Oh Dick and Angel are making bank. Dick is listed as one of the show’s producers.
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I don't really know how much money she gets from inheritance or allowances. I know N and Potty were paying for most of the chateau running expenses, with Isabelle as a backup to turn to when things really got out of hand financially. She didn't rent out her London flat until 2017, I believe. She rented out her mothers house in SA through an agent and was allowed to keep that money. Her 'private' income, wherever that came from, she used to spend on plain tickets for her travels, gambling others would take care of the other expenses. The whole 'not being able to eat' is nonsense anyway, there's always food in that house, with all people coming and going, despite pandemics. Full freezers too.
As clearly revealed on the unwrapped channel she's a master beggar, doing it gracefully and with a certain style. She just figures no matter where it comes from, she's entitled to it.
Isabelle used to talk about how much businesses they lost when Derek died.
That's interesting as they had sold the nursing home when he died. I wonder what these other businesses were.
To be honest I really think that Angels aesthetics are terrible and not in keeping with the style of their chateau , it all seems a bit hodgepodge and disjointed . I initially thought that Stephanie had done a good job on Shatoo la la land but I’ve definitely changed my mind it’s all too brash and slightly euro trash never mind that she hasn’t tackled basic insulation and heating properly. Don’t get me started with the pethericks or Dan
Interesting to hear what @Clara Burnett had to say and definitely put a lot of her behaviour into context .
Look I am not pinning real butterflies along my walls or covering tractor tyres to make a picnic stools. The objective is they made an old chateau into a home, weddings are held outside with reception in orangery. Very restricted access to private home. They had people paying money to attend an open day to work in garden (no house access). People loved it. They also bought in a less remote area. SJ bought in a very remote area, what was intended to be a privaye home flipped for profit. Very naiive.
The house is a wreck.
I really liked this pair. They just went for it. A lot of people talk about doing things, watch the programmes & think we could do that. I don't think they're grifters, they're grafters. When they went to France it was just the start of things going tits up in the world. I don't think anyone could've predicted what would be happening this time a year ago. They certainly do have the renovation skills & had a reasonable amount of ££ behind them, lived in a tent in the barn for a long while whilst renovating. Hopefully things will look up for them.I'd like a seat on the tour bus too. But please tell your butler to seat me several rows away from Heathcliffe.
I'm still pretty attractive for my age but I'm the faithful type.
This is the dirty underbelly of shows like ETTC: how easy it looks to buy an undervalued property in France and do it up. Dick and Angel Strawbridge had a TV show behind them. SJ had Mummy, Daddy and Nic Larkin backing her. The Trotters have Gwendoline's inheritance. If you check websites that market properties for sale in France, some have sections entirely devoted to ETTC DIY owners who are selling up because they ran out of money.
The reality behind the French property fantasy is that if you don't have the renovation skills and plenty of money--or are not interesting enough to develop a YT following--you are more than likely to lose a massive amount of money. Tragic really. Especially when it's older people who are losing everything they saved for retirement when they could have bought a condo on the beach in Spain and enjoyed themselves in the sun.
Didn't need a begging bowl. When there was plenty of low hanging fruit to be picked from the in crowd & mummy?
Angel & Dick's place is beautiful. It is a quirky home, but it has heating & bathrooms & kitchens all that work. It has been restored properly & is a business which obviously provides for them and their family by developing their brand. A bench mark that Chateau with it's damp, cold, overblown, amateur DIY decor could only aspire to achieve.
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@Clara Burnett I disagree with the fact that people shouldn't buy a renovation project if they don't have all the money for the renovations there and then. We've been restoring an ancient property for the last decade and it's a real money pit but we enjoy doing things gradually and do some work ourselves and other stuff as and when we can afford. It's an absolute labour of love and I don't expect us to ever fully finish it but we love living here and if we sell it on at some point then whoever buys it will carry on with the work. Living in an imperfect old building is a lifestyle choice that shouldn't just be for wealthy people who can do all the work straight away. In fact some of those instant renovations where a shitload of money is thrown at an old property are often the worst as you end up with a soulless Disney style version of a period building. The family that Stephanie bought the Chateau from clearly hadn't done much renovating in recent years but continued to live in the chateau for many, many years. Should they have not done so?
I wonder what that’s says about all of us here.I am sure you got some basic structural elements done first. The La La chateau is ridiculously too big for what SJ and Nic originally intended - a 5 year flip. 15 years later still no insulation in roof and parts (servant quarters) barely visited. In the video (i think 36) where rooms in the stable coutyard were cleared by a volunteer/workaway/potential bed buddy, SJ said SHE HAD NEVER ENTERED THEM in 14 years of ownership. Unbelievable. The shutters are not properly pinned back and are in danger of blowing off in a storm or falling on someone's head (SJ quote). She has the money from patreon for the dog shutters and a volunteer counted how many needed (as SJ didn't know how many windows she had). According to SJ, the marquis lived in one apartment. His caretakers lived in nic and marie's flat and the family visited periodically throughout year. They have other chateau.
My suggestion for the name of the new thread is The Chateau Diaries #9 - I'd rather be a Micky Dodger than an Edmond Fokker
Sure but bagsie sit on the chaise next to the cooker in the kitchen 
But the Marquis clearly wasn't doing much in the way of renovations to the Chateau and yet continued to own in for decades. Surely that's every bit as wrong as buying a place without all the money to restore it.
Was there any evidence of G.'s jealousy? Do you have any idea why it took them ten years to formally divorce if their marriage was effectively over after a couple of years?
Excellent. We will need a new name sooner than later. My suggestion is a slight variation on the theme: "Better a dodger than a Fokker".
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I agree. But let me rephrase: why buy if you don't have the money for renovations OR a solid plan of funding those in the future.
I have no clue other than my suspicion it wasn't in her financial interest to divorce and her lack of administrative skills.Was there any evidence of G.'s jealousy? Do you have any idea why it took them ten years to formally divorce if their marriage was effectively over after a couple of years?
Excellent. We will need a new name sooner than later. My suggestion is a slight variation on the theme: "Better a dodger than a Fokker".
Yes, but you understand and accept that house like that is a long term commitment. You aren’t pleading poverty, rattling a begging bowl on YouTube asking strangers to fund your house renovations.
Still my favorite title for new thread.
I believe it was jointly owned by several family members. The Marquis was the one in charge of the sale. To be fair it had been a family property for a couple centuries. Making the decision to sell probably took some time.
Whatever the next thread title is, it must include a reference to Fokker
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Thats true, but what about SJ showing a modicum of discernment? It’s crass to associate herself /her brand without proper consideration as to where that will ultimately lead.
Im still surprised that at this stage, she hasn’t taken proper advice and guidance. I think she mentioned somewhere that she wanted to keep control of her content, it shows extreme arrogance that she feels she knows best and can do it alone with only Brenda seemingly running the PR/Fan Club.
Like her or loathe her, LOTL is sitting in a potential fortune. Quite literally because she is her best asset. She may later regret her grab grifter nature when Patreon dries up & ad income falls. She could rake it in with proper collaborations (fashion, books, TV) ....the only hurdle being she’d have to get out of bed and work for it.
Seconded. You couldn’t make it up could you ? The back-story to SJ and Chateau de la Lande is the gifting that keeps on giving and in no small way this is thanks to Clara who has provided the links to these gems
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