Ont. couple trades four-bedroom home for French chateau

A couple from Fergus, Ont. is sharing their unlikely house hunt with CTV News after moving into a chateau in France.

Stephen and Sara Cole fell in love with France after visiting several times, but they always looked at the idea of living there as a dream.

After searching online for months and viewing hundreds of properties, that dream became a reality.

Their 2,400 sq. ft. home in Fergus had four bedrooms and sat on three-quarters of an acre of land. The community of around 20,000 is located around 20 minutes outside Guelph.

"It was definitely a large home for two people, but we like to entertain," said Stephen.

Little did they know, their space for entertaining was about to grow exponentially.

"Eventually a chateau crosses your search and you discover that within the craziness of the Canadian market, it becomes attainable," Sara said.

The chateau sits on 37 acres of land, quite a difference from the three-quarters of an acre the couple had in Fergus, Ont. (Manor & Maker)

In 2021, they found a chateau for sale in a town called Saint-Germain-des-Prés in Dordogne, France. The listing took them by surprise.

"Not only the availability, but the affordability of a property here was quite enticing," Stephen said.

So Sara left her corporate job in Kitchener and the pair packed up to begin their fairy tale.

"We moved from three-quarters of an acre in Fergus to 37 acres of land in southwestern France," Stephen said, adding that it takes him six hours now to mow the grass.

The chateau they live in now is north of 6,300 sq. ft., which is a significant jump from what they had in Fergus. Yet, it was still within their price range.

"Unfortunately, we're not going to talk specific numbers, but it was enough that we could pretty much do a straight swap for the chateau," said Sara.

A view inside the chateau. (Manor & Maker)

'IF WE SOLD THE CHATEAU NOW, WE PROBABLY COULDN’T MOVE BACK TO FERGUS'

The couple says it highlights how out-of-reach the Canadian housing market can be.

"Particularly where the market was at that time, if we sold the chateau now, we probably couldn't move back to Fergus," said Stephen.

It's a sentiment that's echoed by Waterloo Region realtor Shawn Ramautor with Royal LePage Wolle Realty.

"Unless you're looking at selling and moving to a rental unit, or you're retiring, or you're leaving the country for whatever reason, the longer you're out of homeownership in that market, the more challenging it becomes to get back in," Ramautor said.

Aside from being their home, the couple have also turned their new chateau into business, bringing people in to create things. (Manor & Maker)

Despite how unique it might seem to go from a family home to a 16th century chateau, Ramautor says he's seeing a jump in people trying get more bang for their buck outside of Ontario.

"It's not the first time, and it's probably not the last time. What I'm hearing from a lot of my clients is people looking at possibly moving to more affordable communities," he said.

MAKING IT A BUSINESS

Sara and Stephen have also found a way to turn their chateau into a business.

They created Manor & Maker, which brings people to their home for the purpose of making things, particularly on the arts side of things. People can also come to the chateau for various events.

"Our social calendar is certainly a bit busier than it ever has been," said Sara.

"We've become our own bosses now, our life is our business," said Stephen.

Although, they admit they're working harder than they ever have. So while they may be living like royalty, they're certainly earning it along the way.