Jump to content

What are the advantages or disadvantages of living on or near your rented property.


ngh
 Share

Recommended Posts

Apart from the obvious negative replies (that will come). I thought it would be helpfully, for Gite owners and guests to comment.

What do you think are the advantages or disadvantages of the owners living on site. There must be things guests want from the owners that live on site. It may just be for the security, if they are a bit unsure about the language or even being in the middle of nowhere. It may be the help on offer, when the car breaks down or when the doctor is needed, or even what to do with the kids on a hot day.

On the other hand as mentioned on another thread, guests may feel spied on or unable to relax.

Please don't just knock it. All posts could be helpful. 

nichthewood

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nich - we no longer rent as we got tired of always having to adjust our lifestyles to cater to our guests (among other reasons), but our rental property was the lower portion of our house.  It has many advantages and disadvantages.  I guess you are asking the adv. and disadv. on the part of the Owner, not the renter - as they can be different depending upon who we are talking about.  I will state my own thoughts:

If the property is actually part of your home, say the upper or lower floor, or a corner end of your own home, you will, most likely need to keep an eye on the noise you make.  My daughter was not allowed to have friends over during rental periods.  She was younger then and they just made too much noise.  I am aware of when I use the vacum and other noisey appliances - even though the house is stone and the noise is very minimal, I am aware that people pay for quiet. 

We could not have friends and family visit during rental season which we ended up finding to be a pain. 

There are those rentors who wish to be completely left alone and those who wish to see you every day.  Upon check in and walk through, I tell them, I am as available as they want me to be.  I avoid the private entrance area they use and am only in the garden for mowing (which I try to do on change-over days or I ask them when they might plan to be out so I can do it when they are away), weeding and pool care.  This, in itself, changes what may be your normal routine.

There are people who will knock on your door several times EVERY day.  Be prepared.

I have had to help people with lost luggage and communicating with various agencies as the guests didn't speak French.  I have had to do Internet searches on medications that were either forgotten or in lost luggage to help people find out what the medication is called or equivalent to here and then I've had to go to the Pharmacy with them to get it as guests didn't speak French.  I've been asked by guests if they could use our Interent connection to check emails (EVERY day).  The apartment downstairs does not have its own computer - something you may wish to add in this day and age.  I've been asked to make dinner reservations, lunch, etc.  I've been asked to lead people in their rental cars to the TGV station as they have very early trains to catch and are afraid of getting lost.  I've been asked to guide folks to a gas station that is open at 5 am as their credit cards don't work in the 24/7 card reader and they need to pay in cash.

I've been asked to rent a wheel chair for an elderly person. 

These are just a few things that come to mind.  I did not say no to any of them.  It is just part of the game.  For me, it was the lifestyle adjustment that I didn't like.  Most folks were really nice.  The one major exception to that was what really made me decide to end the renting.  That problem involved children, which, if I did it again, would not accept.  That too, is quite controversial (accepting or not accepting children), even on this forum. 

All of our guests new they were booking the lower portion of our home.  They had all the photos, they knew we had a collie on the premises, etc. so I don't think anyone who wanted STRICT and TOTAL privacy would book a unit like that.  I probably wouldn't as I am a real stickler on total privacy.  I think most people know what to expect (or be prepared to expect) when booking shared properties.

Not sure if that helps you or not, but those are some of the things I encountered.  I"m sure many folks will be along to add their positive and negative replies.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nich, as a guest, I would never rent a property which was part of a complex/owners accommodation/cottage in courtyard etc.

I want to relax on holiday and not be watched (I won't say spied on as I don't really think that happens - or does it?), greeted when I'm in the garden, or be on tenterhooks worrying that I'm a) using the washine machine too often, b) entertaining friends (yes, we often take the opportunity to rent close to friends' places in other parts of France) when I should have asked the owner, c)stayed in and read a book for the whole week, when I should've gone out every day. These are all complaints about "guests" that I have read on this forum!

