Couple buy ‘illegal drug den’ in France for €155,000 and convert it into stunning luxury townhouse with air conditioning and a private garden

A couple spent 16 months renovating an old ‘crackden’ in France to transform it into a luxury townhouse.

Edd and Anna Holmes, who are also behind the DIY revamp of Château Lagorce, near the Bourdeaux region, took apart an abandoned drug den and made it into a stunning three-bedroom build, fit with statement tiling and air conditioning.

The pair had to work with holes in the staircase, plaster falling from the ceiling and narcotics paraphernalia scattered around.

Tackling the ‘dark and dingy’ property, which also featured a discarded old mattress, rotting floorboards, they also had to deal with squatters breaking in and taking apart protective shutters.

However, in February of this year, they were finally able to sell off the build to a family of four, who were ‘excited’ to make the property their cosy abode.

Edd and Anna bought the ‘crack house’ unseen for €155,000 – with additional agent fees of €10,000, while taxes ramped up to €12,700.

The couple were hoping that – once renovated – they could raise the property value for €550,000.

‘On the surface it looks completely mad,’ Edd admitted on the pair’s YouTube channel Bordeaux Life, where they have been documenting the project for 183,000 subscribers. ‘But what I was doing was buying the opportunity to add value.’

A couple spent 16 months renovating an old ‘crackden’ in France to transform it into a luxury townhouse

in February of this year, they were finally able to sell off the build to a family of four, who were ‘excited’ to make the property their cosy abode

The pair had to work with holes in the staircase, plaster falling from the ceiling and narcotics paraphernalia scattered around

Overall, they spent €266,074 on the project, and in 2025, revealed that they had managed to raise the value to €410,000.

As they were tackling many renovation projects at the same time, the couple shared that they were ‘going to have to sell’.

‘We’re stretched hugely,’ Edd and Anna explained. ‘We need to clear some debts.’

However, initially, it was a challenge to sell because the market in France was ‘strange’.

Estate agents were telling the pair that they were mystified by why prospective sellers were hesitant to make offers, meaning properties like theirs were left on the market for months.

However, they finally managed to secure a buyer early this year – bringing them to a ‘bittersweet’ end when it comes to the journey.

They did not reveal the final price it went for – but admitted they ‘didn’t make as much as they wanted to on it’.

They spent months rolling up their sleeves to break down walls, lay down concrete, install insulation, retile, repaint and completely transform the place

The final product included a sleek modern build which contained the rustic Bordeaux charm – including exposed stone walls – and even a small private garden area

There is air conditioning and heated flooring systems are installed, meaning it is perfect come rain or shine

Edd and Anna are also behind the renovation of the nearby Château Lagorce, which has featured on Channel 4’s Chateaux DIY

‘It’s a good outcome,’ they concluded. ‘We had great times here.

‘It needed gutting completely – in that respect it was a blank canvas.’

They spent months rolling up their sleeves to break down walls, lay down concrete, install insulation, retile, repaint and completely transform the place.

The final product included a sleek modern build which contained the rustic Bordeaux charm – including exposed stone walls – and even a small private garden area.

And despite being an older building, it is perfectly equipped for 21st century living.

There is air conditioning and heated flooring systems are installed, meaning it is perfect come rain or shine.

Edd and Anna are also behind the renovation of the nearby Château Lagorce, which has featured on Channel 4’s Chateaux DIY.

‘Edward’s parents had paid for the Château de Lagorce in 2001. It’s the biggest Château in the Bordeaux area and Edward’s mum had fallen in love with it, the programme site revealed.

‘It took them over two years to complete the paperwork and for the property to become legally theirs. And that was only the start of the process because it took them considerably longer to improve the building to a standard where guests could be invited to stay.’

It comes as, last month, a British family purchased an entire French village mortgage-free for £450,000 after ditching the UK for a ‘less stressful’ lifestyle.

Helen Diaper and her husband Terry, both 76, purchased the rural hamlet of Lac De Maison, in Poitou-Charentes, western France, with their daughter Liz Murphy, 48, and her husband David, 57, in 2020.

The unconventional move came after Liz and David convinced the retired couple to leave behind the ‘rat race’ of life in the UK and sell their four-bedroom home in Manchester, while they also sold their £400,000 three-bedroom property.

The small village consists of six 400-year-old houses, two barns and three acres of land, and came with a price tag of £450,000.

Since making the move, the family have converted three of the properties into holiday homes – able to sleep up to 19 individuals in total – and successfully renovated the remaining homes for themselves.

Helen and Terry are now able to see their two grandchildren ‘every day’ and praised the deduction benefits of the ‘better’ French tax system which means they can employ a cleaner, gardener and caregiver.

Helen, a retired senior practice nurse from Nottinghamshire, said: ‘I’ve always loved France and always wanted to be here, so Terry and I decided on a big adventure and to go for it.

‘The grandchildren, Tom and Charlotte, are growing up beautifully. It’s nice to be with them and to have that experience of them, watching them grow and being involved in what they’re doing.

‘I think the ambience of France is less stressful than the UK. I love the laid-backness of it.’