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!