I just want my own private space for a week and am quite capable of dealing with any emergency myself. Touch wood, nothing has cropped up yet.

Anyway, I have to be honest - I always rent a 3 epie (pets allowed) gite rural through gites-de-france and have never been disappointed yet! They have all been fantastic - beautiful old places with all the best mod cons, and friendly owners.

On the other side of the coin - I'd be quite happy to own and run a gite 4 kms away, but never on my own property, for all the same reasons as Lori.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We live on site but are detached from our gites and they face away from our house. Their terraces and gardens therefore do not impact on ours. We share the pool with them, although we often use it in the evening when they are having dinner. We thought that we would find it diffcult sharing with our guests but we love having this constant flow of new faces, all with interesting stories to tell. We find being on site has great advantages when it comes to minor (or more serious) problems, and changeover days are certainly much easier (we have 3 gites). We do not 'spy' on our guests (there must be some paranoid owners out there), and we are often 'at home' if they want a chat or have a problem. This will be our third season and so far it is working well for us. As for our clients - well you will have to ask them
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Like Lori, we have no choice: the property we rent out is the other half of the house where we live.

Those who do not feel confident language-wise tell us they chose us

specifically because they felt reassured by us being present, not

having to fend by themselves in case of a problem. Others don't seem to

mind. I suppose we'll never know what bookings we're missing on because I make it clear in all our advertising that the holiday home is semi-detached.

Despite that, some of our guests said they hadn't noticed. They were the only ones to say to me "If I had known, I would not have booked, but now I've been here, I'm glad I did." They said that to me that after inviting me to share a home-made clafoutis and a bottle of wine on the eve of their departure.

I've acted as a translator during a well-advanced pregnancy visit at the doctor's, during an evening visit whilst my paying guest's tummy was being prodded by our local doctor, with the local garage mechanic standing over the engine of a broken down Opel on the eve of the guests' home trip... I've had requests for an internet map of Shell petrol stations (business paid expenses!), a restaurant booking at the top of the Eiffel Tower (!)...

I tell them when they arrive that I will be invisible, and I am.

Mr Clair usually sleeps in the morning (night shift) and when we go out, it's a quick "Hello! Everything alright?" on the way to the garage unless they want to ask about some recommendation to do this or see that... I do not go outside unless I have to, but that does not mean I live indoors through the summer. I just time it so as not to be obtrusive, as I am very aware they're here to enjoy their holiday.

You soon get a feel for those who do want to chat anyway... The retired bakers who loved telling me about his bread making (yeah!) or the exhausted working mother of 4 who just needed a break and an ear whilst hubby took the children out to the lake...

Judging by the comments when they leave, I take it we've hit the right note... One of the on-line advertising listings we use encourages renters to comment on and rate the properties and their owners. So far, we've scored 5/5 on all the stays and the comments visible with our advert praise us as "welcoming and discreet". That's what I aim to be and it seems to work...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

there are pros and con either way.

we have 4 gites around large courtyard, we like to think we are on site but out of sight.

the pros are if there's a problem you are on site to deal with it and help guests if needed, plus we have a pool which i clean daily so being on site saves me driving miles for this. being invited to BBQs and drinks by the guests.

the cons are that i feel we lose our summer, we don't use the pool, that is for the guest, however if i know the guests are out for the day i will use it. we keep out of sight but as i have a large collection of DVDs which i lend to the guests and have a list in each gite the guests come looking for me. i also grow some veg which i give to the guests.

i can understand how some ppl don't like to go to comlexes or gites where the owners are on site because of fear of being spied on etc, last yr one family said how great it was at ours as the last place they stayed at the owner were always spying on them and tellingn them "don't do this or that".

my priority is our guests, and i move heaven and earth to make  sure they have a good time.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...
I live in South west France and rent out three holiday apartments in Nice (6 hours drive away).

The big disadvantage is finding quality caretakers/keyholders...but that seems to be the only downside.  Upsides are what has been written before plus when I come to sell, I can sell one, two or all three and keep my home. Flexible - I can time my selling as I see fit, and demand for single units/houses/apartments will always be greater than for "complexes" (unless you heavily discount the complex).

