No Going Back - Chaos at the Castle

[Deby]

Did anyone see No Going Back on C4 last night?  I had been waiting all week for this.

Having bought one of these huge money guzzlers ourselves I was very keen to see what they have done/going to do.

I fear for this couple and I sincerely hope there is some good news on the horizon, but I cannot imagine how they are going to succeed, but maybe in the face of adversity they will!

We struggle as it is with 2 young children to occupy our time, but what they have undertaken is beyond me - 86 acres, major renovation, plans of an organic garden - mine looks very sorry for itself through my neglect (no time). 24/7 working to get things ready for the guests, but am sure every gite owner goes through this...

I do sincerely hope they make a success of their project and if they are reading this I really emphathize with some of the problems which they will be faced with.

We are still struggling along like everyone else in this business, just trying to make a success and make ends meet, but boy have they got a mountain to climb.  Sorry, but it makes me feel less daft!

Deby

[David584]

Good evening Deby

Yes I did see that programme last night and like with other such programmes that I have seen on this subject - I cringed!!!
I will not say why at this stage but will watch their progress as the time goes on.

Did you also see Grand Designs?

 

 

[Iceni]

I saw the end part of the prog only so don't know how the sums work out other than £65k not being enough to do the renovation/conversion.

A bit unsure why it was necessary to wreck even a good bedroom but next week may explain.

We have friends further north who seem to have fallen into a similar trap of being unable to say NO when able to buy so much for seemingly so little.

It makes compulsive viewing - particularly for those of us with our own money pits.

John

 

[valiantlad]

Yes as always compulsive viewing but what a daunting task, there seems such a lot to do and then to find out you need to re-plumb and rewire the total property - why didn't they have a survey carried out?. I am no expert which is obvious from my previous post but to have no survey and expect to come in at 65K seems a tad ambitious for such a vast property. Destroying the ceiling to provide a split level room for their children(I think) seemed a little unnecessary, shouldn't they be concentrating on getting small areas of the accomodation to make them acceptable?

Did I hear at the end they have some guests arriving on next weeks programme? Unless it's David Blunkett and Stevie Wonder they're in for a shock.  

[Deby]

I think the programme said they paid 550,00 UK pounds for it. My guestimate is that they will need to spend at least 150,000 pounds to get the place up to a certain standard, not even sure they have a pool and they would need one.

I wouldnt have removed the ceiling either and have concentrated on renovating the areas that are for guests.  The bit we live in is not at all nice but it will have to do for the time being and I do dispair sometimes and get very frustrated but then I go into the nice bit and then its all worth while.

I am keen to see the next installment and hopefully things will get better for them, I dont want to sound smug myself as this is our first winter and well it could be chaos here...... not sure I would have put myself in front of the cameras though regardless of the free publicity.

Deby

anyone fancy a bit of gardening?

 

[Montcigoux]

Yes wonderful compulsive viewing and I do so hope they are able to live the dream but the omens so far are not good! The most telling comment was the speed with which the french vendors scarpered never to be seen again. I wondered also why they paid full asking price when even if they could have got £50k off the price (450k I thought they said) it would have helped them. On another property development programme the one piece of advice that really mattered was "you make your profit when you buy the property" ie buy it at the right price.

Still really gorgeous, fab chateau I can see why they fell in love with it but they are not used to the country or managing land having lived in the suburbs. I also worry about anybody with relatively young children attempting to do anything which requires more than full time work from both partners to make it a success. Unless they can get help, the pressure on them if they feel guilty about neglecting the children will be enormous. The children will also pile on the pressure and a construction site is not a safe place for them.

The other problem that everybody has who makes the big move from corporate life is adjusting to the change. I hope they belong to this forum and can tell us all more and we can wish them well.

[Fleur]

Spotted this link on another website

http://www.chateauribagnac.com/en/index.php

[Rita]

It looks lovely. However I thought they only had a budget of £65,000 for the renovations! How on earth have they managed to get it to look like this with that sort of money? I would really love to know! If they are reading this can they give those of us that are also renovating their tricks to make that amount of money go so far.

Rita

[Miki]

Like a lot of these shows, I say there is more to it than meets the eye.

A lot of the work can appear to be done and the parts that are not, are simply "glossed over".

Like others, we have done a few renovations using our own sweat and knowledge plus use of tradesmen for a fair amount, more and more these days as well !

I always think it is best to earn money from your own line of work and spend that with people who know what they are doing. Many years in the building game proved that to be the best formula, not so possible if one is retired and there is then nothing coming in I guess.

