Charles Luylier (special correspondent to Tulle in Corrèze)/Photo credits: NICOLAS GUYONNET / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 07:48 a.m., March 7, 2024

In 2023, 650 real estate builders will go out of business due to the surge in the price of materials.

Faced with these bankruptcies, buyers find themselves with credit on their backs, an abandoned building site and no roof over their heads.

Europe 1 went to meet Nathalie, victim of a bankrupt promoter.

It’s a nightmare that thousands of French people are experiencing.

With the surge in the price of materials, 650 property builders have closed their doors throughout France during 2023. And this year should not see the trend reversed.

As a result, some buyers find themselves with credit on their backs, an abandoned building site and no roof over their heads. 

“It’s money that we had put aside”

“There, that’s all we have. A concrete slab, that’s all. Just a slab!”

In the middle of a muddy construction site, Nathalie can only see the mountain of work.

"It was our project. I'm completely disgusted. There's not even the front door. There's no wall, there's nothing. We signed the papers in December 2022, a year and a half ago", continues Nathalie at the microphone of Europe 1.

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Nathalie and her husband took out a loan and paid a large deposit to the builder.

“30,000 euros for nothing, plus interest and credit. It’s money that we had put aside. We have at least 45,000 euros worth,” she explains.

A feeling of deception

These sums are significant for this civil servant who receives 1,900 euros per month.

But beyond the damage, she would have liked the manufacturer to be transparent about its cash flow problems linked to the cost of materials.

"They could have told us: 'we have financial problems, don't sign' and at least we could have gone elsewhere, but they showed us that they were the best so we had the impression of having been deceived,” adds Nathalie.

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If Nathalie wishes to take over the site with a new service provider, she will have to take advantage of her insurance and pay an excess of 8,000 euros.

Around a hundred customers in Limousin were, like her, victims of the same manufacturer.