Interesting thread!

Best wishes,

Ian

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Location, Location, Location,

We spent approx a year looking at sites for our gite, we wanted a place on its own, views you,d kill for, and a place on its own grounds and fenced in for security (children)

We wanted a place that was for the customer to enjoy the peace or make as much noise as they wanted without worrying anyone.

Room for a pool, but within a short distance of us the owners.

we have been told by gite owners we know who have a shared complex that if they could they,d change to a gite they didnt live next door to.

The only time we have found any problem so far is the waste side of life, ie we have 4 seperate waste bin area. 1 is for paper/card 2 is for tin/plastic 3 is for glass 4 is for plastic bags of general non/recycle waste.

now due to all the verious bank holidays we have here in france , the summertime collections are on a two weekly system in this area, week one we have bags only taken away, week 2 we have plastic,

the glass and paper are taken to the local recycl  bin area near to the village, The problem is that if you put the wrong bin out it wont be emptied, and if its a bank holiday, you need to find out just when the bin will be sorted.

We look after all the waste bins and dont ask the customers to put them out but make sure only the correct stuff goes into the correct bin, this is the only time the customer would see us except if asked for us to call.

We feel the customer wants a private holiday and not feel they are being spied upon every time they use the pool etc.

We live 3k away approx 10 min if needed,

We try to offer what the customers want, the sound of children enjoying the pool/gardens, or the sound of silence (so much so you could hear a mouse fart)

No give me a gite on its own anyday, I say this as a holiday maker and as an gite owner.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote user="Mikey"]

there are pros and con either way.

we have 4 gites around large courtyard, we like to think we are on site but out of sight.

the pros are if there's a problem you are on site to deal with it and help guests if needed, plus we have a pool which i clean daily so being on site saves me driving miles for this. being invited to BBQs and drinks by the guests.

the cons are that i feel we lose our summer, we don't use the pool, that is for the guest, however if i know the guests are out for the day i will use it. we keep out of sight but as i have a large collection of DVDs which i lend to the guests and have a list in each gite the guests come looking for me. i also grow some veg which i give to the guests.

i can understand how some ppl don't like to go to comlexes or gites where the owners are on site because of fear of being spied on etc, last yr one family said how great it was at ours as the last place they stayed at the owner were always spying on them and tellingn them "don't do this or that".

my priority is our guests, and i move heaven and earth to make  sure they have a good time.

Well said ref priority of guests,

[/quote]
Link to comment
Share on other sites


It's horses for courses - most people who are book a gite complex are happy to have the owners there too. I've had people who have booked specifically because I am on site and speak French and am here to take their kids to the doctors/dentists, book restaurants, golf, horseriding - all they have to do is knock on the door. The pool is cleaned and chemical checked daily, not weekly. I keep a low profile and take the lead from the guests as to how 'friendly' they want to be with me, but find that most love to have a chat about their holiday and what to do in the area etc. I have kids and they often make friends with the children who stay, so that makes it easier with the parents too.

Post edited by mod to comply with the Code of Conduct.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

[quote]
It's horses for courses - most people who are book a gite complex are happy to have the owners there too. I've had people who have booked specifically because I am on site and speak French and am here to take their kids to the doctors/dentists, book restaurants, golf, horseriding - all they have to do is knock on the door. The pool is cleaned and chemical checked daily, not weekly. I keep a low profile and take the lead from the guests as to how 'friendly' they want to be with me, but find that most love to have a chat about their holiday and what to do in the area etc. I have kids and they often make friends with the children who stay, so that makes it easier with the parents too.[/quote]

Same here, except there are no resident children![:D]
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We have the same responce. I think that the people we attract, expect us to be there to help, and for a chat. When things go wrong they know that it can be sorted easily and with no hassle. I just working on the weather. Once i've got that one cracked then i think we're on to a winner.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...