They were looking for a house to change their life. It was she who changed their lives. When Maële Vincensini and her husband, Renaud Vaupré, fall, in July 2020, under the spell of an old abandoned building, in the small town of Cast (Finistère), they do not expect to find a treasure there.
Here, no hoard of hard cash, but the wealth of ordinary lives frozen in the dust for decades, those of Alice and her family. A ball of memories that Maële has been reeling and sharing, since January 2022, on her accounts TikTok, instagram And Facebook. Filmed as an investigation, “The Adventures of Villa Alice” fascinates a community of Sherlock Holmes from the attics and lovers of old stones.
The meeting of the family with the villa Alice happened by chance during a property visit in the Breton countryside. Coming from the Parisian suburbs, the couple was looking for “a small inexpensive house, which would serve as a base between two trips around the world”, remembers Maële, 35 years old. The parents of two young girls then aspired to cast off the moorings of their urban life and to distance themselves from their jobs as a freelance graphic designer and manager of a small event communication agency.
The property for sale does not suit them, but, while walking in the area, Renaud sees a disused villa from the 1930s. It’s love at first sight! Brambles have invaded the garden, ivy clings to the faded facade and shutters, everything smacks of abandonment, but no matter, the call of the house is stronger. They have found the home of their dreams. Only problem: it is not for sale, and no one really knows who are the heirs.
Months pass, the search goes in circles, until the day when, with the help of a notary, the couple finally discovers the identity of the owner, a certain Alice, a former teacher then aged 97 years old, who lives in Brest. For fifteen years, the old lady has not set foot in this family home, where she was born. An only child, with no descendants, the nonagenarian agrees to meet future buyers and sell her property to them.
Huge shambles
Almost two years after falling in love with real estate, in January 2022, the new owners set out to restore it, “not terrified more than that by the scale of the work”. It must be said that Maële and, above all, Renaud are great handymen and enthusiasts of flea markets and old stones. Villa Alice will give them a marvelous playground, because inside reigns an enormous mess.
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