A California family decided to sell their San Diego home and spend $2.6 million on a French chateau, and now they’re struggling to keep their dream alive.
Julia Leach, 33, and Caroline Ibarra, 37, have been struggling since they bought the beautiful Château de Puy Vidal in Charente.
The couple moved with Julia’s parents and sister in hopes of escaping the daily grind and renovating the 750-year-old castle into their dream home.
But as soon as they got the keys, the family was faced with problems such as a blocked drain, heavy storms and even a small earthquake.
They are now struggling to afford the castle and face deportation if they do not meet the minimum income requirements for French visa holders.
Rather than living la vie en rose, “it was more a matter of crushing responsibility and panic,” Leach told the Wall Street Journal.
A California family who decided to sell their San Diego home and spend $2.6 million on a French chateau is now struggling to keep their dream alive
Although the castle is beautiful, it has proven to be a money-grubbing business that the family struggles to turn a profit from.
And although they offer the castle for “immersive retreats” through their company Lady of the Chateau, the costs of running the 13,000-square-metre property are so high that they barely break even.
The $1 million renovation budget quickly ballooned to $1.5 million, but the couple estimates the actual cost will be twice that to get the finishes they really want.
“It’s going to be completely unaffordable,” Leach said, noting only after the purchase that the castle is a historic landmark that will need to be rebuilt using historically accurate but expensive methods.
Adding to the financial pressure, the couple’s visas in two years’ time depend on them both being able to prove they earn €42,406, or about $46,800. They still have to pay themselves a salary.
Upon arrival, things started off slowly, when the extent of the problems with the plumbing and electricity in the castle was discovered.
The family bought the property sight unseen, in the middle of the pandemic, after Leach and Ibarra moved from New York City to be with Leach’s parents in California.
Leach and Ibarra realized they both enjoyed living together and asked her parents if they would sign up for their dream castle in France. They were thrilled when they said yes.
Ultimately, the entire family decided to sell their sprawling La Jolla home for $5.6 million, according to Zillow, double the price of the castle.
Leach and Ibarra created an Instagram page – The Lady of the Chateau – full of beautiful photos of their tastefully decorated new home.
But the glossy images belie the state of disrepair and chaos inside the castle. While the couple said they knew the move and renovation would be challenging, the scale of the task they faced has proven surprising.
Renovating the dilapidated building was a challenge from the start. The family spent months trying to find the fuse box before finally finding it ‘in the dungeon’.
Julia Leach, 33, and Caroline Ibarra, 37, have been plagued by problems since they bought the beautiful Château de Puy Vidal in Charente
They bought the property two years ago for $2.6 million with the intention of running a bed and breakfast.
The property is over 14,000 square feet and is an ongoing renovation project that has seen a lot of investment
The castle’s beautiful gardens and ornate maze are depicted, with the building in serious need of maintenance
Guests enjoy a stylish evening at Château de Puy Vidal, but the glossy exterior hides a property that requires a lot of work and money
A delightful entrance to the castle. The new owners only discovered that the property was listed as historic after they had purchased it – meaning it would need to be renovated using the same methods as it was originally built
In addition, they had to find a dead owl in one of the castle’s turrets, uncover blocked pipes and the remains of a medieval horse swimming pool.
The sprawling estate has 88 windows, three towers, 17 fireplaces and a garden so large it takes a week to maintain.
The situation reached a new low during the past winter, which was one of the wettest ever in France and brought severe flooding, forcing the whole family indoors.
The owners initially marketed the chateau as a bed and breakfast, with many guests hearing about the chateau through the couple’s popular YouTube channel.
But the demands soon became too great and it was decided to switch to offering retreats and workshops.
In June they organized their first aerial yoga workshop. They worked very hard before and after the workshop, but it still didn’t make them a profit.
“Life is always so hard… And the romanticized, beautiful things that you see on an Instagram feed, it’s always so much work to make that happen,” Leach explained.
The couple, who worked as camera assistants on television and film sets in Brooklyn and earned about $100,000 a year each, also admitted they missed the hustle and bustle of city life.
The couple financed the purchase with the sale of Leach’s parents’ San Diego home for $5.6 million
Leach is pictured with her parents outside their old San Diego home, which they sold to buy the castle
Upon arrival, the couple faced terrible weather, overflowing septic tanks and even an earthquake
The couple must prove they both earn $47,000 in order to remain in France when their visas come up for renewal.
Another tasteful room in the castle. Leach and Ibarra hope that a series of mammoth bookings scheduled for October will finally put them on solid financial footing
But they remain optimistic about their future, especially thanks to two huge bookings in October.
The five-day fantasy photoshoot retreats are completely sold out, with all nine guest rooms occupied and a waiting list of over 100 people.
“I think in many ways what we’re doing is very American: we’re creating a new world,” Ibarra said.
