woody2000 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 Dear Users,Apologies if this is posted in the wrong place, I note there are various sections where one might post this question. If there is one more suitable than this perhaps someone will be kind enough to inform me of it or a Moderator might move this.Anyway, the point of the post: My Daughter is about to undertake a trainee teaching post in France from October 1st to April 30th (approx). She will not be there for the Christmas break or any other significant school holidays. We are unsure of the exact location at this time but she is hoping for it to be in the mid France area. She has a little car and is very independent.We are looking for advise on how to procure a log term let of a little cottage/Gite/Apparetment for her. I have tried various sites but they tend only to entertain inquiries for up to 30 days and the rates are not appropriate. No need for a pool or any other tourist attractions. She is independent and likes her pricacy (like all 20 year old girls I guess). She speaks French of course and a little Spanish. Her English is pretty good too but she will use stative verbs as though dynamic in the present progressive.... I blame Mc'Donalds.... "I'm loving it"! Grrrrr I have also checked one or two 'long term let' sites but they seem to want slightly less for the winter months than they do for the spring.My mode of thought is this: Many little cottages are left empty off season and owners might want to make a little letting them out to cover heating etc and make a reasonable profit rather than hammering the price for three weeks and having it empty the rest of the time.I am no economist but I guess it would be about optimum pricing. A non holiday let in the area is about £400 to £600 a month but these are notorious hard to procure due to complicated paperwork and bureaucrats. Am I being unrealistic thinking £600 per month for a one or two bedroom gite or cottage? That is £4200 for the winter where a person might get no lets at all. I have looked at the calendar of some places and they have no bookings for that period. Any advise would be most welcome. Please, if my frankness offends it is not intentional, I am sure there are some would sooner see their place empty than let cheap for the same reasons one might agree with pouring away EU milk lakes.... So as not to kill one's own market and I respect that. Maybe I have the thinking all wrong so any advice from people who perhaps have had the same dilemma would be most useful. Just basic general advice if possible because she has not yet been allocated a school.Comments are welcome from British and French Owners.Many Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chancer Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 [quote user="woody2000"] My mode of thought is this: Many little cottages are left empty off season and owners might want to make a little letting them out to cover heating etc and make a reasonable profit rather than hammering the price for three weeks and having it empty the rest of the time.I am no economist but I guess it would be about optimum pricing. A non holiday let in the area is about £400 to £600 a month but these are notorious hard to procure due to complicated paperwork and bureaucrats. Am I being unrealistic thinking £600 per month for a one or two bedroom gite or cottage? That is £4200 for the winter where a person might get no lets at all. I have looked at the calendar of some places and they have no bookings for that period. Any advise would be most welcome. [/quote]I think that you are absolutely spot on with your thoughts, many French owners however just dont see it and charge significantly more for the winter months to cover the heating charges. I think however it is worth you making a proposal to them which includes the solution for the two problems that they are fixed on and incapable of resolving themselves, namely the heating bill and the tréve hivernale.If their tariffs are inclusive of heating propose a maximum figure in KWH's to be included in the forfait over and above that you will pay for the excess units, they will be concerned that a tenant will put the heating on full and leave all the windows open. If they demand a supplement for heating and I have seen €100 a week being asked well just propose a sensible figure taking into account the size of the property with again a maximum amount of KWH's.Regarding the tréve hivernale (tenants cannot be evicted during the winter months) propose that the rental contract is for a gîte or meublée de tourisme which will give them the same protection as a hotel, rent not paid = out on the streets. The maximum length of stay for such a contract is 3 months so your daughter will have to at least on paper leave for a weekend and then start another contract. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2000 Posted March 22, 2014 Author Share Posted March 22, 2014 Thank you Chancer,Your reply alone shows what a good decision it was to ask on this site. Your point about heatng is very valid and like the wheel pretty obvious now you mention it. For this reason I think we will look for a one/two bed place (to keep heating down) and agreeing a payment for heating is a good idea, in fact it could even be calculated pretty accurately. Maybe some places have a separate meter.I had no idea about the 'tréve hivernale'. I guess another solution would be to pay the whole tenancy upfront. That way the landlord is protected and so is the tenant due to the tréve hivernale. We were thinking along the lines of a long let on a gite or holiday let however as this avoids the other taxes so complained about in France.On the other side regards costs there would be no turn around issues and as she is just a single girl hot water usage would be less than with a couple or a group. In addition, becasue she has only to work 12 hours per week in her training she will be able to work part time so will be out of the house quite a bit. She grew up with aircon and is not like the thoughtless guests I know so many get... leaving open windows while the cool or heat the rooms. I think when we have a definite town in mind we will re post and see if we can find an owner to enter negotiations and come to some compromise. What I ca say is that the so called 'long term let' sites for France are not at all helpful.Thanks again for your response.RegardsWoody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard51 Posted March 22, 2014 Share Posted March 22, 2014 "as she is just a single girl hot water usage would be less than with a couple or a group."From daughter experience, not necessarily true . Chancer has really explained it well. Hope you can sort out the accommodation. Will the employers be able to provide some leads? