CatherineS2
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Posts posted by CatherineS2
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In my case it is 0% since we started letting our house in June 2003.
We've had a couple of minor breakages but so far I have never had to deduct anything from the £200 damages deposit cheque (which nevertheless I ALWAYS bank before they arrive and then refund them during the week following their departure - I suppose we have been very lucky, so far, but then there is always a first time...)
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We are putting in a new kitchen, from Cuisines Schmidt. The salesman has suggested that we use Ariston appliances. Does anyone have any advice on whether this is a good make?
I am happy to spend just that little bit more to get better quality (having in the past gone for cheaper brands such as Candy and then regretting that I didn't spend just a little more and buy NEFF), but I don't know much about Ariston, apart from that annoying ad about 20 years ago (when I was more interested in partying than discussing the relative merits of kitchen appliance manufacturers!) - "Ariston, and on, and on"...
By the way, I was also keen to put in a Pyrolyse oven having read a glowing report (from Coco I think?) about how good they are, but we do let out our house and I was a little concerned that someone would accidentally switch on the Pyrolyse without taking out the oven racks! So I am going for catalyse. Good decision? Please advise if you can...
Thanks!
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Can anybody advise please? (Have done a search for "septic tank" as I was sure this must have been covered, but can't find the answer to my problem!)
For the past few weeks, there has been a pervading smell, very similar to urine, in my toilet. At first I thought that one of the boys must have been careless. So I have repeatedly thoroughly cleaned the floor and the toilet, but the smell remains. I have poured in Eparcyl and weekly doses of WC-Net, and I have put a blue block in the cistern, but to no avail. Even though the flushed toilet water is a lovely bright blue, if I put my nose down into the toilet bowl, it still smells yucky.
I had always supposed that a septic tank smell would be of a different (i.e. "poo"!) variety, so not sure whether the problem is the septic tank, or whether it is something else.
Any advice? Thanks in advance!
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Just updated it OK, and did so yesterday too.
Is yours still not working?
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I would not let people use our bikes, precisely for the reason you state (public liability). I read somewhere (maybe it was on this forum) about the possibility of being sued if someone, for example, fell off the bike and then blamed you.
My advice is, "don't go there".
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What a coincidence that you posted this today!
I just came on the website to look for advice as our oven in our gite may be broken and we are going over tomorrow night for a couple of days and I thought I may look into the possibility of buying a new one rather than repairing it. It is not completely knackered, in fact it's only a few years old, but it is a gas bottle one and the guests don't always treat it with the "respect" it needs (e.g. you are supposed to attach a metal shield above the oven whenever you use the grill - people are always forgetting and then the knobs crack with the heat and need replacing).
Another coincidence - I just saw a snippet of "Place in the Sun" (I don't normally watch it - honest!!!!) and they were in Portugal where there was an oven with 3 gas hobs, 1 electric hob, and an electric oven.
Is this the same thing as the one you have? Could you let me have a few more details of the one you have? Finally, do you need to have some sort of minimum electric voltage at the house? I am asking this because most of the time we have no problems, except in the winter if it is cold and all the electric heaters are on, if you then turn on the kettle it sometimes blows the main fuse!
Thanks for any advice!
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Yes, the problem now seems to be fixed, as all my test enquiries came through late on Monday night...
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For reasons that I am not going to bore you with right now , yesterday I tried to send myself a test enquiry from within the VisitFrance website, but I never received it. (It appears in the Enquiries list within the owners area, but no email actually sent to me).
I thought it was just my email that was playing up, but tried sending enquiries to a couple of neighbours also on VisitFrance, and they didn't receive them either - so the problem lies with VF!
I contacted them and got an email from Ben saying that they were having a technical fault and that they "expect any spooled e-mails to be delivered later today".
Well it is now 17.30 and my test ones still haven't come through - so I suggest that any of you with VF should check your enquiries via the VF owners area, just in case you have had a genuine enquiry which has disappeared into the ether...(Also posting this in the gite owners forum)
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For reasons that I am not going to bore you with right now , yesterday I tried to send myself a test enquiry from within the VisitFrance website, but I never received it. (It appears in the Enquiries list within the owners area, but no email actually sent to me).
I thought it was just my email that was playing up, but tried sending enquiries to a couple of neighbours also on VisitFrance, and they didn't receive them either - so the problem lies with VF!
I contacted them and got an email from Ben saying that they were having a technical fault and that they "expect any spooled e-mails to be delivered later today".
