New move to sell Higgins’ French chateau as price dives again

Buyers looking to snap up Brittany Higgins’ taxpayer-funded French chateau can now take a virtual tour of the home. See the photos and new tour.

Exclusive: Buyers looking to snap up Brittany Higgins’ taxpayer-funded French chateau can now take a virtual tour of the three-bedroom home, in an apparent attempt to pump interest.

Ms Higgins and her husband David Sharaz moved into the three-bedroom estate in the tiny town of Lunas, about 100km east of Bordeaux in south-west France, in late-2023 – just after she gave evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation trial against Channel Ten and Lisa Wilkinson.

Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz. Picture: Instagram

Months later, they were forced to put the house back on the market to cover legal costs associated with ongoing defamation action launched by her former boss, Linda Reynolds.

They bought the partially-furnished house for an estimated $600,000 and listed it in September for €420,000 (AU$685,000), before they reduced it to €404,000 (AU$656,808) later that month.

Brittany Higgins bought the 1.2-acre estate after she was awarded $2.4m from the Commonwealth.

The property has a light and airy feel.

It was then lowered to €367,500 in January, just before the couple moved back to Australia ahead of the birth of their son, due any day now. They were set to make a loss on the sale but the Euro has since fallen in value and, if the house sold today, they would make $623,000.

With the property now void of their belongings and languishing on the estate agent’s books, a virtual tour has been added to the online listing.

One of the bedrooms inside the home.

The home is traditionally furnished.

The property’s rustic French-style kitchen.

The tour allows prospective buyers to scour every inch of the two-story home – from bedrooms and stairwells, to bathrooms, cupboards and living areas – without having to travel through the wintry countryside to Lunas, which boasts a baguette machine in lieu of shops.

Never before seen photos show the upstairs master bedroom came equipped with an ensuite and an enormous walk-in wardrobe-style attic, furnished with three unwanted pairs of shoes, assorted clothes racks, and a bronze replica the Greek sculpture Discobolus of Myron – a naked man throwing a discus.

A Persian rug in one of the living areas.

One of the rooms would be suitable for a child’s bedroom.

An enormous walk-in wardrobe-style attic features a bronze replica the Greek sculpture Discobolus of Myron.

The property appears to come with a variety of rugs, demure portraits, mirrors, end tables, house plants, and beds. Lamps could be seen on the living room floor. Notably missing were the chintz couches in the living room visible in Ms Higgins’ Instagram photos.

The home has an older-style bathroom.

One of the property’s airy bedrooms.

Ms Higgins bought the 1.2-acre estate about six months after she was awarded $2.4m from the Commonwealth over the way her rape claims were handled by her Parliament House bosses in 2019.

Her claim was for 40 years of lost earning capacity, legal costs, medical expenses, domestic

assistance, and $400,000 for “hurt distress and humiliation”.

Months later, they were forced to put the house back on the market to cover legal costs associated with ongoing defamation action launched by her former boss, Linda Reynolds. The senator filed claims against Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz over social media posts that she claims ruined her reputation.

Mr Sharaz conceded defeat last year and will have to cover his own legal costs, along with Ms Reynolds’ costs. Ms Higgins hired senior counsel to fight the case for her in WA Supreme Court.

The hearing concluded in September. The judge is yet to deliver a verdict.

Originally published as New move to sell Higgins’ French chateau as price dives again