California family's decision to sell-up gorgeous La Jolla home and splurge $2.6m on stunning French chateau goes horribly wrong

A California household who decided to merchantability up their San Diego location and splurge $2.6 cardinal connected a French chateau are present struggling to support their imagination alive.

Julia Leach, 33, and Caroline Ibarra, 37, person been besieged by problems ever since they purchased the stunning Château de Puy Vidal successful Charente.

The mates relocated with Julia's parents and sister successful hopes of escaping the rat contention and renovating the 750-year-old chateau into their imagination home.

But nary sooner had they been handed the keys, the household were deluged with issues including backed up sewage pipes, dense storms and adjacent a tiny earthquake.

They're present struggling to marque the castle wage - and could adjacent beryllium deported if they neglect to conscionable minimum income requirements for French visa holders. 

Instead of surviving la vie en rose, 'it was much similar crushing work and panic,' Leach told the Wall Street Journal.

And portion they connection up the chateau for 'immersive retreats' done their task Lady of the Chateau, the outgo of moving the 14,000 quadrate ft spot means they are hardly breaking even.

A $1 cardinal renovation fund rapidly spiraled to $1.5 million, but the mates estimation the existent outgo volition beryllium treble that to get the decorativeness they truly want. 

'It is becoming wholly unaffordable,' Leach said. She lone discovered post-purchase that the chateau is simply a historical landmark which indispensable beryllium rebuilt utilizing historically-accurate but costly methods. 

The fiscal pressures are being compounded by the information that successful 2 years, the couple's visa volition beryllium connected them being capable to beryllium they are each earning €42,406 oregon astir $46,800. They are yet to wage themselves a salary. 

Things got disconnected to a rocky commencement connected accomplishment erstwhile the afloat grade of the chateau's plumbing and electrical issues were uncovered.

The household had purchased the spot show unseen successful the mediate of the pandemic aft Leach and Ibarra relocated from New York City to Leach's parents successful California.

Realizing they each enjoyed surviving together, Leach and Ibarra asked her parents if they'd similar to motion up for their French chateau imagination and were delighted erstwhile they accepted. 

Eventually, the household each made the determination to merchantability up their sizeable location successful La Jolla for $5.6 cardinal according to Zillow - treble the outgo of the chateau.

Leach and Ibarra acceptable up an Instagram - The Lady of the Chateau - filled with stunning shots of their tastefully-furnished caller home. 

But the glossy images bely the authorities of disrepair and chaos astatine the chateau. While the mates said they knew the determination and renovation would beryllium challenging, the standard of the task facing them has inactive proved surprising.  

The dilapidated operation proved challenging to renovate from the get-go, with the household spending months conscionable trying to find the breaker container earlier it was yet discovered, 'in the dungeon'.

On apical of that they person had to contend with uncovering a dormant owl successful 1 of the chateau's turrets, clogged up pipes and uncovering the remnants of a medieval swimming excavation for horses.

The sprawling spot features 88 windows, 3 towers, 17 fireplaces and a plot truthful ample it takes a week to trim.

The concern reached a caller debased implicit past winter, which was 1 of France's rainiest connected grounds and brought crippling floods which kept the household cooped up inside.

The owners initially marketed the chateau arsenic a bed-and-breakfast. Many guests had heard astir the chateau done the couple's fashionable YouTube channel.

But the demands of this rapidly became excessively overmuch and a determination was made to pivot towards offering retreats and workshops.

In June they offered their archetypal aerial yoga workshop, moving tirelessly earlier and aft but inactive lone breaking even.

'Life is ever truly hard…. And the romanticized, beauteous things you spot connected an Instagram feed—it’s ever truthful overmuch enactment to marque that happen,' Leach explained.

The couple, who worked arsenic camera assistants connected TV and movie sets successful Brooklyn and earned astir $100,000-a-year each, besides admitted to missing the hustle and bustle of metropolis life.

But they stay optimistic astir their future, mostly acknowledgment to 2 mammoth bookings successful October.

The backmost to backmost 5 time 'fantasy photoshoot retreats' are afloat sold out, with each 9 impermanent rooms filled and a waitlist of much than 100 people.

'I deliberation what we’re doing is, successful a batch of ways, precise American, mounting up a caller world,' Ibarra said.