We (our extended family) have a property in France which my dad and his pal renovated. We bought it about 20 years ago and basically had to rebuild it to make it in to the lovely holiday home it is today. It took about 10 years of blood, sweat and tears too but it kept my dad out of trouble after he retired from teaching. My sister, Sally, and I now own and manage the house and we absoloutely love being there and therefore highly recommend it!