Well it is now 17.30 and my test ones still haven't come through - so I suggest that any of you with VF should check your enquiries via the VF owners area, just in case you have had a genuine enquiry which has disappeared into the ether...(Also posting this in the Chambres d'Hotes forum)
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We have the following clauses in our rental contract:
The Lessor reserves the right to cancel any holiday at any time, with a full refund of all monies paid, if necessary due to circumstances beyond their control.
and
The Lessor will not be liable for any temporary defect or stoppage in the supply of public services to the Property, nor in respect of any equipment, plant, machinery or appliance in the Property or garden, for any loss, damage or injury which is the result of adverse weather conditions, riot, civil war, strikes or other matters beyond their control.
The Lessor will not be liable for any loss, damage or inconvenience caused or suffered by the Lessee if the Property shall be destroyed or substantially damaged before the start of the rental period. In such an event the Lessor will, within seven days of the notification to the Lessee, refund to the Lessee all sums previously paid in respect of the rental period.
Under no circumstances shall the Lessor’s liability to the Lessee exceed the amount paid by the Lessee for the rental period.I realise it sounds very formal, but I think it is necessary to be covered for this type of eventuality. So far, thankfully, we have not had to use it. We did have a problem in December when there was a hurricane in Normandy and our chimney collapsed. Luckily we were able to get roofers in to repair the initial damage immediately, but the family who were arriving a few days later for their logfire Christmas holiday had to do without the logfire in the living room (although the insert fireplace in the kitchen was still working). We were under no obligation to offer any comensation, but I did refund them £50 for the inconvenience and they were very happy with that.
Hope this helps.
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Sorry if I'm being a bit thick/ignorant, but what is SDS? And what is this Euro regulation book?
We do provide a travel cot in our gite, should I be reconsidering? And if so, why?
Thanks for any advice!
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I am thinking about buying Eurotunnel frequent traveller tickets (basically you have to buy 10 single tickets, i.e. 5 returns, for £390).
But I am a bit worried about the negative news I have been hearing lately about Eurotunnel, that it could go into receivership within the next few months.
If the worst came to the worst, and this did happen, what is the likely scenario regarding these tickets? Would they become null and void?
Help! Any legal eagles out there who could offer any advice?!
Thanks in advance.
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I don't know anything about your area, but near our house in Normandy there are the French equivalent of car boot sales nearly every weekend in some village or other - they are called "Foire a tout" and they are usually advertised on posters by the side of the road. We always go if we are around - they are usually full of the same old tat that you get at UK car boot sales, but you can usually find the odd gem among the rubbish!
I am sure they must also be advertised in the local paper (although I have never looked).
Hope this helps.
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I agree that gites are usually booked well in advance, however there are always people who have left it to the last minute and are desperately looking for somewhere for the school holidays.
We bought our house in April 2003 and it was not ready for letting until 15th August. We only joined French Connections in mid-June 2003, yet we still managed to get the last 2 weeks of August booked as well as most of September.
So I definitely don't think you have missed the boat for your gite.
Good Luck
(By the way, I personally no longer recommend French Connections as it no longer works for us since they changed their website, but it may for you).
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I think Mikey's idea is a good one.
If it is a single gite, with exclusive use of a pool, then I think there should be no restrictions on opening ties.
But if there are multiple families using it, then it makes sense to have a closing time, for precisely the reasons Mikey states.
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Dear Joan,
Ouistreham is the official name for the port of Caen. I think it's Brittany Ferries that sail there.
Despite my PM to you yesterday extolling the virtues of the countryside around my gite near Dieppe, if you are thinking of going further south then I would equally extol the virtues of the Calvados region!
My brother lives in a small town called Thury-Harcourt which is about 20 minutes drive south of Caen, and the countryside around there is really lovely - it is called the Suisse-Normandie because it is quite hilly.
I know of one campsite which is in Thury-Harcourt, it is called the Traspy camping, but I have never stayed there.
Hope you have a great holiday!
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If I were booking a gite with a pool, I would either book one with exclusive use of the pool, or I would book on a larger complex with a large communal pool.
I don't really know why, but I would feel uncomfortable sharing with just one other family - especially if they were the owners (I suppose I would always feel as though I were encroaching on their space).
But that's just me! Everyone is different.
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This happens all the time!!! (Though it's usually small things like chairs and other occasional furniture).
Whenever we turn up for a holiday, we wonder where we will find things this time! It's a bit like having poltergeists (but possibly marginally less scary!)
I don't think it is worth asking people not to move the furniture, I think it is best to just take it on the chin as an "occupational hazard" and laugh it off, it's the only way to stay sane and chilled-out!!!
