Case Study · Still in the Running
Germaines: A Two-House Complex with a Sound Roof
Two adjoining houses sold as one, 150 m² between them, a garage, and — rare for the price — a roof already in good condition. It sits on the sound Langres limestone in the heart of France's newest national park, in the reachable east, for about thirty-one grand under our cap. The ground checks out as clean as anything on the board. Here's the full workup.
Germaines, Haute-Marne (52) · the Langres plateau, in the Parc national de forêts · ≈ 470 km / 5 hrs from Calais — far closer from the east · ≈ 320 km / 4.1 hrs from Bern
It's the same sound eastern limestone as Perrusse, a little further south on the Langres plateau — and it shares that one's biggest virtue: the roof is already done, on ground that passes every check. Where Perrusse is a house-and-barn with a punishing fee, this is a two-house complex with a low fee, under our cap.
📸 See the photos: view the full Germaines listing on Properstar → (opens in a new tab)
The free routine that confirmed this one's ground before a single mile.
Run the checklist →💶 State Aid & GrantsA DPE G means the full energy retrofit — what France pays back with certified trades.
See the grants →🌲 Off-Grid in the ForestA second dwelling and a national park on the doorstep — how far it could go off the mains.
Read the guide →The listing, in full
The agent (Laforêt Langres) offers a real-estate complex in Germaines, in the heart of the Parc national de forêts. The main house, to renovate, has three bedrooms, a kitchen and a large living room, with a private terrace and a garage. Thermal-improvement work is to be expected, but the roof is in good condition — "a healthy base for your future developments." A second adjoining house, sold with the set, adds strong potential — a gîte, independent accommodation or family space — and has its own terrace. Total living area about 150 m²; land 646 m²; built 1900. Price £31,297 (about €36,500), with a low 1.39% buyer fee.
- Price£31,297 (≈ €36,500) — under our €40k cap
- Agency fees1.39% fees to be paid by the BUYER — a −5 mark here (any buyer fee is a real added cost)
- Rates (taxe foncière)Not stated — confirm with the agent
- LocationGermaines (52160), Haute-Marne — Langres plateau, in the Parc national de forêts
- Drive from Calais≈ 470 km / ~5 hrs — much closer from the east/Switzerland
- Drive from Bern≈ 320 km / 4.1 hrs
- BuildingsTwo adjoining houses (sold together) + a garage — ~150 m² total
- Main house3 bedrooms, kitchen, large living room, private terrace — to renovate
- Second houseAdjoining, own terrace — gîte / independent / family potential
- RoofIn good condition — the biggest cost, already sound
- Land646 m² — small; no barn (a garage)
- Build / materials1900 — reads as stone (limestone country); confirm at viewing
- Energy rating (DPE)G (503) — thermal-improvement work expected
- Water / electricity / drainageNot detailed — confirm all three (Consuel electrics, SPANC or mains drainage)
- AgentLaforêt Chaumont / Langres
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The good worth having
The roof is already done
The single most expensive, most weather-critical job on an old house — and here it's already in good condition. That takes the biggest number and the biggest risk off the table, and it's rare to get it at this price. It turns "full renovation" into "fit-out under a sound roof."
Two houses — a home and a gîte
You're buying two adjoining dwellings for one price: the main 3-bed to live in, and a second house to turn into a gîte, a rental or family space. That's income or expansion potential most single wrecks can't offer — the same shape as Frôlois, but cheaper and under cap.
Best-band ground, in the reachable east
The free check (below) is as clean as it gets: clay Faible, no subsidence, radon low — the sound Langres limestone. And it's east: five hours from Calais, far closer from Switzerland, with a low 1.39% buyer fee and a national park on the doorstep.
The bad what needs doing
A DPE G — the full energy retrofit
The roof may be sound, but the G rating tells you the fabric isn't: budget for insulation, windows, heating and airtightness across 150 m² and two houses, plus the usual wiring, plumbing, drainage and fit-out. It's a big project — two dwellings' worth — even with the roof done. The grants help on the energy parts with certified trades.
Small plot, no barn
At 646 m² the land is modest, and the outbuilding is a garage, not a barn. It's a village complex, not a place with land or a workshop to grow into — the second house is the "extra space," not a plot.
Confirm the services and the second house
The listing is light on water, electricity and drainage — confirm all three. And press on the state of the second house: "strong potential" can mean anything from tidy to another full shell, and it changes the budget a lot.
DIY-er vs needs-a-builder the honest split
The usual rule: the fit-out is yours; the connections and anything certified is where a pro is required — and with the roof done, the balance tips your way.
If you're hands-on — what you can do yourself
Under a sound roof, a competent DIYer can take on the strip-out; insulation and replacing the glazing; internal walls, floors and finishes; joinery; second-fix plumbing; kitchens and bathrooms; and a wood burner. Doing the main house first as your base, then the second at your own pace, keeps it close to materials cost.
Where you'll need a pro (or a builder)
• Electrics — a new installation must pass Consuel before Enedis will energise it.
• Drainage / sanitation — mains connection or an off-mains system to SPANC approval.
• Anything structural — opening up between or within the houses needs a maçon.
• The energy retrofit — insulation and heating to certified (RGE) trades to claim the grants.
Clearing it out — the van, and the tip
A van, and a skip for two houses
Two dwellings' worth of strip-out is real weight: a T5-style van for the fit-out runs, and a hired skip (benne) on site for the demolition phase.
The déchèterie is residents-only
Haute-Marne waste runs through the local intercommunalité, with the nearest déchèterie toward Langres. As at a British tip, you need a justificatif de domicile and often a badge — a UK- or Swiss-plated van with no French address won't get in. Until you've a local address, budget a private skip.
The ground check
The routine that killed Thollet — Géorisques, run on the commune (INSEE 52216).
⚠️ These ground figures (clay, flood, subsidence, radon) are official records for the commune — real, but commune-wide, not proof for this exact plot. Check it yourself: official Géorisques risk report (ERRIAL) → — enter the property address.
Clay Faible, no subsidence, radon low
About as clean as the board gets: shrink-swell clay “Exposition faible” (low), no drought-subsidence declarations, and radon class 1 of 3 (low). The commune's only records are two flood/mud-flow and one ground-movement — no clay-heave pattern at all. This is the sound Langres limestone doing its job.
⚠️ Still check the plot
There's a single ground-movement record and a couple of flood declarations commune-wide — almost certainly nothing to do with this plot, but pin the exact address on the map and read the ground there before an offer. Forest-park settings can mean private tracks and services — confirm access and connections too.
The score
Carried by best-band ground, a sound roof, two dwellings and a low fee in the reachable east; held back by the DPE G energy job, the small plot and the lack of a barn. It sits in the upper third of the rankings — one of the soundest eastern shapes, a notch off the green band on the energy work.
The verdict
Still watching — a lot of right things at once. Two houses, a garage and a roof already done, on the soundest kind of ground, in the reachable east, under our cap and with a sensible fee — that's a rare combination. The work is the energy retrofit across 150 m², and the questions to settle are the state of the second house and the services. Get those answers, price the retrofit honestly, and it's a genuine contender — with a gîte built in. Next step is the exact address, an address-level ground read, and eyes on that second dwelling before an offer.
See how it stacks up
A two-house complex with a sound roof on best-band ground — the league table shows exactly where it lands.
See the full rankings →