Overseas French Home Insurance |  | |||
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French Holiday Home Rentals
Introduction - a number of Britons have now invested in a French holiday home, prices are relatively cheap compared with UK property and of course you have the beauty and space of the French countryside to enjoy during the duration of your visit. Many people decide to rent their property out to cover expenses but there are a number of considerations that you have to take in to account. Your home must be prepared for letting, it is a good idea to contact a local solicitor that may help to make you aware of all current regulations with regard to the letting of property in France, you should not assume that the laws and requirements will be the same as in the UK, they are not. A solicitor should be able to recommend a suitable short term letting contract and they should also be able to make you aware of any local letting taxes that apply to your property.
Property with Swimming Pools - In particular and in response to some tragic recent accidents legislation has been enacted governing the use of swimming pools. If your French home has a swimming pool, you are going to have to make sure that you have all of the safety measures in place. In case you are not aware of the fact, the law insist that all pools are fitted with certain safety features. We recommend that you take advice from a professional pool maintenance company but the following are the gist of the regulations:-
NFP90-306. pool safety barriers and gates- the barrier which could include the sides of buildings and walls must be at least 1.120 meters high and non climbable. The recommendation is that the barrier is no less than one meter from the pool
NFP90-307 an immersion or perimeter alarm system must be fitted and to be audible in all properties that use the pool
NFP90-308 safety cover or NFP90-309 pool shelter to prevent a child falling in, the device to support a weight of 100 kilograms
Protect Your Holiday Home -if you already have taken out french property insurance, you should have a word with your broker to make sure that your policy can be extending to include letting to tenants. It is essential that you check the scope of your cover as you may find that you have inadequate liability protection cover. As with letting property in the UK, France is no different, you will need to bring your homey up to scratch and some of the professional letting sites insist on certain standards before they will consider advertising your property for rental. You may also have to commit to let your property via them for a period of sometimes as much as three months, of course this may include the very months that you may want to use the property yourself.
Research and Planning - there is no substitute for local knowledge and if you are staying in the property yourself, you can soon build up a data base of useful local information and you may even be able to source a good quality French letting agent. The fees charged will more that you would expect to pay in the United Kingdom so make sure you are going to get a good return on your investment. If you do not wish to use the professional services of a letting agent, you will need to source a reliable cleaner and arrange for someone to meet your greats to hand over the keys. A simple website offering details of your property is also a good starting points and sites can be constructed quite cheaply, you may even be able to do it yourself. Don t forget to include as much information as possible, remember you are attempting to sell your property to holidaymakers. Include all the features and benefits of your property and don't forget to mention all the local attractions, beaches, activities etc. Include maps and proximity to ferries and airports etc. Try to obtain an outline of the type of person you are trying to let your property to. Think what they will be looking for and try to include as much information relating to this as possible. With your own website, you can take out small cheap text adverts in local publications or papers in the United Kingdom. A network of family friends is usually also a good source of rental potential
Maintenance - Now you are ready to let people in to your French home, you want to make sure that they enjoy their holiday as much as possible. People will not expect your property to be fitted out like a mansion, they are on holiday, want to relax and enjoy themselves and long as it is clean and everything is in working order you shouldn't get too many problems. The best advise i could give to anyone wanting rent out their home, is to make everything as easy as possible for your guests, include all the instruction books for the appliances, I have had many hours of fun on the continent trying to tune the channel to English speaking channels, only to find out that this is not possible, it's much easier to tell your guests, “ The TV receives 6 channels and they are all in French” For most people, they will not be regular visitors to France and may be unfamiliar with your particular area. In your welcome pack, remember to include all relevant information such as emergency services and little things like where you can buy coffee and a pint of milk after 9 O clock at night. If you manage to make your guests holiday a success, they will probably want to come back time and again, they will also recommend your holiday home to their friends and in a short space of time, you could find yourself in a position of not having to advertise but being able to rely solely on recommendations.
Legal Advice - All of the above information relates to the letting of a holiday home on a short term basis. If you are considering renting the property on a long term basis, you will need professional advice from a local solicitor. The letting of French property on an unfurnished basis is subject to much regulation and you need someone experienced in this matter to discuss all of the issues.