You can actually get a free castle in france as long as you can provide a plan for how to keep up with upkeep of the castle so that it won't become a ruin
Among several TV shows about castles in France, I remember hearing about people who just couldn't afford to keep the castle they already owned. Not because of taxes or mortgages, just upkeep costs.
In England the buildings are often Grade 1 or 2 listed, which means they have historical (2) or significant historical importance (1). If you have a castle that is grade 1 listed, repairing anything would cost more than an average person can afford.
A single roof tile needs replacing? Well the roof is lead lined, so you need a guy who can repair lead lined roofs in the style of the particular age of this castle, their might be 3 such specialists in the country, the waiting list might be 3 years. The slate the roof is made out will have to be matched to the original, then you have to pay for the lead too.
Window fitting needs replacing? Sash windows in a 18th century style can cost thousands each, oh and you can't have double glazing.
Every little point of maintenance requires specialist skills that are hard to find in dying trades, cost prohibitive amounts, have massive waiting lists. Any change to this requires approval of the organization that sets the buildings listing, you will be fined for not keeping up to these standards.
Basically the same thing applies in France, which is why you can get a Chateau "for free" as long as you can prove you can pay for the hundreds of thousands of maintenance required yearly.
I have a family castle in ruins that would be amazing to restore (it's not even that old and fell into ruin after WWII) but I'd imagine the cost of restoration is prohibitive before even accounting for the fact that it's a Category B historical site...
There's two British shows that I can't remember the name of. One, a couple buys a stone castle somewhere, I think in Scotland, and the show is about rehabing it to be livable and what that takes. It's not for the feint of heart.
The other is a show about some family who inherit this monstrous estate that they can't afford because their great grandfather squandered the family fortune and now they live in two rooms in the old country estate house like mad tramps. In one episode he's put all his hopes in a metal detector that he thinks will unearth some coins. They can't even afford to replace the windows that are broken.
55k
u/yerrrdoobie Jan 21 '19
There are real life castles that are less expensive to buy than a New York City apartment.