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Hints for owners of Gites and second homes


Blanche Neige
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Perhaps someone would like to start a separate thread about whether or not it is better to be near the Gite you are letting ?

RH

 

Well I don't think it would achieve much as Tresco, Cassis and others have already said. IMHO a bit of a waste of time.

"No need to get excited - I thought Tresco was pointing out the futility of a 'poll' on whether gite owners should be near their property and suggesting that it might be better to stick to the hints and tips."

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Always worth making a note of where your water main stop-cock is. If the property is left vacant over winter ,turn off at mains.Ensure no water heaters/boilers are left on. If you leave oil-fired boiler on with frost stat. don't turn water off. If ,like us ,you have water supplies in the garden,it pays to turn them off anyway in the winter. We do  get frosts in Bretagne as the gentleman who bought a house of us found out.Twice. When he came back in the spring ,he couldn't open the front door as the water,inside the house, has made the wood swell so much. All the carpets had grown a nice selection of grass etc and the floorboards had a nice curve to them. Fortunately I could tell him it wasn;t my problem although I got the impression that as we only sold him the house a year previously, we might like to put it right for him!

Regards.5mins St.Malo

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The info pack/régles de vie should contain everything possible, including how electrical appliances work, if you don't live on site. What to put in a fosse septique if you have one. Details and location of nearest doctor, dentist, A & E, supermarkets, shops, opening days of boulangeries, opening hours of shops, good local restos, opening closing time of pool if applicable and details of rubbish, market days as already mentioned in this thread. Horse riding, fishing, golf and any other activities available in the vicinity. Local walking maps. Contact number(s) if the owner doesn't live on site. Where the land boundaries are if you have neighbours.  For UK guests electrical UK - French adapters are often useful. Basic condiments (salt, pepper, vinegar, oil etc.) in the cupboard as well as cleaning products, dishwasher tablets and toilet rolls - at least enough to keep guests going for a couple of days (so to speak!).

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I do understand what some regular gite owners are saying inas much that all the points so far are in the welcome info pack, just waiting to be read,

But its like buying a new car, how many of us read the hand book befor we go for a run in the car??

I feel we can all try to better our efforts as gite owners by sharing all we have to offer.

And again what may seem like old hat to the regular gite people can infact be a new idea to some of the newer gite owners.

The day one stops learning is a sad day,

This thread has  been  and is a good one and I hope is leading on to better things.

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I'm sure most responsible gite owners already offer the things mentioned in the thread, but as you say, for new gite owners it isn't always obvious. Until I had a guest who arrived minus a filling and had to take him urgently to the dentist on a Saturday evening, details of a dentist isn't something I would have necessarily thought about putting in the welcome pack.

I often get comments from people who stay with us about other places they have stayed in where the info hasn't been there, neither have things like cleaning products and toilet rolls.

Another tip - if you want to attract the family market, it is always appreciated (and in some cases expected) that baby equipment is offered free of charge - cots, high chairs, stair gates, baby bath etc.

Also nearest wifi hotspot or internet café if you don't have wifi access on site.

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[quote user="Blanche Neige"]

Perhaps someone would like to start a separate thread about whether or not it is better to be near the Gite you are letting ?

RH

 

Well I don't think it would achieve much as Tresco, Cassis and others have already said. IMHO a bit of a waste of time.

"No need to get excited - I thought Tresco was pointing out the futility of a 'poll' on whether gite owners should be near their property and suggesting that it might be better to stick to the hints and tips."

[/quote]

As a prospective newcomer to gite owning i'd be very interested in starting a separate thread as this is the exactly what my wife and i are considering - having a couple of gites on site. Before we take the plunge we'd like to hear what other people thought.

 

Tim

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Not being a gite owner but a second home owner, I would be interested in hints and tips for that particular circumstance.

Our equivalent to the Carrefour Tin Trunk is to use large plastic, flexible, zipped containers from Ikea for storing pillows, duvets and other bed linen.  These also are moth, mould and damp proof and can be folded up and put away when we are in occupation.  The inclusion of home-made lavender sachets also leave a faint, but pleasant smell in the containers. 

We also use the same type of container to store the "cushions" from our easy chairs. 

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I once worked in the hotel business and a very wise man once said to me that owners should sleep one night in every one of their rooms each year, to find out what it's really like to stay in them - how noisy it is, how comfortable the bed etc etc.  Not a bad plan and something that can easily be done in the "off" season.

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[quote user="Russethouse"]You may be better to start another topic [/quote]

This is already a thread for second-homers as well, so why a new thread?

We also use those IKEA bags (the black ones) and have no problems with them, including mouse-attack. Why do mice eat (and crap on) the soap?

We also use the big plastic boxes to store toilet and kichen paper, partly to keep them dry and also to frustrate the mousebuilders.

Bunches of lavender help. Something. I know that because Julie told me, but she didn't explain, or possibly I wasn't listening.

The other necessity for us is getting a company who do gîte changeovers to sort the place out for us each time we go over, so that the house is aired/warmed and clean and tidy, hot water on and so on each time we arrive.

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"The other necessity for us is getting a company who do gîte changeovers to sort the place out for us each time we go over, so that the house is aired/warmed and clean and tidy, hot water on and so on each time we arrive"

Definitely!

If  not a company as such then a good friend who lives locally, who will keep an eye on the house when you are absent and prepare it for your arrival.

This time last year we had major work going on at the house, friend was unable to prepare it for our arrival. We arrived (work was no means complete at that stage) and I insisted on staying at the local chambre d'hote for the first night, which was warm, clean and welcoming. Next day the sun shone and we were able to roll-up our sleeves and start a major clean. I would hate to face that every time I arrived.

 

 

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This is already a thread for second-homers as well, so why a new thread?

Because despite the title most tips seem to be for people who let their property - those that don't might have different ideas or routines, but I was just thinking from the POV of someone doing a search.

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[quote user="cooperlola"]

I once worked in the hotel business and a very wise man once said to me that owners should sleep one night in every one of their rooms each year, to find out what it's really like to stay in them - how noisy it is, how comfortable the bed etc etc.  Not a bad plan and something that can easily be done in the "off" season.

[/quote]

I certainly agree with this. We have done this - and try to repeat it every year for a night or two - and it has proved worthwhile. It's also worth trying to spend a week using the kitchens to cook your meals, which is a very good way of finding out if there are any essential items missing or discovering blunt knives !

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