Which leads on to my question, why did two supposedly intelligent and well paid people budget just £65K on renovating this Chateau? I don't care what they say, for that Chateau to be done to the standard that it APPEARS to be on their website would surely cost more than £65K. The only way I can see, is if there was no roofing works, no building problems and a lot of the furniture was left. We already know they had electrics, plumbing and heating problems and that was not cheap.

I guess they did a fair bit themselves but 2 people, who sounded to me, like fitting a plug would have needed a readers digest DIY book. I would not mind betting that their own work does not stand up to close scrutiny and if so, a resale at a price they would probably require would be difficult. Chateaux need to be renovated properley and to a sympathetic high standard, otherwise it simply means that new buyers will have to redo a lot of the work, do it properley and OK but I guess that is probably applicable to many places.

One thing for sure, selling in the part of Teddington that they had their house, meant a nice healthy sum !

Sorry but my money is on a not on too long a stay at this place, the work involved in something on this scale, new dependancies to renovate plus having 2 young kids, dinners every night but two, huge garden and grounds, the list of work is endless and the dream will one day turn into the reality, that continual extremely hard work was not exactly what they had planned for their future in France. They will need to hire people soon if they are to have any life whatosever, then the fun really begins!

Good luck to them, for sure they are going to need it.

 

[BJSLIV]

To add to Miki's comments: unless the work and fittings are done to the highest standards IO would have thought that it it might prove difficult to get sufficient clients willing to pay £80- £100 plus £50 for dinner.

Though perhaps I have been moving in the wrong circles. Perhaps there are plenty of people in the City who are used to handing over large sums to (ex) lawyers.

[Alexis]

I have had a look at the site.  Not seen the programme.  Happened to read about the programme in yesterdays Sunday Times.  They don't seem very well liked by the TV reviewers.

I couldn't get past the flowery descriptions.  Bleugh!

Wouldn't mind a plate of sophisticated yet unfussy dinner though . . .

[Miki]

Wouldn't mind a plate of sophisticated yet unfussy dinner though

That's fish, chips and mushy peas to me and you Alexis, washed down with a cuppa tea !!

 

[Deby]

My gloves are off now.  To me this proves 100% that these programmes are sanitized, doctored and down right untruths there is no way that the couple who were originally portrayed could have achieved what their site is saying in such a short space of time, with a miniscule budget, so much renovation and 2 young children to boot. 

The programme probably doesnt show the nannies/relatives, injection of cash and army of artisans that enabled them to do what they appear to have done - or maybe it is just clever photography?!

Call me cynical or what.

AND I STILL NEED SOME HELP IN THE GARDEN!!!!

Deby

[Miki]

[quote]My gloves are off now. To me this proves 100% that these programmes are sanitized, doctored and down right untruths there is no way that the couple who were originally portrayed could have achieved w...[/quote]

My thoughts entirely Deby and if anyone should know how it is, then you must know.

As I have said before, over the years we have known of a few couples that have been on this kind of show and none of it, has been much more than a complete gloss over and a dumbing down of the couples.

Let's be real here, none of us should be surprised, we have all worked on our own places to differing degrees and most of us are very much aware of how expensive renovations are.

Hands up those that found it cheaper than they thought, yeh right, step back !

Now the rest of us, weren't we all shocked?  OK weren't MOST of us totally surprised. It takes a while to come to grips with costs here, so I guess this couple were astonished and I reckon that once the money was seen riding off in to the sunset, their thoughts turned to B&Q and a splash of paint here and there !

Yes I call you cynical and call myself that as well.

 

 

 

[Patmobile]

Ever since Nigel and Nippy appeared in that dire show of ineptitude and incompetence - then ended up with a showpiece of a home at a cost massively over the declared starting budget, I've suspected all these people are promised payment by the programme makers provided the programme is sold to the network.

Call me a cynic, but no wonder the job always seems to get finished remarkably well, by people with no experience, no skills, and no French.

I'll make an honourable exception for Grand Designs where the people who tackle the projects are nearly always properly prepared and almost fully financed.

Patrick

[Logan]

I am surprised by the number of posters here that expect television programmes to show the truth. They are made to entertain, nothing more. It's the same in any other form of media. Newspapers and magazines exist to entertain and make a profit for the folk behind it. Truth does not come into it. Everything is subjective and tediously politically correct. I would like to find an example of truth in modern life. People no longer speak it. Politicians et al certainly use language that avoids truthfully answering anything. Spin is king. Reality TV is anything but reality. There are only two truths in life. Death and taxes.

