hastobe Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Question for second home owners... How often (i.e. weeks per year) do you get to visit your French home? If your time in your French home was limited - at what point would you consider selling (i.e. consider that the house was no longer worth keeping)? Does anyone have a house that they have only bought for retirement but in fact rarely visit?Is letting a second home really worthwhile? We didn't buy with the intention of letting but rather as a place to retire to (OH retires in five years time) but in the meantime using the house as a holiday / second home. However, a combination of work commitments, family issues and the kids vociferous pronouncements that they dislike France and all things French (our children are teenagers who have holidayed many times in France but now consider France to be 'boring') means we are hardly spending any time at the house - or are likely to until we retire. We thought about letting the house but are very leary about longer term lets. The short holiday season, hassle of letting, potential damage to property - together with agents fees and tax (we are both higher rate tax payers in the UK) makes its seem hardly worth the return to consider shorter lettings. The main aim is still that it is our retirement place - but it seems such a waste to have the house empty for 50 weeks of the year. We wondered if anyone else had found themselves in this situation?Kathie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarkkent Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Certainly not as much as I would like to. There is no way that I would ever let my house, so it stands empty when I am not there.I bought my house 13 years ago intending it to be for retirement. Shortly after we bought the house, my wife was diagnosed with cancer and given two years to live - in the event she survived for nearly eight years.During her last year, when we had both retired, we spent about 13 weeks in France, since then I have spent between 8 and 10 weeks each year until last year. Last year I met someone with whom I have become very close. I had expected that she might be pleased to be able to spend time in France, but find that she has very little interest in spending time in my house. In fact, she cannot see the point of owning a house in France. I am caught between the pleasure my French home gives me and the comfort my new relationship gives me. I want to spend time in my maison secondaire, she would rather I take foreign holidays and go on a cruise. So far, she seems to be winning (but I don't like the idea of being stuck on board a ship for weeks on end - time spent on ferries sends me demented.)I am determined to spend part of April in France - but I may have to be alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pierre ZFP Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 In reply to the first post - It was for exactly those kind of reasons that we decided to buy a place right up in the North, only 60 Km or so from Calais. We know several people that only manage to get to their houses a couple of times a year, say once in the summer and again at Christmas. That seemed a complete waste to us so while a place in the sun (our ideal would be somewhere down towards Biarritz) we went for accessability and not regretted it one bit. We still get hot summers, are 20 mins from the coast and in deepest France despite being so close to Calais. I go there every 2nd or third weekend and longer when job permits so I feel I'm getting good use out of it and not spending every moment on maintainence, because of disuse, when I get there.EDIT - No I would not let it but are happy for family and close friends to stay there from time to time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 all I pray for now is a bit more global warming and it will be happy days[:-))] Yes.... News at 10 are reporting that 2007 will be the hottest year ever. Anyone want to buy my house in France? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TWINKLE Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yes - but you haven't got my fabulous company on tap 24/7 in Wales[:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I am quite happy keeping you in Cyberspace thank you very much Twonkle[:P] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tresco Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 [quote user="hastobe"] The main aim is still that it is our retirement place - but it seems such a waste to have the house empty for 50 weeks of the year. [/quote]We never went down the formal 'renting out' route, and having read some horror stories here I'm glad we didn't. Also, having experienced the perils of letting friends and family use our previous house here, I would avoid that too.[;-)] If you're hoping to retire here in 5 years, and love the house and location, you may as well keep it. Buying, selling and moving house isn't going to get any cheaper.Once your children are old enough to go on holiday alone or with friends families, you may find you are able to spend more time there before retiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blanche Neige Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 HastobeWe pretty much retired and visit our maison secondaire quite a lot. Our children have flown the nest long ago so although they enjoy coming to visit from time to time we do not have to think about taking them with us when we go on holiday. We have managed to let the house quite successfully during the school holidays and some off season weeks as well, this helps pay the running costs. This makes us feel better as other people can share the pleasure and enjoy staying in the house also it is not shut up for months on end (better for the house and better for the village). Touch wood we have been lucky so far with the people who have rented the house.We always make sure we block off the weeks that we want before we advertiseI agree with Just Katie we too have a good life in the U.K. as well as in France. We have no plans to live permanently in France. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hastobe Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 Seems we are not alone - either with our french home or our kids!!! I have to be honest, we would be very reluctant to sell - even if we only made it for a couple of weeks a year. We now wonder if, perhaps, we would have been better waiting 'til we had retired but we didn't so...My brother and his wife are using the house for a week or so early this summer - and we hope to visit for a week ourselves later on so that's a couple weeks or so this year. Hopefully we can get another weeks visit at Easter - we just go when we can. Unfortunately, living in Normandy wouldn't help us much, Pierre, as we are a five hour drive from Calais. France is a long journey for us - which ever part we went to - so we thought we may as well go where we liked!Kathie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 We make five visits a year for a total of eleven weeks. Kids and friends use the house for three or four weeks, so it's merely a bad investment, not a disastrous one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Katie Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Oh to be a teacher eh? [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Smith Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 A positive choice, based on my mother's wise words, "Indoor work, good holidays and no heavy lifting." