A Big Apple couple who convinced their family to sell their home in the US and splash $2.6 million on a crumbling French chateau are now struggling to keep the dream alive after being besieged by structural problems and costly renovations.
Julia Leach, 33, and her fiancé Caroline Ibarra, 37, purchased the 750-year-old chateau in Charente, 90 minutes northeast of Bordeaux, with Leach’s parents in early 2021 with the hopes of turning it into a full-scale hospitality business, the Wall Street Journal reported.
But two years after setting up their Lady of the Château business, the couple say they have been set back by the staggering cost to renovate the sprawling 14,000 square feet property.
The bill to repair and restore the property has balloon to nearly three-times their expected $1 million budget.
What’s worse, they now risk being deported when their visas run out if they can’t prove they’re earning more than France’s required minimum wage of roughly $46,800 within the next two years.
The couple’s dream to live in the French countryside chateau hit a snag almost immediately after they decided to uproot from their Brooklyn apartment, give up their TV and film camera assistant careers and start a YouTube channel to document the renovation process.
They were quickly plagued by issues with the castle-like property, including structural problems, leaks, sewage backups, electrical issues — and even a small earthquake.
At one point, the couple found themselves “knee-deep” shoveling sanitary napkins from a backed-up septic tank and removing dead animals from the infrastructure.
The couple also weren’t aware when they purchased the chateau that it was listed as a historic monument, which means architects have to be granted government approval for any structural changes to the building.
The family — including Leach’s parents and sister, who also all relocated for the joint venture — had planned to make a significant investment in the property.
The costs, though, have ballooned to nearly $3 million.
“It is becoming completely unaffordable,” Leach recalled thinking early on, adding that the expense made them completely rethink the initial two years of renovations plans they had set aside.
Leach’s parents had sold off their “French Provençal”–style family home in La Jolla, California to help pay for the château and invest in the business.
Leach said the chateau’s gardeners and cleaners, including some who had been working there for decades, also realized early on that the couple were serious about reviving the property and weren’t just there to “drink champagne in bed.”
“It was more like crushing responsibility and panic,” she recalled of the first few months at the château.
Throughout all the renovations and structural issues, the family say they have still been trying to keep their business plan afloat.
Despite initially opening the property as a bed-and-breakfast, they have since shifted to focus on “immersive retreats” so they can try and turn a profit.
“I think what we’re doing is, in a lot of ways, very American,” Ibarra said.