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2000 Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 I take your point about the bathing habits of young women and 20 minute showers with me banging on ceiling!! What can you do?...Kids!! Can't teach them or bury them in the garden....The employers (British Council) can help I think but they tend to recommend uni type accommodation or lodgings... Don't cost Dad enough so she wants her privacy.... Just kidding, she's a great kid and we are keen she gets a real feel for France and to that end encourage her to find a place of her own (with my help). She is completely fluent in both English and French and has a good grasp of Spanish.... She also has a great work ethic and has always had part time work... She should be able to find a part time job on top of the training (which is only 12 hours a week) and we hope have a it of a social life. We plan to visit her regulatory and again a cottage or gite lends itself to such a thing. (We never shower and our bath is full of coal so perspective landlords need not have apoplexy over water bills).I will stay on this site I think and when we have a definite location shall bring the subject up again. I am sure there will be owners interested in discussing it if we could just narrow it down... With BC you go where you are put if you are lucky enough to get picked... In the mean time the site is very interesting and I will check out some other posts..Thanks for your comment.RegardsWoody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 [quote user="woody2000"]I will stay on this site I think and when we have a definite location shall bring the subject up again. [/quote]When you know where she will be going then you can also consult this site : http://www.leboncoin.fr/Just as an example I have input a town near to us with flats of 3 or 4 pièces ie 2 or 3 bedrooms and a sitting room. Although rental contracts for unfurnished are 3 years, in principal the tenant can leave at any time either by giving 3 months notice and paying the 3 months rent, or by leaving early but still paying the rental due. For furnished the notice is but 1 month.These are a mixture of mostly unfurnished but some furnished apparts in town just to give you an idea. Some have parking places.As it's a French site it's in French but it shouldn't be too hard to understand.http://www.leboncoin.fr/locations/offres/bretagne/?f=a&th=1&ros=3&roe=4&ret=2&ret=4&location=Toutes%20les%20communes%2056000Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richard51 Posted March 24, 2014 Share Posted March 24, 2014 And the T2, T3 etc designations of the accommodation quoted has adequately been covered somewhere on this forum recently.Being cynical, it may be quite difficult to get an extra job in France. There are lots of hoops to jump through. Again equally well discussed here (definitely not advertising). It will be an exciting time for her. And probably worrying for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody2000 Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Yes I am aware of some of the complications of employment in France and she certainly would not like to displace some more deserving French person .... Treaty of Rome aside!!. Apparently because she will be training in a school there are lots of opportunities for extra curricular lessons (tutoring) in English. She is also very experienced in restaurant and cafe work so there too may be the chance of some casual hours. Even some unpaid voluntary work will be good for her and give her the chance to get our and meet some natives... so to speak.Heck, she is just 20 years, speaks three languages has a car and is going to be set loose in France for 6 months.... If she can't have a brilliant time with that then she never will with anything... [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cendrillon Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 "Apparently because she will be training in a school there are lots of opportunities for extra curricular lessons (tutoring) in English."That may be the best way for your daughter to find part time work."She is also very experienced in restaurant and cafe work so there too may be the chance of some casual hours. "Casual work and strict French employment rules sadly do not go hand in hand.Voluntary work might be possible.I wish her well I am sure it will be a great experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody20000 Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Hello again users,A quick update on my question: First off I completely lost my log in details so have rejoined with the name woody20000.My daughter has, I am glad to say, now been accepted by the program and has been given an area where she can expect to train. It is Nantes. Not the city but the region so whilst I realise it does not narrow it down enough at least we have a good idea in terms of North South, East or West.It was her first choice so we are pleased about that.We will update again when we have the town or village and then we can make some serious efforts to find a cottage.RegardsWoody20000 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mint Posted May 20, 2014 Share Posted May 20, 2014 Nantes, lucky girl; it's a very nice city (yes, I know they don't call them cities over here) with lots of interesting things nearby as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody20000 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 Hello again,My daughter now has the area for her teaching visit. It is in the City of Nantes in the Norther Quarter. Any info, advice etc would be much appreciated. We are looking also for a two bed apartment or gite or cottage from October to April for her and for us visiting regulatory.Regardswoody Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suein56 Posted June 23, 2014 Share Posted June 23, 2014 [quote user="woody20000"] It is in the City of Nantes in the Norther Quarter. [/quote]The northern quarter is vast: at the last count there were approaching 24 000 inhabitants, half of them aged 29 and under.http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liste_des_quartiers_de_NantesSue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lehaut Posted June 25, 2014 Share Posted June 25, 2014 Our son (19) has just finished two years at Lycée Clemenceau (CPGE) at Nantes and thoroughly enjoyed it. he was surprised at first though, by the number of times he saw the CRS on the streets. He got his first taste of tear gas by just being downwind of one of the many "manifestations" that take place! Have asked him if any areas have a bad reputation for housing, the only one he knows is Malakoff, which is to the East. We have visited Nantes in our camping car several times, staying at Le Petit Port camp site. They also do Chalets which may interest you for week stays. There is a tram which passes just in front of the camp site, so you don't need a car to visit the city, the services (tram, bus and boat) are all included in a day ticket. Out of interest, he asked if you have the name of the school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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