Case Study · Still in the Running
Grignoncourt: Stone House, Big Barn, Sound Ground
This is close to the ideal: a proper stone house with a large barn and a flat 1,132 m² plot, on ground that checks out clean, with a roof that's mostly sound, the fees on the seller and a taxe foncière of just €200 — for under seventeen grand. And it's the shortest drive from Switzerland on the whole board: 3¼ hours from Bern. Here's the full workup.
Grignoncourt, Vosges (88) · the Val de Saône, on the Haute-Saône/Haute-Marne border · ≈ 550 km / 5.7 hrs from Calais · ≈ 230 km / 3.3 hrs from Bern
It's the same sound eastern country as Germaines and Perrusse, a little further south into the Val de Saône — and it brings the two things those two don't quite manage together: a proper barn and land over 1,000 m², on ground that scores a full sound-ground bonus. For a buyer coming from Switzerland, nothing on the board is closer.
📸 See the photos: view the full Grignoncourt listing on Properstar → (opens in a new tab)
The free routine that confirmed this one's ground before a single mile.
Run the checklist →🔑 Haggling a Long-Empty WreckCheap, fees on the seller — how to build a low offer that sticks.
Read the guide →🔌 Going Off-GridA big barn, 1,132 m² and a bare electrical slate — a strong off-grid/solar base.
Read the guide →The listing, in full
The agent (FIJ Immobilier, sole agent) offers an authentic little stone house to renovate with a barn and land in Grignoncourt, in the Vosges on the Haute-Saône/Haute-Marne border. It's about 57–60 m² on the ground floor, with a large barn and a flat 1,132 m² plot at the back with an unobstructed countryside view. It's completely to renovate — not habitable as is: electricity, insulation, carpentry, floors and interior all to do. Crucially, the roof "needs redoing in places but is generally in good condition, without any apparent major disorder." Taxe foncière €200. Agency fees paid by the seller. Price £16,724 (€19,500).
- Price£16,724 (€19,500) — fees paid by the seller
- Rates (taxe foncière)€200 / year — low, and stated up front
- LocationGrignoncourt (88410), Vosges — Val de Saône, on the Haute-Saône/Haute-Marne border
- Drive from Calais≈ 550 km / ~5.7 hrs
- Drive from Bern≈ 230 km / 3.3 hrs — the closest find to Switzerland on the board
- House~57–60 m² ground floor, 2 rooms / 1 bed, 1900 stone — west-facing, countryside view
- OutbuildingsA large barn + a garage
- Land1,132 m² flat plot at the back — over the 1,000 m² mark, one block
- RoofGenerally in good condition, no major disorder — some patching, not a full re-roof
- Build / materialsProper stone — 1900 character house + barn ✓
- Water / electricity / drainage / heatingAll to create — full first-fix (Consuel electrics, SPANC drainage, a wood burner)
- Energy rating (DPE)No data (normal for a full renovation)
- AgentFIJ Immobilier (Nathalie Sibille) — Val de Saône specialist
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The good worth having
The brief's shape, on sound ground
Proper stone, a large barn, a garage and 1,132 m² in one block — the house-plus-barn-plus-land the search is built around. And the free check (below) comes back with a full sound-ground bonus: no subsidence, radon low. That combination is exactly what scores highest here.
The roof is (mostly) already there
Unlike the roofless wrecks, this one's roof is "generally in good condition, no major disorder" — some patching, not a full re-cover. On a renovation, having the biggest, most weather-critical element largely sound is worth a great deal, and it's rare at this price.
Cheap, low-tax, and closest to home
£16,724 with the fees on the seller, a taxe foncière of only €200, and — for a buyer coming from Switzerland — the shortest drive on the whole board at 3¼ hours from Bern. Cheap to buy, cheap to hold, easy to reach for the graft.
The bad what needs doing
A full interior renovation, and no services in
It's "not habitable as is": budget for the whole first-fix — new wiring to Consuel, plumbing, an off-mains drainage system to SPANC, heating, insulation, carpentry and floors. For a solar/off-grid build the bare electrical slate is no bad thing, but it's a proper project, not a tidy-up.
Small footprint — the barn is the growth
At ~57–60 m² on the ground floor it's a one-bed cottage as it stands. The space to grow is the barn and any attic — doable and cheap in shell terms, but factor the conversion in if you want more than a compact home.
Confirm the roof and the walls
"No major disorder" is encouraging, but get eyes on the roof and the masonry at a viewing — "needs redoing in places" can range from a few tiles to a slope. Pin the exact plot and read the ground (below) too.
DIY-er vs needs-a-builder the honest split
With the roof mostly sound, most of what's left is fit-out — the certified and structural bits are the pro's.
If you're hands-on — what you can do yourself
The strip-out; repointing and rendering the stone; insulation, internal walls, floors and finishes; joinery, windows and doors; second-fix plumbing; the kitchen and bathroom; converting the barn; and a wood burner. Under a largely sound roof, a competent DIYer can take on the bulk — keeping it close to materials cost.
Where you'll need a pro (or a builder)
• Electrics — a new installation must pass Consuel via a registered electrician.
• Drainage — an off-mains system to SPANC approval, by an approved installer.
• Roof patching / structure — a couvreur for the repairs, a maçon for anything moved or opened up.
• 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 few trips
A ~60 m² house plus a barn to clear is manageable in stages: a T5-style van and repeated runs, with a hired skip for the heavy phase.
The déchèterie is residents-only
Waste here runs through the local intercommunalité (Val de Saône), with the nearest déchèterie toward Jonvelle or Lamarche. 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 ruled out Thollet from the desk — Géorisques, run on the commune (INSEE 88220).
⚠️ 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.
Sound ground — no subsidence, radon low
About as clean as it gets: shrink-swell clay isn't flagged as a hazard here, the commune has no drought-subsidence declarations, and radon is class 1 of 3 (low). Its only records are a couple of flood/mud-flow and one ground-movement — no clay-heave pattern. That earns the full sound-ground bonus in the score.
⚠️ Still check the plot
A couple of commune flood records are almost certainly nothing to do with this plot — but pin the exact address on the map and read the ground there before an offer, as ever.
The score
Near the very top of the rankings — carried by proper stone, a big barn, over-1,000 m² of land, a mostly-sound roof, sound ground and the shortest drive from Switzerland. The only thing keeping it off the leaders is that the water, drainage and heat are all still to install — which, for a solar/off-grid build, is more blank slate than drawback.
The verdict
Still watching — one of the strongest on the board. Stone, a large barn, 1,132 m², a mostly-sound roof and sound ground, for £16,724 fees-paid with a €200 tax bill, and only 3¼ hours from Bern — that's a lot of the brief in one place, cheap, and the easiest reach on the whole search. The work is a full interior renovation with all services to create; the barn is your growth. Next step is the exact address, an address-level ground read, eyes on the roof and walls, and a low offer built on the state of it.
See how it stacks up
A barn, big land and sound ground for £16k, 3 hours from Bern — the league table shows exactly where it lands.
See the full rankings →