GA PDM

Blog

by

Location and Your French Holiday Home-Let

Many buy-to-let French property investors prefer to project manage their French holiday-let whilst in the renovation stage.  This approach is fine, however careful planning is required as well as strategy when looking for the perfect French property investment.

Location, Location . . . Location?

Desirable locations such as the South of France for summer French holiday-lets and snowy French mountains for French winter ski-ing-lets would appear to be the ideal French property-let hotspots.  But, there are a few factors to consider when looking for a French holiday-let or second home in France.

Many French property purchasers, purchase Coup de Coeur properties in idyllic and remote areas of France far from the hustle and bustle of town and city life. Compared to the fast-paced UK life, a tranquil French countryside gîte would appear to be perfect for those UK holiday guests looking for a holiday in which to de-stress. There is no doubt that a quiet, isolated French countryside property with a well-maintained swimming pool and lovingly tendered garden would appeal to holiday makers.  Strategically, however, the property management of your French holiday-let may not be as inviting to the service providers.  Many property management services in France may be reluctant to accept properties which are difficult to reach or incur lengthy travel times.  If a property manager has to travel more than 50 minutes to reach your French property-let to carry out a change-over service, then the travel expenses and time incurred will not be cost-effective for you or the property manager on a regular basis.  In addition, if an emergency were to occur at a managed property, then urgent attendance may be unrealistic, if the journey time is greater than 30 minutes.  Further, isolated French properties may attractive expensive delivery charges for materials to site, if your French holiday-let property is undergoing renovation.  An additional consideration in the purchase of an isolated French property let is the increased risk of burglary.  If the property is let only in the summer months and shuttered for the remainder of the year with no sign of activity, then it may be vulnerable to crime and damage.  Therefore, it may be prudent to consider properties near to towns and services when searching for your ideal French property purchase.  Your guests may also enjoy the ease in which to visit their nearby town in order to shop and to enjoy easy to reach leisure facilities.

Remember . . . Location, Location, Location is important as an astute buy-to-let French property investor.

by

Your French Holiday Home Garden . . . or is it the beast?

‘Congratulations!’  

So, you have now acquired your French holiday home let in La Charente.  But, it requires a list of internal and external building works as well as modernisation and painting and decorating before you can bring your property to the French holiday let market.  So, what to do first?  What is the main priority in your lengthy ‘To Do’ list of work?  The ‘Garden.  

The garden is an important marketing feature, especially for guests looking to eat ‘Al Fresco’ in a well-maintained garden whilst drinking fine French wine beside a crystal-clear water swimming pool. But, unlike building works and painting and decorating, which can be rapid to carry out and complete, a garden takes time to plant, mature and to establish in order to portray that homely welcoming quality to appeal to guests. Indeed, some old English and heavily scented Damask roses – a favourite amongst English holiday guests – may take two years to flower, if bought cost-effectively as bare root in Autumn. Trees and shrubs also may take two to three years before making an impact on the landscape so as to reveal their true colours and glory.  Nature may be a difficult business partner to rush in your buy-to-let investment.

You may take the approach to ‘buy-in’ mature plants and trees to speed up the process in bringing your gîte to the holiday let market.  Although this may appear to be advantageous, there are several disadvantages.  The main disadvantage is the effect the approach will have on your property’s yield and your return on investment.  Paying more for less may reduce your holiday let yield.  Although an attractive garden is an important feature in enticing prospective guests, it may not substantially increase the property’s return or capital gain.  Further, there is the consideration of loss and waste.   Buying young plants or bare root roses may minimalise loss as the plants will become accustomed to their new environment.  In turn, waste is avoided and the likelihood of reaching a mature garden cost-effectively is increased.  The financial loss of garden plants can be considerable if careful planning and preparation is not carried out.  Moreover, it may be a hidden loss as the gradual disappearance of plants may be unnoticeable.  The replacement of plants will reduce your return and property yield.  Therefore, factor in the replacement of plants in your property maintenance services to help assess an accurate return on your holiday let investment.

Remember . . .

