This US-based couple bought a cheap apartment in France to give their kids a different upbringing

15.09.2023 - 16:55 / edition.cnn.com

Splashing out an apartment in the south of France and renovating it yourself may sound like a difficult – and hugely expensive – task.

But this couple have managed to do it twice, all while on a relatively tight budget.

Eric Freeze, originally from Canada, and his wife Rixa, from the US, spent several summers in the region as part of a study abroad program when they were in their 20s, and always felt a strong attachment to Nice.

But the pair, who married in 1998, began seriously looking into purchasing a property in the city after having their four children, Zari, 16, Dio, 14, Inga, 12, and Ivy, 10.

In 2014, they asked a realtor to look for a suitable property for the whole family in Old Nice, a historic neighborhood filled with tenements, churches, and squares.

“It was always the place that we were most interested in going and trying to find a place where we could raise our children bilingually,” explains Eric.

They went on to purchase a two-bedroom apartment, which had previously been used as a student rental, for 235,000 euros and spent around a year renovating it themselves.

“We bought it with a mortgage, which is also kind of a miracle,” says Eric, a university professor. “It’s not that difficult for foreigners to buy in France. But it is difficult if you’re getting a loan.”

While the property was habitable, it needed a good deal of work. The couple spent a year or so completing the renovations themselves, which involved putting in new flooring and repainting the walls, as well as transforming the annex area into a bedroom for their children.

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“That first year, we were renovating with four kids aged from one to seven,” explains Rixa, an academic and birth-educator. “There was dust and tools everywhere. It was kind of chaotic.”

With their budget already stretched thin, they tried to be as frugal as possible to avoid going into further debt. Eric even learned how to spearfish so that they could save on their food budget.

Meanwhile, Rixa spent most of any free time she had looking for pre-used items, including dishes, for their new place.

“I know Nice so well on foot because I walked everywhere, finding second-hand deals to furnish the apartment,” she says, estimating that they spent around$7,000 to 8,000 on the renovations.

While they were working on the property, Eric began searching for a second apartment that their friends and family could use.

Aware that they didn’t really have the funds for another place at the market rate, he started looking at listings for abandoned properties, with the hope of getting in touch with the owners to see if they’d be willing to sell for an affordable price.