My first post on Gite Owners... rental advice needed...

[robster]

Hello,

This is my first past on the forum, I hope this is the right section.

I was wondering about how to go about renting out a house in France? My brother and I co-own a place in Burgundy, and we dont get to go as often as we would like! However, thouse is also quite big and we were thinking of converting half of the house so we could rent it out? How do we go about renting a place in France if we are living in the UK? Does anyone else do this?

Regards

 

Rob

 

[JJ]

Rob,

Firstly you have not stated whether you are talking holiday lets or long term rentals?, a world of difference between the two.

In fairness to you it would make it a lot easier for Gite Owners to impart their advice when you have clarified this point.

There are many threads which you may be able to search on this forum which may be of use.

Bon Chance.

[robster]

Hello JJ,

thanks for the reply, sorry I didnt get round to replying sooner!

I am thinking of long term rental of this property. The house sits empty most of the year which is just a waste of such a fine place.

5 bedrooms in total, so we can quite easily split the house and have access to 2 bedrooms ourselves and rent out the other half with the 3 bedrooms.

Are there certain standards/regulations you have to meet in order to be able to rent a place out?

Regards

Rob

[Owens88]

I am not an expert but I belive that the 'standards' problem is not a high one. (And I am presuming that you have the good sense to 'do things right' even if there are not rules to comply with.)

Are you sure you want long term renters (3 yrs is the norm) or would vacation rentals be more lucrative?

John

 

[nimportequoi]

Apart from the 3 year rental contract there (could be) other problems with long term lets such as the law that you are not allowed to evict people during the winter months (October - April) even when the rent isn't paid, which happened to a friend of mine's mother who let a flat. The lodger in question had a steady job, but even when it came to the summer and the rent wasn't paid in full, because the lodger had paid some rent, it was still impossible to evict them. I'm sure this case isn't the norm, but it is something to be careful of.

[robster]

Hello,

Thanks for the feedback, I shall bear this all in mind. Might go for the holiday rental as it does appear to be more lucrative. If thats the case though looks like i need a good website!

Cheers

Rob

[Eslier]

Not so sure about "lucrative" Rob !

If you go for long term rental, then say, for example, you get around 500€ per month but the tennant pays all the bills for electricity, water etc. and also pays the Tax d'Habitation.

If you go for holiday lets then you might get 12 weeks at an average of 500€ per week which is the same income but don't forget you then have to pay all the bills, it's likely to cost you in the region of 50€ per week for someone to do the changeovers etc. and then you've got marketing costs. You'll be lucky to see around 60% of your holiday let income as profit. If you've got a pool then your average rental rates will be higher but it's still not going to be "more lucrative".   Holiday letting is not easy for absent owners but can help pay the bills and at least you have use of the house when you want it.

[robster]

Hello,

thanks for the advice. I think best bet for me is to start with holiday rentals, if we decide to do full time rental we will decide later. No pool unfortunately ...I wish! :-) First up it seems we need a decent website and and a few hours of elbow grease to get the place sorted. Have a few holiday rentals under our belt and then see if we want to go long term...

wish me luck!

Rob