French property holiday let question.

French property holiday let question.

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Discussion

craigw

Original Poster:

12,248 posts

289 months

Thursday 25th November 2004
quotequote all
Ok folks, re my earlier thread a couple of months ago..

Looks like I'm going ahead with this. I'll be buying a house to use for me & close friends/family for most of the year but will need to rent it for a little bit for cash purposes.

To set the scene:

In short the house is sw france so great summers & will be rented for jul&aug. it is very country cottagey in a small village & 5 mins from a beautiful swimming lake & a few villages & towns.

Its a 4 double bedroom house with big kitchen diner, lounge with open fire & a seperate reading room overlooking the garden.

The garden has a lovely terrace with views & a good size pool.

The house will have all mod cons tv dvd,stereo, cd's, classic dvds, espresso machine, bread oven, great furniture & decent linen, beds & loads of other stuff including a good welcome pack.

(THIS ISNT A SALES PITCH BTW!!)

My question is... (without the mod cons etc) currently the house rents during june&july for £1000 a week.

I am planning on converting an annex into a smart 1 bedroom suite with shower room etc. How much extra would you pay for this & the other extras I mentioned.

I have asked agents & they seem bloody clueless & very unhelpful & I've never really done holiday lets myself.

I suppose effectively I'd be looking for 8 weeks rental so only 8 lets or less if people took 2 weeks (I'm new to all this!)

The house will have 2 double rooms, 2 twin rooms & the studio for 2 people so 10 in total. I also want to attract the very nicest people who will be sympathetic to my house (dont mind & expect wear & tear but dont want it smashed up!!)

thanks in advance.Craig.

ps, will give phers 1st refusal if they fancy it!!

mutt k

3,961 posts

245 months

Thursday 25th November 2004
quotequote all
Can't you do some research on line to see what everyne else is charging? This would then give you a rough idea and you can fine tune it depending upon what you put in in the way of the mod cons

craigw

Original Poster:

12,248 posts

289 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
yeah have done but prices vary so much & havent seen any places which have bothered to put ant decent kit in.

mutt k

3,961 posts

245 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
Anything down the travel agents in the way of brochures? Travel supplements in the weekend papers eg Saturday Telepgraph and Sunday Times?

Davel

8,982 posts

265 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
Look at 'French Connections' and other web sites for something similar to how your's will be and in the same area.

Prices seem to vary greatly depending upon space, facilities and character.

craigw

Original Poster:

12,248 posts

289 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
they do dont they ? ? I'm more confused than ever now!

Eric Mc

122,858 posts

272 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
Like any business venture, you have to at least try and cover your outgoings. Most businesses charge as much for their products or services as the market can bear. In other words, they just see how much they can get away with before putting their customers off. There are no hard and fast rules for setting your prices - just set them and see what responses you get.

Whatever you do, don't forget to factor in the tax implications.

Liszt

4,330 posts

277 months

Friday 26th November 2004
quotequote all
Espresso machine? Bread Maker?

It's France FFS. Bread is a national institution!

One of my greatest holiday pleasures is walking to the boulangerie, getting the bread then nipping for a crafty beer, before lunch.

Apart from that, sounds nice.

Sounds like you have also hit upon an opportunity to set up a rental 'Co-operative'. get some like minded property owners on board and organise bookings centrally. Build up a reputation for luxurious homes.