We are looking forward to moving to France and buying a “fixer-upper” home in the price range of €50,000.
What kind of expenses should we anticipate? Property tax national and local, Home owners insurance, utilities, cost of petrol, auto insurance, any “under the table” or bribes, do the Gendarmes or local bureaucrats expect tips for services rendered?
And anything I haven’t thought of. Just for informed budgeting. Thanks, Jimmy
Personally, we’ve not done anything “under the table”, nor have we bribed anyone. 
Gendarmes and local bureaucrats et al …
I show no favouritism!
Everyone gets my sincere thanks (albeit with a cranky accent ) whenever I receive any help/advice etc…
In my opinion, good manners and polite behaviour are essential, no matter what…
Private health insurance until you get into the French healthcare system? Which seems to be taking absolutely ages at the moment.
Here’s a rough breakdown of our monthly expenses. For a couple living in a 135 m2 flat in central Strasbourg. No mortgage or rent.
I haven’t included petrol because the figure varies greatly depending on how much we’re driving.
€1700 per year in taxe foncière
About €100 every 2 months for electricity
Similar for gas
We top up our oil tank once a year (usually in the summer when oil is traditionally cheaper). This summer it cost a fortune.
€1695 for 1,500 litres
Oil-fired boiler service contract €350
Gas-fired water heater annual service €130
Chimney sweep €60
Car insurance €700
Annual MOT approx €50
House insurance €300
Annual charges for the building €2000
Resident’s parking €40 per month
2 x Free mobile phone contracts €20 x 2 per month
Landline & internet (Orange) €43 per month
Groceries: loads.
Speaking to people who have bought “doer uppers” the advice seems to be to prepare a very detailed costed assessment of all the work you will need to do — then double it.
When you look at properties, the appropriate annual property taxes will be on the information sheet… more info may also be available… just ask the Agent/seller
Utilities will depend on where in France …
Home/car insurance… costs will depend on your “property” and your “vehicle”.
Medical Insurance… depends on what you want covered.
Petrol costs will vary depending on where you are , but info is available on the internet
Frankly, there is no magic number… no way to say whether or not you have sufficient funds.
Petrol ??? — sorry wrong thread 
I had no idea that America was so corrupt, and that mindset was so well-established as to taint its citizens’ worldview to that extent.
Don’t try to bribe anyone.
As for dealing with bureaucracy, patience, perseverance and politeness are what you need, together with an attitude which believes people want to help.
Labour is more expensive in France; you may also find materials are also.
I
Don’t overstretch your resources. We know an Australian couple who couldn’t believe the size of house they could afford. They quickly burned through their budget, having managed to renovate about half.
We know that one! But we are entirely happy with the bit we live in, which is wonderfully spacious and the bit yet to be restored is great for “storage” - dump it all in there and shut the door!
You’re American? An Okie? Trying to disguise the scent with ''petrol" and not “gas”?
Generally, everything here except energy cost is much cheaper here than in the US. Do you remember prices back in the 1980s?
I was paying $3000/yr in property taxes in FL and $5000/yr homeowners ins when I could actually get it.
I think the budget is way too low, for that money (plus 10% Notaire’s fees of course) you’ll get no more than a wreck in a rural location so where will you live when the place is being done up?
And don’t even think about bringing in un-registered tradesmen to do any work “on the black” (off the books / under the table) as that will not only **** off the locals and the Marie, but could well see you getting in whole heap of trouble with the finacs etc.
Just re-read this and it looks like it’s directed at Mik.
It isn’t, apologies for any confusion caused.
No, I.agdee 100% Use local tradesmen who will know local norms and suppliers and will get you more social approval from the local community and will be cheaper in the long run
Contrôle technique is every two years.
Expect any kind of building, plumbing, heating etc work to be a LOT more expensive than expected, by a factor of 2 or 3.
I would say triple the estimated cost and at least double the estimated time.
We have a van and it seems to need some kind of CT every year.
Thank you all, much appreciated. Pardon me for asking about bribes etc. but I’m 83 and I’ve seen it all. Living on the south side of Chicago for 12 years gave me a real liberal education in that regard. As for the “Petrol” I guess I’m watching way too much British TV. Yea… we still call it gas out here in Oklahoma., but when I’m online it’s easier to say than gasoline especially when I want to distinguish from Natural Gas for heating.
For those of you who suggested double or triple my first estimate in time and money… I had already done that subconsciously but now seeing that to be the huge consensus here, I may now gracefully move on to the acceptance phase. “Acceptance is the key to all of our dilemmas”. And I do hear that it would be wise to accept and apply that principle to the original purchase price as well.
Best wishes all.
Moving to France at 83? Jimmy, no offence but that’s nuts. Can’t you just come for long relaxing breaks? You could come for 3 months at a time and stay in a nice gîte somewhere. Or a Parisian apartment. And save yourself a lot of stress and hassle.
Without wishing to appear too negative, at your age, do you really want the hassle of a “fixer upper” and rebuild project? I’m two years younger than you and I certainly wouldn’t take it on.
Cross posting with Helenochka but both with the same thought.