Our Swiss medieval town house

Posted: Feb 05, 2016 - 15:41

By: Ben from Estavayer-le-lac

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My wife and I are Swiss, and we spent eight years working in the UK, where we picked up the British sport of doing up old houses. In 2012 we decided it was time to return to Switzerland. Of course all these years spent in the UK had a big effect when it comes to our sense of decoration, it was absolutely out of question for us to live in a typical modern Swiss villa with straight walls and no soul, it had to be a period property. It didn’t take us long to find a medieval town house in the beautiful lake town of Estavayer-le-lac. Although everything tends to be expensive in Switzerland, you can still snap up beautiful old properties since Swiss people do not dare doing up properties themselves. People are convinced that you need an architect, that you need to rip out the old floors and replace them with concrete, which of course costs an arm and a leg. Another issue was getting hold of materials, there are no reclamation yards like in the UK and very little choice when it comes to building materials or appliances. In the UK you buy what you what and find someone to fit it. In Switzerland you have to find someone first, and then you pick the materials or appliances you find the least revolting, and this for a premium price. Of course this did not stop us, we basically decided to source everything in the UK, from Ruabon tiles to mahogany wood block flooring, even the high flush WC’s.

In four months time the project was completed, and the bank told us the house was worth three times what we paid for. Who would have thought you can get a bargain in Switzerland!

We managed to fill two large trucks. Although we had to pay for the transport and custom fees, it was still much cheaper than buying it from Switzerland. Finding the right builders was pretty tough, but we managed at the end. Our builders thought we were crazy, but once they saw the end result, they understood why we did it. It was our toughest project ever, our third house renovation, but worth every drop of sweat. In four months time the project was completed, and the bank told us the house was worth three times what we paid for. Who would have thought you can get a bargain in Switzerland! One thing you have to bear in mind, is that you can’t do up a house and resell it straight away for profit, the taxman will take all your profits. You have to keep the property for at least 7 years, before you can sell it on. There is another incredible medieval property which was snapped up for a bargain price in our town and completely redone. It came to no surprise to find out that the owner was British. We Swiss people are often just too scared to take on a project like this. If you are looking for a safe and quiet place to spend your retirement, with temperatures often above 30°C in the summer, then Switzerland may be the place for you. Ben & Stephanie