Thank you for reading!

We were from the Charleroi area, and we left everything behind to buy a house on 29 September 2023, on Rue du Romarin in Ploegsteert, in the municipality of Comines, and to be closer to our family at the same time. This little farmhouse caught our eye; we immediately pictured ourselves in that large garden, perfect for our pets, but we were soon disillusioned.

“We visited this single-storey house and everything seemed fine, at least on the surface.”

There was just one thing that gave us pause during the viewing: there was a trapdoor leading to the loft but no ladder to climb up. Apparently, the estate agent had never been up there.

My partner had an accident and injured his leg, and I also have a disability in my arm, so we couldn’t go and check it out. I just managed to stick my head through and the roof structure looked to be in good condition. Since the property was being sold by an estate agent, we trusted them.

We’d told ourselves that if the estate agent had done their job properly, they must have checked everything and issued a report. Especially as the advert simply noted that the conservatory needed renovating, but made no mention of any other issues.

But since we moved in last October, we’ve gone from one disappointment to the next. In October, my nephew went up into the loft to put out rodent poison and said to me, “Uncle, it’s raining inside the house.” I managed to clamber up as best I could, and water was streaming down into the loft. I cried! You could see daylight between the roof structure and the concrete ring beam. It also looks as though, at the bottom of the loft, the roof structure is barely holding up. There are even reinforcement bars, but the former owner keeps saying he wasn’t aware of it. If I’d seen that before, I’d never have bought the house at that price!

We’ve tried to contact the estate agent and the previous owner, but they won’t listen to a word we say. “According to them, it’s nobody’s fault.”

“We hired a bailiff and a building surveyor; they both came to assess the condition of the house on site and produced a report clearly stating that there are hidden defects. There is 70% damp in the house, but it’s all hidden. After seeing all these defects, the expert values the house at €110,000, whereas we paid €178,000 for it. We’ve hired a specialist solicitor and the case is now in the hands of the courts.

Despite everything, we love this house and its garden. We would like the house to be re-valued at its fair market value and to be able to recover the difference so that we can carry out the necessary repairs.

We’ve been in legal proceedings for a year now! We can’t do anything about it straight away due to a lack of money and manpower, etc. The only thing we’ve managed to do is clear the land and tidy it up – it was absolutely filthy!

We feared the worst: abandonment in every sense of the word!

We’re suffering injustice, theft, insecurity, and guilt!

So! I thought to myself, why not set up a fundraising pot! Who knows! There are still understanding people out there who might be able to help us!

It’s hard to ask for help, because we’re independent. From the start, we’ve done everything ourselves! To end up with this result!

Our project was legitimate; we did everything we could to make it happen. But not like this!

Thank you again to all of you who can make a small contribution! To all of you who can share this!

I’ll keep you updated on how things develop.

Cédric Bauffe