Renting your holiday home in France
If you already own a holiday home or second home in France, you may have thought about renting out your property when you are not dwelling there and perhaps to offset the costs of owning it. Concerns about renting your holiday home to strangers are common but often outweighed by advantages it has to offer. Nonetheless, there are different steps you have to follow when renting your property.
Expenses for a holiday home may be significant, especially if you own a big piece of land or a swimming-pool for example. Therefore the main drivers for property renting are financial objectives; it is important to ask yourself the right questions when planning to rent out your home and then determine your own financial objectives:
– Do you want the rental revenues from your holiday home to pay for all the expenses (i.e. mortgage and overheads)?
– Do you want it to offset a portion of these costs?
– Do you want to make a profit?
Once these objectives are determined, you have to make sure your second home business complies with the regulations of your region or city. You can find some information on this official website or directly contact the appropriate department of your city council which will provide information to you on short-term lets, business licenses and permits, or health and safety regulations. In a more unofficial way you can search online for forums or information and contact other owners in your area that will be able to advise you. Always be sure to stay up to date with regulations!
Tasks involved in renting your holiday home are numerous, but it does not necessarily take time if you are organized. First of all you must determine how involved you would like to be in the rental process. If you do not have the time and desire to do everything yourself you can still use a Property Management Company. They will run your holiday rental for you and manage every aspect. In return they will ask for a commission. The commission varies regarding the company and the services provided, however make sure the company will do at least the following: advertise your property (locally and internationally), interview potential guests, inspect the property before and after, and welcome the guests.
On the other hand, if you want complete control over your holiday home rental (who rents it, etc) and do not want to pay a commission to a management company, then setting up a “rented by owner” situation may be more suitable. If you do so, in most cases, you may live far from your second home and will therefore not be able to handle everything by yourself (housekeeping, maintenance, handling keys and so forth). However you will not face any obstacles if it is properly organized.
As for housekeeping, try to find a housekeeper or cleaning service you can count on by asking other owners and try to visit your house at least once after cleaning to make sure everything is okay. If you can’t, you may know someone who will be able to do it for you. As for maintenance, consider hiring a maintenance professional to oversee your house on a continual basis.
Handling keys can also be a problem; luckily many solutions exist to allow your guests to enter your house:
– Mailing keys is the most common method although it leaves room for error.
– If you prefer your guests to receive keys from a person you can arrange a key pickup with someone you know (neighbour, housekeeper, etc) or directly contact a property management company.
– Other suitable systems such as lock boxes with codes (set your own code, put the keys inside and tell your guests) or keyless entry doors exist. The codes can easily be changed after each guest (once again you can do it yourself or ask someone to do it for you).
After all these formal aspects, you have to think about preparing your holiday home for your guests. First of all it is important to fulfill your guest’ expectations. Therefore make you sure you have the appropriate number of cutlery and plates in the kitchen, towels in the bathroom and sets of sheets for the bedrooms. Board games, DVD player, videos, basic channels, BBQ outside the house and so forth, can also appeal to your guests and make a difference.
Talking about appealing to guests, you may also think about advertising your property properly. You should make sure to comply with the following “basic rules” before advertising your property online (on local, national and international portals):
– Describe the location of your property in detail especially if it is close to specific attractions and list the exact distance from the home itself.
– Clearly describe the prices of your property rental. It is always a good thing to include nightly, weekly, and monthly prices.
– Make sure to keep your availability calendar up to date. During the busiest month a 1-week rental is typical, however outside the peak season, lowering the minimum stay will target weekend guests.
– Make sure to paint a clear picture of your home and also provide good quality pictures from inside and outside your home. The more quality pictures you have, the more viewers there will be!
Finally, in order to protect both yourself and your guests, do not forget to put all agreements in writing and give your guests a copy of rental rules and billing confirmation. Regarding payments, you can use different methods such as cheques and bank transfers. Accepting credit cards and online payment are a plus!
Bonus – to appeal to future guests you can ask your guests for feedback and create a guestbook. Positive comments on your holiday home could help you convert your enquiries into bookings!
For more information on this topic, feel free to have a look at the following articles:
– Holiday home insurance in France
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