[Russethouse]

Grand Designs ended last night - think they saved the worst until last !! Not very flattering comments from the presenter either - so may be it is more honest than the other progs of the same type !!

[I1]

I saw tonights No Going Back and it seems the comentary "requires" a series of "disasters", etc. Do we really have such short attention spans that we need to "be kept on the edge of our seats" ?

Another thing I found interesting was that the comentary made a point (several times) of the hours these people were working and how "they did this for a better quality of life". My own feelings are that quality of life and hard work are not necessarily related. To some the right type of work can be very rewarding, even if the hours are long and/or the work hard. However, the wrong type of work, even with shorter hours, can be quite unrewarding.

Similarly, quality of life does not necessarily relate to income and available cash.

I guess it all depends on what one is looking for in life. I missed the previous programs in the series so don't know what aspects of the "project" were discussed previously (or what will be discussed in later programs). I thus cannot be critical of what was not raised as it may easily be that different programs describe different aspects of the life the family has sought and achieved.

[Dave&Olive]

To some the right type of work can be very rewarding, even if the hours are long and/of the work hard. However, the wrong type of work, even with shorter hours, can be quite unrewarding.

                  So many good "quotes" on the last few days love it and agree with it.

                     Hard work will not kill me who I work for will.

                        Dave & Olive`s in bed

[Maddie]

 It's not as easy as it looks on the TV is it?  When I moan to my family back in the UK about how difficult it is to achieve virtually anything without tons of paper and massive bills they always say "how do they manage to do it on those No Going Back programmes then?"  As if?!! 

I am more than convinced (seeing the Nippy/Nigel fiasco) that these people are either partially funded by the TV company, are the TV company, got a massive advance from a book publisher to write about said experiences or have some sort of business to promote themselves.  Renovation costs for that size of property?  I have no idea!  It has cost us more than they have suggested so far for their Chateau to renovate a modest sized house/garden/pool which are still looking decidedly unfinished around the edges!  How on earth are they managing to renovate an entire chateau unless it's being done really on the cheap?

A load of rubbish but compelling viewing nevertheless!

[Coco]

I haven't seen the programme (we only have BBC) but whilst staying at a B&B near Saumur last year we met two couples who had just come from a chateau, I think in the Limousin, where they had been filming "No Going Back".  It was up and running last summer and these people said it was lovely, if a little expensive.  They also said that the woman was about to go back to London to film the first episode, ie packing up and leaving the UK, so it seems it's done a*** about face anyway.  Perhaps these people contact the TV rogramme makers once they're up and running to see if they've got a good enough story to tell and then some poetic licence is added to make it "interesting" for the viewer.  After all, can you really see the production companies starting from scratch with people and taking the chance that there are just the right amount of problems to make it interesting, but not so many that it is a total disaster.

[I1]

I wonder how many people are actually "up-and-leaving" the UK to live overseas.  Quite a lot of people would appear to be purchasing property with the aims to emigrate at some time in the future.

I used to think a lot were, mainly based on the (limited) “sample” that, as a caught the ferry to leave the UK, I got talking to somebody at the ferry port who just happened to be doing exactly the same – and I thus thought people were leaving the UK in large numbers.

Also, how many are leaving the UK before retirement and how many then need to seek work (e.g. estate agency involvement gites, etc.).

Are all these TV programs implying more people are doing this than actually are ?

Does anybody know or have any feeling for it being commonplace or more unusual ?

[Kaz2]

What an embarrassement! I feel like I'm going to have to send everyone a picuture of their bedroom before they book!

I am also puzzled that the term B&B ( on web site) and hotel seem to be used interchangeably.

 

PS does anyone else know any French decorators that will drop everything and come to the rescue - still cheaply?! or am I just being cynical?

[Maddie]

And hands up those of us that have used "no nails" glue to fix skirting boards as a matter of course rather than as a last resort?

Still think the programme is a load of old tosh!  You telling me her courgettes grew to that size overnight?

Is it a hotel or a B&B/Chambre d'hote?

 

 

 

[M]

[quote]And hands up those of us that have used "no nails" glue to fix skirting boards as a matter of course rather than as a last resort? Still think the programme is a load of old tosh! You telling me her...[/quote]

Of course! 'No Nails' is the accepted way to fix skirting these days! I couldn't understand why she had to push against it with her feet - if one of the surfaces is porous, it just holds all by itself! And you don't mitre internal corners on skirting boards - you profile cut them! Bodgers!

M