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisb Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 We manage 6 or 7 visits a year ranging from 4 days to 2 weeks. We also get the occasional use by my son and his pals.We felt we wouldn't like to do lets because wouldn't like the necessity of having to leave the place all spick and span for the paying guests. Not that's it an absolute tip - but we certainly don't clean on our departure to the level needed for renting. If our last afternoon is a perfect day for gardening and a barbecue then the cleaning loses out with very little soul searching.Retirement will come in 5 years - unless redundancy strikes first and we are hoping to be able to spend most of the time from late Spring to early Autumn based in France, though taking the odd short break elsewhere in the country. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitzen Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 I had already replied to this when I tried to post it, it got obliterated - this time I will copy my words of wisdom before I post them!!We bought a house a year ago in preparation for our retirement. Having spent 27 odd years in service of Queen and country, we found we couldn't afford a decent house in the UK; fortunately our experience of living in many different countries meant we could broaden our horizons! So we plumped for France - our children are for the moment settled in Germany and England - so we went for the F in France, which puts us in the middle! (If you understand what I mean) We don't rent the house out as we live in Germany at the moment and I drive down (6 - 7 hours) during any school holidays (I'm a supply teacher) while my husband comes down when he can take leave. We are quite happy for family and friends to stay in the house and are fortunate enough to have good friends who live 10 minutes from our house and keep an eye on it, collecting and sending on any important post. We hope to move in permanently by the end of September 2008. [:D] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jollity Farm Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 We Bought our house in May last year and managed about six weeks in total last year. I hope to be able to go out for a week every 2 months this year. We are preparing for the big move ( but cant get rid of the kids, they're just too damn comfortable at home!) hopefully later this year or early next, husband already employed in France... watch this space! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nearly Retired (I am now) Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 I work from home and am even doing less of it every year. The french house is not rented out and we could be there maybe 300 out of 365 days a year if we wanted. But, and I don't know why, something always crops here in England letting us only make last minute dashes for a few days or so. I suppose we get from S England to 17 around 5 to 7 times a year for visits ranging from as short as 5 to as long as15 or so days. The 5 day trips are a challenge though - 12 hours to get there, 3 days to recover and 12 hours back.Most of the visits seem to be in the winter too - strange. The last time in November we planned to go for a week and then came back. Two days later the roofers told us they could start and we went back again for 3 days. I don't think the car engine even cooled down for the fortnight. We're back again in a couple of weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sprogster Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Hastobe, I think you have identified one of the main problems of a second home in France in that it can tie you down and limit your travel horizons and because of that, is one of the principle reasons people end up selling.I would imagine that your situation is all too familiar with a lot of second home owners who are struggling with reluctant teenage children, or as the years go by an increasing desire to go somewhere different as boredom grows with the same destination and routine.A possible solution is to move to another area of France when boredom sets in, to try and reinvigorate ones enthusiasm with a new project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KathyC Posted February 1, 2007 Share Posted February 1, 2007 Why not use it for house swaps? You could then holiday in a variety of locations without having to pay any rent. We've done it with our own home (which may not be everybody's cup of tea) but swapping an underused second home in France would seem to solve many problems with minimal inconvenience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hastobe Posted February 2, 2007 Author Share Posted February 2, 2007 House swaps is what we are doing at the moment, KathyC- and we think its a great way to travel. It means the kids can visit (more) fun places (in their opinion!) to France but our holidays still only cost us the price of the travel tickets. Our main holiday this year is a swap with a family from Iceland (the choice of the boys who want to see glaciers, geysers and whales!). We plan to continue doing this even when we do retire, as it's a very cost effective and fun way of travelling. Having had very full careers we think we are going to find the transition to retirement hard (after the initial few weeks of tranquility!) never mind a retirement to a relatively quiet French rural backwater! Bizarrely, though our current swaps are all with our UK home rather than our French one - so our French home still isn't 'providing' the bulk of our holidays for the next couple of years - so our French house will still be sitting idle! Hopefully, this will change in the future as it is more of a pain to swap your main home - and we would then feel the French house was at least being used more - albeit not directly by us.My upbringing was always 'not to waste anything' - and it does irk to have the house idle but as others have said, we are very reluctant to have the hassle of letting the house. We wondered if we were the exception in this regard, as we read so often on here of people buying with the sole purpose of trying to make an income from rentals. Its reassuring to know that many others are in the same boat! We really love our house - and wouldn't wish to sell. (Plus the transactions costs in France are so high we would really lose out!) I guess we need more holidays....and no kids [:-)]Kathie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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