Look inside: Couple bought a chateau in France for $835,000, spent over $300,000 turning it into a bed and breakfast

CNBC

8 hours ago

After years of living in San Francisco, California natives Malana Moberg, 59, and Roland Salvato, 64, were ready for a change.
Salvato had spent approximately 30 years working as a project manager, while Moberg worked as a marketing consultant. After a stint running their own company, The RoMa Group, they decided to the countryside to start a bed and breakfast.
"We had lived in San Francisco and experienced everything that the wonderful city has to offer and we wanted to change," Moberg tells CNBC Make It. "We love traveling and entertaining so we thought this could be an interesting second career for us."
The idea to start a bed and breakfast didn't come from a desire to make money. Instead, Salvato and Moberg were looking for a challenge to take on in their next chapter.
"We obviously made good money, but it wasn't the goal of either of our lives," Salvato says. "Experience is much more important than material wealth. Any investment in our curiosity about life is worthwhile."
The couple began their search for a new home, looking for a property that would not only have space for plenty of guests, but also for animals.
"I always knew I wanted to move to the country. I just didn't know which country," Salvato says.
They looked in Spain, Portugal and North Africa, but France and its rich history kept calling to them. It also helped that Salvato already spoke French.
They scoured the country looking for the perfect spot, eventually ending up in a town called Druelle Balsac. Here, they found a chateau that felt perfect. The 6,458 square feet property was listed for 736,000 euros (approximately $835,000 USD) and included a main chateau with three bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms, and a four-bedroom, two-bathroom guest house.
The chateau's foundation dates back to the 12th century, and other parts of the property were built in the 14th and 15th centuries.
In 2017, Moberg and Salvato sold their San Francisco apartment for $1.45 million and used that money to purchase the chateau in cash. They put the rest of the money towards renovations and living expenses. The chateau hadn't been renovated or had any upgrades in 50 years.
"We decided we want to make it great for us first, because we have to live here, we have to be comfortable," Salvato says.
Renovations started in 2018 and are still ongoing. The two estimate they've spent about $332,000 on the work so far — including the dining room, living room and kitchen.
But the property is generating some income for them. They were able to open the guesthouse to visitors for $238 a night, and have three rooms in the chateau available for $187 a night.
At Château de Balsac, the couple offers week-long, all-inclusive workshops on yoga, cooking, book arts, drawing and painting for roughly $4,500 per person.
The workshops help the bed and breakfast stay booked outside of the summer, which is typically their busiest season. Last year, the chateau hosted 60 guests and generated $22,000 in revenue, according to documents reviewed by CNBC Make It. The couple's estimated monthly expenses are around $2,212 for utilities, insurance and Wi-Fi. Last year, they paid about $2,000 in property taxes.
The business isn't profitable yet, but the income helps them get by.
"That little amount of money doesn't sound like much but it really helps us cover a lot of the costs of the chateau, which is really what we were looking to do," Moberg says.
Until the bed and breakfast turns a profit, the couple is using their savings to cover living expenses.
"I guess you could say this has been a very expensive French lesson," Salvato says.
And though the couple enjoys living and hosting guests at the chateau, they are most proud that they have been able to breathe new life into the property.
"We are merely caretakers of this piece of history and this legacy for the next generation," Salvato says.