price?
43:11You're getting a lot of house for that. You're getting a lot of shed as well.
43:14But it's going to be a cash generator. So that makes a little bit of sense, like, in terms of
43:20balance.
43:21There is work to do. So whatever you get it for, add a little bit to finish it up to
43:25your liking.
43:26So keep that in mind as well.
43:30It's very cozy, Maggie, isn't it? We've got our beams.
43:34Yeah. I'd like to see that.
43:35There's a modern feel, but it doesn't feel too modern.
43:38Yeah. There's a little bit of rustic about it.
43:40Yeah.
43:40And, of course, we have our very traditional fireplace.
43:43Yeah, I like it.
43:44I like it as well a lot. I like the space.
43:46So we have a great big living space here, then a kitchen off to the left,
43:50and then we have a downstairs bathroom just behind us on this side.
43:54That's basically your whole ground floor.
43:57Yeah. The one thing I'm just noticing, there's no real defined dining area.
44:01I would say you could possibly knock down those walls around the kitchen.
44:04You could even have an open plan kitchen and dining and living room.
44:08Good. Okay. Well, that's not problem solved.
44:10All the boxes are ticked almost.
44:12Okay. Okay. We're doing well then, yeah?
44:13So far, so good, yeah.
44:14Great.
44:18We have three bedrooms, then a little bathroom washroom down the end.
44:23I feel like this is probably the master bedroom.
44:25Yeah. Oh, definitely. It's a cozy room.
44:27The bed is not only in the wrong room, but the wrong house.
44:30I'd be burning most of that in the stove for a start.
44:34No, but yeah, no, fine room.
44:35I honestly wish you'd give me a map now before you sent us upstairs,
44:38because it's a bit all over the place, but that's a draw, I think, honestly.
44:43But I think it's a shared opinion that every single room would have to be redone.
44:48Would you like to see the part of it I think you'd love to live in?
44:51Certainly would, Maggie.
44:54So you've seen the magnificent upstairs, lovely exposed stone walls, the white.
45:00Really a great space, great work done already up there.
45:03But down here, I just think is the showstopper probably of the whole property.
45:07The fireplace, the space, more exposed stone, the beams, Gerry.
45:12Yeah, it's a tale of two houses again, Maggie.
45:15This is much, much more authentic, not quite finished.
45:18I think they've done it in a very sympathetic way that's kept the character of the building.
45:23I really like it.
45:24Yeah, crazy layout, but like equally creative.
45:27So it's a cool, cool project.
45:29So you really could just flip it around completely and have the original house as your rental,
45:34your jeet, your B&B, whatever you wanted to do with it.
45:37You have the sheds for your business, maybe your microbrewery, and then your renovation in here.
45:42And the other shed attached to this part is exactly the same footprint,
45:45downstairs and upstairs, so the massive potential there as well to develop into that.
45:50Yep.
45:51I'm going to have to do some furniture shopping for sure either way.
45:54I think so.
45:54Yeah.
45:55So we've seen four houses, very, very different properties all around.
45:59You two have a lot of thinking to do because I want you to come back to me a little
46:03bit later
46:04and I want to know which one of these houses comes out on top.
46:07Okay.
46:08No pressure at all.
46:11It's been a fantastic trip around Brittany and we've seen some stunning properties.
46:17First, in medieval Jocelyn, we had a two-bedroom townhouse at €189,000.
46:24Then in Gominay, we had two houses in one for €142,000.
46:30Next, we were on the outskirts of Plessela with this 70s-style house that cost €170,500.
46:38And finally, we have our incredible collection of buildings in Morbahan for €279,000.
46:47We're back in Jocelyn to find out which property came out on top for Gerry.
46:51That has been some search.
46:53Certainly has, Maggie.
46:54A whole lot of houses, lots of choice. I'm dying to know which one floated up to the top.
46:59Oh, house number four by a fairly good margin, Maggie.
47:02Really?
47:03Oh, there was a little bit of everything in that house.
47:05Not necessarily all in the right place, Maggie, but I mean, we had the fireplace, we had the huge barn
47:11and just the vista of the house itself.
47:13It looked French and it felt like you were in the French countryside genuinely, you know.
47:18Potential, potential, potential.
47:20Yeah, yeah.
47:20Was there a bit of back and forth making the decision?
47:22There was a conversation.
47:24I'm just advising a little about the scale of the project.
47:28Yeah.
47:28Now, we know he wanted that and like, to be fair, there was a bit on every house.
47:32Every house was a hit.
47:33Okay.
47:33But I think he knows what he wants.
47:36Okay.
47:36Just be conscious of the length of time it might take.
47:39So you didn't listen to him at all, basically?
47:41No, look, it's a lifetime project, but I expect to live for another 40 years, Maggie.
47:45So there you go.
47:46There you go.
47:47Well, look, I wish you the best of luck with the search and wherever you end up from here.
47:51Thanks very much for your time, Maggie.
47:53It's been a real eye-opener.
47:55Do you think it's time to head home?
47:56Absolutely.
47:57Let's go, Maggie.
47:58Come on.
48:01There's always a concern with properties like this that my house hunters are going to take
48:05on too much.
48:06But the thing about Gerry is he's already renovated a house like this.
48:10His place in Longford, he did it step by step.
48:13He didn't take on too much at any time.
48:15And because of that, I think this house is perfect for him.
48:20Oh, Maggie, what a trip.
48:22I was blown away by all the links between Brittany and Ireland.
48:25I think it would be a really easy transition for an Irish person to move here.
48:28They love Irish culture.
48:29They're mad to make friends with us.
48:31I think Gerry's going to get on really well.
48:33Out of everywhere we've been by far, this is probably one of the best fits for Irish people.
48:37I love it.
48:38Absolutely love it.
48:39My favorite thing other than that was just the fact that I was able to bring house hunters
48:42on a trip where they could underbid on houses and quite substantially underbid.
48:49I'm not talking €5,000.
48:50You can underbid by €20,000.
48:52Wow.
48:53You're in a really strong position.
48:54Yeah.
48:55It's a foreign concept to us to be able to offer lower money.
48:59Yeah.
48:59You would be thrown out of the estate agents.
49:01The emails would not be answered, phone wouldn't be taken up.
49:04It's amazing.
49:05It gives you the opportunity to bring people on a house hunt the way it's meant to be.
49:09And it's kind of nice, isn't it?
49:11Yeah.
49:12Right.
49:12Another fine job.
49:13Let's go get a crepe.
49:14Right.
49:14Come on.
49:31What are we doing?
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