Daisy-May

Hello Pam, We live in the Auvergne on the borders of 15/19/63 and have found that there is a huge amount of Gites in our area. These though are all mainly marketed to the French, Dutch and Belgian markets, thus providing a hole for some decently marketed English properties. This will be our third summer of owning our house in france and have noticed a huge increase in the amount of English traffic to our area. At the moment it does strike us that we are a stop of point for the huge trek south, the English that have stayed with us (B&B) have asked to be kept informed of our Gite building projects so that they can return for longer/self catering stays. As for the weather, we find that this truly is a seasonal area. Summer is fantastic averaging between 30-35 degrees. it is 'kind of' working out for us at the minute to having 5 day of sun to 1 day of rain, rain being a slight drizzle right up to 6 hour thunder storms. From the guests that we've had they (mostly) have been appreciative of the days respite from the heat and understand that it is what keeps our grass green as opposed to the parched yellow of most other places. Autumns, we have found is the best season. The differences in colours are fantastic and last a good 6/8 weeks the temp are a little lower and storms a lot less frequent. For us last year winter was harsh to say the least. we had nightly temps of below -15 for about 6 weeks with the day temps never going above -9, snow that was at best/worst three foot deep and as soon as we'd be able to clear it using what ever means necessary another 2 foot would drop the night after. Spring this year didn't exist. But in 2004 and from what we have been told it is WET with weather resembling what we left behind in England (but with a lot more fog). What doesn't help here is that with the close proximity of the moutains a 20km drive can put you into a totally different weather system with temperature differences of around 15 degrees being quite common. The majority of our long stay guest have been the summer sports types of walkers, bikers, skiers and the hikers, but we also have a lot of people who just come here to relax and unwind. The sheer openness of where we are seems to be a big pull for people, so I think there is a market here for everyone. It is true that the Auvergne is getting a lot of column inches in the English press at the minute and that combined with some aspects of the French press advising people to sell to the 'rich English' has seen our local house prices increasing by about 25%-30% a year. Although from what I've seen here in the Cantal we are still generally below average pricewise. Hope that helps, Aaron www.la-fromental.com

Hello, Please could I ask you all a couple of questions. Where is the best, most cost effective way to advertise your Gites?? And, is it normal for the advertising companies to take such a high percentage of the weekly rent?? My Belgian friend who runs a Gite just down the road is forking out 40% of his rent in advertising and they have only managed to get him 6/7 weeks worth of business this year. Would I be right in thinking that for that amount of cash he 'should' be beating customers away with a stick as there should be adverts everywhere for the house??   Cheers Aaron www.la-fromental.com

Thank you Eslier for your super-fast response. I'll set my husband onto the task now. Thank you again, Amelia

Thank you Eslier for your super-fast response. I'll set my husband onto the task now. Thank you again, Amelia

Hi, can anyone help me please??? I have just taken delivery of my smeg cooker that I had in UK, I would like to use it over here.  It was mains gas at home and now I am wondering does anyone know how to convert it so we can run it with the bottled gas over here?? Cheers amelia

Hi, Please can anyone help.  Myself and my fiance have just moved to the Auvergne region to renovate a farmhouse to open up a B&B with evening meals.  We will have finished our works in time for next summer, however, this has left us very short of cash.  We are now very scared about the implications of going legal and what our initial outlay will be.  Being 25 I do not have a lifetime of savings to dip into and therefore would like to know the most cost effective tax scheme to be on.  I have read the previous listings but still cannot seem to find a definitive guide.  I would love to know any personal accounts of the process of registering and how much it cost you in real terms!!  If anyone could help I would be most grateful. amelia