After trying for several months to find a long-term rental apartment in Nice (a losing proposition for various reasons), we decided to bite the bullet and purchase our home. We enjoyed living in Nice, having hopped from a Home Exchange to an Airbnb for several months, and pinpointed a couple of neighborhoods we liked.

Finally Finding the Apartment

We found an apartment near Mont Boron that had wonderful light and a large terrace, but it hadn’t been renovated in 50 years. The electrical setup was not compliant with current regulations and was in fact hazardous!

We stayed there in its original configuration for a month in order to get a feel for the space, and then started asking everyone we knew (not many people, at that point) if they knew trustworthy contractors. We ended up with quite a medley.

Note: Building and renovating is often a nightmare anywhere in the world. I don’t know of any building site that had zero problems (I used to work as an architect). However, you try to keep problems at an acceptable level.

Amongst the choices:

1. A trio of professionals, who were accustomed to working together: an electrician, a plumber, and a mason, if I remember correctly. The electrician seemed very knowledgeable, but was also very bossy, so we were a bit worried and passed on the trio.
2. Various contractors from Eastern European countries, who came recommended and whose prices were very low. We worried that the prices could change at any moment. In fact, on one estimate, it was clearly written that the prices could change!
3. One “full” contractor who would handle everything except what we had already signed contracts for (double-glazed windows, shutters, and shades, and the kitchen outfitting).

Moving Forward with the Reno

We ended up deciding to hire the full contractor, even though his estimate was the highest. He was working on our upstairs neighbor’s apartment, and she had known him for several years. We felt it was worth the additional money to have someone with a lot of local experience (he wasn’t quite a local himself, as he was raised in the suburbs of Paris). We were asked to buy most of the materials ourselves: tiles, bathroom fixtures, and a couple of other things. He purchased plumbing infrastructure, electrical (except lamps).

He kicked us out of the apartment for 4 months, promising to be done by then. Luckily, we found a temporary vacation rental, about 15 minutes away on foot.

Once again, we asked around and researched outlets for flooring, bathrooms, and traipsed off all over town and to Cagnes-sur-Mer, about 15 km away, to make our choices.

The site was very dirty and messy, but we didn’t dare protest (we tried, but were shut down: “my workers need to be comfortable!” i.e., smoking cigarettes all over the place). Towards the end of the work, the kitchen installer came. He was a very strict and disciplined professional, and made a disparaging remark about the messiness. The next day, the apartment was cleaned up!

All in all, it was expensive, but there weren’t too many terrible incidents, and we remained within budget. Some reflections on our experience: 

• We were shocked by the flimsiness of interior walls built in the 1970s: barely 7 cm thick, you could punch through them. We had to double up some for structural integrity.
• The plumber assured us that we could use the bidet pipe for a toilet. He lied. After a few disgusting flooding incidents, we had to shut down the toilet. Fortunately, there are other toilets! When we protested to the main contractor, he answered that we had asked for the toilet. I was livid, but had no proof (see below).
• The plumber (yes, him again) installed an “Insinkerator” (not my idea, but men like these things, I guess). It cost much more than his original quote, and then he told us we shouldn’t use it for more than a few seconds at a time because of the old building pipes.
• The painters (I think) poured turpentine in the jasmine flower pot. The jasmine died.
• The contractor promised the place would be perfectly clean when he left, but that wasn’t the case. We kept on finding bits and pieces of cement under the windows.
• We bought toilets that are terrible at flushing. Every time I go to the US, toilets seem to flush without any issue.

However, all in all, it wasn’t too bad an experience, and our apartment is pleasant.

Feeling Lucky with Our Choice

A new friend arrived in Nice, speaking little French, and her luck was much worse, unfortunately. She went through several contractors, all flaky, leaving her in the lurch with unnecessary expenses. The first one came highly recommended from a member of an expat group on Facebook. As it turned out, he had only been hired until then as a handyman, not as a contractor. He was not prepared and had no equipment of his own. The next one wanted to go on vacation and wanted all his money, even though my friend was still waiting for the kitchen installers (the same ones I had used without a hitch), but parts were delayed. This contractor was so threatening that she gave up and paid him… and soon after he left, the bathrooms he installed were leaking.

The window installers (the same ones I had used) were delayed, but she couldn’t remain without windows, and they didn’t want to reimburse her deposit until she showed them the clause in their own contract.

The third contractor decided, after accepting to do the work, that he needed to go on vacation.

Well… months later, she is finally in her apartment, with a beautiful view, but what tribulations she went through! It seemed never-ending.

Another friend, who is French, returned to Nice from the United States and bought a beautiful old apartment. She hired a well-recommended contractor who ran into personal problems and disappeared with her money (I am not sure how much. A lot.) She didn’t react fast enough, and the police couldn’t help her. She had to hire another team, and fortunately, she now has an almost-finished apartment.

I’m not sure what other lessons to offer! One thing is certain: get as much as you can in writing. For example, if I had asked the plumber to put in writing that a toilet was feasible in that bathroom, he couldn’t pretend that I had insisted on a toilet.

In any case, if you do embark on a renovation journey… bon courage! You’ll need nerves of steel.

You could also hire an architect or an interior designer, budget permitting. Again, make sure you have a contract that specifies fees and what will be handled by the designer. The more detail, the better. I didn’t use one, as I was myself trained as an architect. I regretted giving away my T-square years ago and made do with a ruler and a triangle. It was very useful to lay out the tiles the way I wanted them, as well as the bathrooms. The kitchen outfitters handled the kitchen drawings (with our input and exact measurements).

If you need names of companies we used, please reach out.

Photo of Place Garibaldi in Nice

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