Stay on top of the garden, particularly during the growing months.  Nature is always waiting to reclaim her space!


by

Charente Holiday Home Purchase or French Summer Holiday Time?

Holiday home rental return and property management cannot happen until you have acquired your Charente holiday let.  So, is summer time the right time to French property hunt?

The French holiday let or La Charente second home purchase sector experiences a wealth of people during the summer season.  From buy-to-let investors looking for a low purchase high yielding gîte during the mid and high seasons to second home purchasers wishing to develop an old French property as a long-term personal investment, the French property sector becomes a competitive marketplace.  

French Property – Market Competition

Naturally, competition for French buy-to-let property does not only come from the UK holiday property hunters, but also from French city dwellers and other European countries which border onto France together with non-European countries.  Strong demand in desirable locations may push prices higher during the summer period as property agents and private sellers seek to secure the best price possible for their sale.

If you are considering a French property purchase during the summer holidays, then try to carry out some initial French property research prior to the high summer season.  It may be advantages to go direct to a seller than through an estate agent in order to negotiate a favourable purchase price.  Search on the Internet for ‘biens a vendre’ in your desired French location which will reveal many properties of which you may not be aware.  Whilst property hunting in France, look for the traditional private seller sign – a capital ‘A’ joined to the side of a capital ‘V’ meaning ‘A Vendre’ – For Sale – and showing a telephone number.  If you are in our service area and you do not feel that your French is good enough to speak to your prospective seller, then contact us.  

If you decide to use a French immobilier – an estate agent – through whom you find your ‘Coup de Coeur’ buy-to-let gîte, then try to re-negotiate the agent’s commission or suggest that the commission is shared with your seller.  It has not been uncommon to find sellers paying agents’ commission instead of the purchaser.

Undertaking a property survey and appointing a surveyor may appear unusual in France.  However, it is prudent to appoint a surveyor to ensure that your property purchase is free from costly defects which may transpire into a loss on your property investment.  As most surveyors would agree, the best time to view a property is in the cold wet rainy weather when the extent of a property’s problems may become apparent.

Discovering old French properties for sale and being struck with ‘Coup de Coeur’ whilst on holiday against the background of fine French wine, a never-ending selection of French cheese and a sense of ‘La Vie en Rose’ may quickly turn to a French property nightmare.  Therefore, be prepared to reject a property if it is economically beyond budget or requires costly repairs or maintenance – another French gîte purchase awaits.

Happy French property hunting!

by

French Property Holiday Home but non-Resident Charente Gîte Owner?

Being a non-Resident French holiday home and gîte owner in the Charente may be profitable not only in high season, but throughout the year.  However, to yield the rentable income from your French holiday home, it is necessary to exercise regular property maintenance and to carry out repairs. Naturally, undertaking property maintenance and repair to your French home holiday may become challenging if you are non-Resident in France.  Moreover, in recent years, due to the changing climate, the Charente region has experienced strong winds and regular storms during the winter months which require regular property checks to ensure that property damage has not occurred which may be detrimental to your gîte rental income.  If you have a property manager, then it would be prudent to request weekly property check visits with video footage and a property check report sent to you for peace of mind.  In addition, winter wet weather tends to create a smell of dampness, if holiday home properties have been sealed by shutters and are not regularly aired. Therefore, a weekly visit from your property manager would also ensure that your French home holiday is opened up once a week.  

As a holiday let owner, you are probably already aware of the importance of planning ahead for the holiday season.  If you do not have the latest photographs of your French holiday home for marketing, then ask your property manager to attend the property on a bright sunny day for a photo-shoot in order that the photographs may be uploaded in good time to the gîte booking websites. 

Another important annual maintenance task to carry out in early March will be your French holiday home garden.  Any camellias and magnolia grandiflora in the garden will require a Sequestrene plant feed to prevent the yellowing of leaves which may not be attractive to potential guests seeking a gîte rental.

Although the winter weather may seem to give the impression that the high season is months away, the month of March is a busy month for the French holiday home let market.  

Do not get left behind – contact your property manager today with a list of to do tasks!