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Dear Royston,
I'm sorry - I did not mean that I thought that you were negative and unfriendly - but I do think that your website makes you sound that way! You should be stressing all the positive things about your property! - "Great getaway for couples", "Peace and quiet", "swimming pool", etc etc.
Also, I know I mentioned it in a previous reply, but I really really recommend that you look at www.laymyhat.com as the subject of building websites and search engine optimisation has been examined and picked over in excrutiating detail, particularly within the forum.
Good Luck!
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Dear Royston,
I totally agree with what the other people have said about that comment on your home page - it comes across as really unfriendly, negative and off-putting, even to people who don't smoke or have pets or children. Sorry.
But I also have another comment. This is purely personal, but if I were looking for a nice place to stay for a romantice trip, just my husband and myself, I would look for a cosy authentic french country gite. I'm sure your gites are very comfortably furnished - but I am immediately put-off by your 5th photo, the one with a large bookcase which looks remarkably like the ubiquitous Ikea "Billy" bookcase which everyone I know seems to have lurking somewhere in their house (including me - I've got two of them staring at me right now in my study!). When I go for a romantic break in rural France, I don't want to be reminded of home... Given the abundance of choice, I would not choose to stay at your gite just for this simple reason. Sorry again, but as someone said in one of the earlier replies, you did ask.
Could you photograph the room again? You could move the bookcase out of the room, and move the coffee table into its place (maybe with a nice bowl of fruit or a large vase of flowers). Then once the photo has been taken, you could move it all back. I don't think this is being dishonest, as there is nothing actually wrong with the bookcase, but for me anyway, it doesn't add any value to the photo, IMHO.
...I've just noticed something else, having just revisited your website. Having previously looked at it a couple of times, I never noticed until just now that you have a swimming pool. I think you should make more of this, as it is not immediately obvious that you have one. Do you have a photo of it?
...Also, you seem to have different texts for each gite - does gite 3 include fishing permits and bed linen like gites 1 and 2? Does gite 1 include rods like gite 2?
Good luck - I am sure you will find your niche and start to get more bookings!
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Also, are you advertising on any of the online gite directories? It's great to have your own website, but people need to find it...
I advertise with VisitFrance and holiday-rentals and I am now solidly booked until mid-September (and have been since Easter), almost exclusively via these websites.
Have you looked at the forum for property rental owners on www.laymyhat.com? All the posters on that site are very very helpful, and you can post your site for review and will get all sorts of good advice!
Courage, mon brave! We will all get to the bottom of it for you - the answer is out there!!!
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I'm sorry - but I don't get the bit about Normandy. What do you mean?
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Coco, I can understand your points, but I can also see it from the other perspective, as a guest...
I rarely drink alcohol nowadays, but when I did, I would sometimes have a glass of something or other whilst I was putting on my makeup and getting ready to go out. So I don't think people are being unreasonable if they have a drink in their rooms.
Also, I understand your comment about why do people buy their own wine when they could buy it from you - but maybe your guests have bought a particular wine which you don't provide, after all there is a much larger choice in the supermarket. (Not for a moment am I suggesting that your wines are in any way inferior!). If I am in a licenced hotel or restaurant I would never dream of bringing my own - but if I am eating or staying in an unlicenced premises, then I would have absolutely no qualms about doing so.
Finally, just a suggestion... If you are concerned about people putting their beers in your fridge then traipsing in and out of your kitchen, why not put mini-fridges in the rooms? They are much cheaper than they used to be (in fact they are de rigeur in many UK teenagers rooms nowadays). This would be useful for your guests, not just for alcohol, but for keeping soft drinks cool as well.
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Hello!
Yes I can recommend somewhere for you. I have a gite North-East of Rouen which is about 1.5 hours from Boulogne, and although we are fully booked now until Sept, my keyholder runs a Chambre d'Hotes on her farm. I have contacted her and she does have availability on those nights. The price for one night for 4 in a large family room would be 66 euros with breakfast, or 52 euros without.
I am sending you a private message with further details...
Troublesome guests - how often does one get them?
in Gite Owners Forum
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Hi Zeb!
I provide a proper invoice for all customers, e.g. as follows:
INVOICE
Rental of Le Gaillon 23.07.05 to 30.07.05 £600.00
Security Deposit (refundable) £200.00
Total £800.00
Then once they have departed and my housekeeper has given me the "all clear" I raise a credit note and send them a cheque (from my business bank account) as follows:
CREDIT NOTE
Refund of security deposit £200.00-
So at the end of the day I will have a deposit for £800 followed by a payment for £200 which balances out to the actual income of £600.00
Everything is accounted for and above board. As Susan says, if I don't bank the cheque then the client could easily stop it if there were a dispute so it is not worth anything!