Case Study · Still in the Running
Vigeville: Stone, a Well and a Stable on Sound Creuse Ground
This one quietly ticks a lot of boxes: an 1900 stone country house with a well, an old stable and outbuildings, over 1,100 m² of land with a clear view, near Guéret in the reliable Creuse belt — for under thirty grand. The ground checks out with no subsidence. The well is the water win we want; the catches are the usual full renovation, the high radon, and a grid electric supply we'd rather do without (this build is heading for solar). Here's the workup.
Vigeville, Creuse (23) · near Guéret · ≈ 600 km / 6 hrs from Calais · ≈ 560 km / 6.3 hrs from Bern
It's a near-neighbour of Parsac, in the same sound country around Guéret — and a close cousin in shape, too. Where Parsac brings two barns, this brings a well, a stable and more land. Two strong Creuse finds a few miles apart, which is exactly why this belt keeps earning its place.
📸 See the photos: view the full Vigeville 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 WreckA full renovation with no DPE — how to build a low offer that sticks.
Read the guide →💧 A Well of Your OwnThe plot has a well and the electric's already on — how far this one could go off the mains.
Read the guide →The listing, in full
The agent (La Petite Agence Guéret) offers, exclusively, an old country house to be completely renovated in Vigeville. It has a Linky electric meter (so the supply is connected), a convertible attic, outbuildings and an old stable, and a well on the land with a clear view. It runs to five rooms and three bedrooms over two floors, about 150 m² of living space (roughly a 52 m² footprint), on 1,100 m² of land, with two parking spaces. Built 1900. Price £28,725 (about €33,500).
- Price£28,725 (≈ €33,500) — under our €40k cap
- Agency feesNot specified — confirm who pays
- Rates (taxe foncière)Not stated — confirm with the agent
- LocationVigeville (23140), Creuse — near Guéret
- Drive from Calais≈ 600 km / ~6 hrs (A20 then RN145)
- Drive from Bern≈ 560 km / 6.3 hrs
- House~150 m² over two floors, 5 rooms / 3 bed, 1900 — plus a convertible attic
- OutbuildingsOutbuildings + an old stable
- WaterA well on the land — real off-grid water
- ElectricityGrid supply connected (Linky meter in) — a mark-down here, not a plus: this build is aiming for solar/off-grid, not grid reliance
- Land1,100 m² — over the acre-tenth, with a clear view
- Build / materialsProper stone — 1900 Creuse country house ✓ (confirm at viewing)
- Drainage / heatingTo create — SPANC septic, and heating (plan a wood burner)
- Energy rating (DPE)No data (normal for a full renovation)
- AgentImmobilier Abdou / La Petite Agence Guéret (Florence Crapart)
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The good worth having
A well — the water win we're after
The standout: a well on the plot — your own water, and a genuine off-grid asset, which is exactly what this project wants (water and solar, not grid dependence). That's the service worth having here; a well beats a mains bill and a meter every time for how we intend to run the place.
Stone, a stable and over 1,100 m²
Proper 1900 stone, an old stable and outbuildings to work from and grow into, a convertible attic, and — unusually for the cheaper finds — land over the 1,000 m² mark with a clear view. That's the space the brief wants, not a token courtyard.
Sound ground, near Guéret
The free check (below) is the reliable Creuse read: clay not flagged and no subsidence declarations. And it's near Guéret — the county town for shops, a hospital and a station — in the same easy-access belt as Parsac.
The bad what needs doing
A complete renovation
"Completely to renovate" means the lot: budget for a full rewire to Consuel (whatever you run it from), new plumbing, a drainage system to SPANC, heating, insulation, windows, floors, a kitchen and a bathroom. The well is a head start, not a finished job — this is a full project.
⚠️ Plan for it: radon, high
Granite country means radon, and here it's class 3 of 3 — high. It's a ventilate-and-seal job, not a red flag: an aired under-floor void, a sealed ground floor, and a cheap test kit once you're in — but design for it from the start.
Confirm the footprint and the price
The surfaces read a little oddly (150 m² over floors on a ~52 m² footprint), so confirm the real usable areas. And at £28,725 it's dearer than the cheapest Creuse finds — fair for the land, well and stable, but build your offer on the scale of the works.
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 the cost lands.
If you're hands-on — what you can do yourself
The strip-out; repointing and rendering the stone; internal walls, insulation, floors; joinery, windows and doors; second-fix plumbing; the kitchen and bathroom; converting the attic; and a wood burner. With the stable as a dry base and a well on tap, a competent DIYer can take on the bulk — keeping the project close to materials cost.
Where you'll need a pro (or a builder)
• Electrics — the installation must pass Consuel before the supply is re-energised, even with the meter in.
• Drainage / sanitation — an off-mains system to SPANC approval, by an approved installer.
• Roof / structure — anything that's moved or opened up is a couvreur/charpentier or maçon job.
• 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 150 m² strip-out plus the stable to clear is real weight but manageable in stages: a T5-style van and repeated runs, with a hired skip for the demolition phase.
The déchèterie is residents-only
Guéret-area waste runs through the local intercommunalité, with the nearest déchèterie toward Guéret. 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 23262).
⚠️ 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.
No subsidence, clay not flagged
The reliable Creuse read: shrink-swell clay isn't mapped as a hazard here, and the commune has no drought-subsidence declarations — the sound-ground reading you want under a stone house. Its only records are a couple of flood/mud-flow and one ground-movement, no clay-heave pattern.
⚠️ Plan for it: radon high, one movement record
Two to note: radon is high (class 3) — the standard granite job — and there's a single ground-movement declaration commune-wide. Neither is a stopper; pin the exact plot on the map for an address-level read before an offer.
The score
Carried by a strong hand — sound ground, proper stone, a well, a stable and over 1,100 m² of land; held back by the full renovation, the high radon, a price a little above the cheapest Creuse finds, and — for a solar-minded build — a grid electric supply we score as a mark-down rather than a bonus. The well is the utility that counts here. It sits mid-table on the rankings — the well helps, but with the drainage and heat still to create it doesn't reach the leaders.
The verdict
Still watching — a quietly strong Creuse find. Proper stone, a well, an old stable and over 1,100 m² of land, on sound ground near Guéret, for under thirty grand — that's a lot of the brief in one place, and the well is the head start that matters for a solar/off-grid plan. The work is a full renovation and the radon is high, but neither is unusual here; the grid supply we treat as incidental, not a selling point. Next step is the exact address, an address-level ground read, confirmation of the real floor areas, and a low offer built on the scale of the works.
See how it stacks up
A well, a stable and an acre-plus on sound Creuse ground — the league table shows exactly where it lands.
See the full rankings →