Help us with decide about our house in France

knightstyle

So we have had to return to the UK and cannot sell the house we designed and built in France.
Should we go for a long, 6 to 12 month furnished let or try holiday lets?
We have someone near who would look after changeovers etc.
Plus which is the best site to advertise either of these on?

Alice_Walker

You need to look at how much profit each would yield. The long term let would be less hassle, and have less costs, but is likely to attract a lower rent. Is there a demand for lets (long or short term) in the location?

Why can you not sell?

richardw

Is the house north or south of Bordeaux ?
Is the weather wetter or drier than average ?
How easy is it to commute to a big town or city?

knightstyle

The house is between the Loire and the Dordogne, an hour from the coast. Very peaceful and built to take advantage of unspoilt views. We did have a long let but they did not look after the house or garden, broke mowers etc and expected us to pay for repairs etc.
just to add the weather is warmer and sunnier than UK but can be cold in winter. 28 degrees today.

Andypandyboy

So why do you think it is not selling? How long has it been up for sale?

It must have been your dream at one point, so what changed? That is a genuine question as we are thinking about buying another property in Italy to live in for a big part of the year when we retire.

knightstyle

We had to come back to Uk to care for elderly parents. House was our dream, we worked in france for 18 years. house for sale at just under £150k which is good for what the house is. But the only things selling in this area are cheap do uppers. Lots there for under £50k.
we are there at the moment and have one holiday let through family and then family come to stay. BUT we really cannot afford to run two houses on our pension.

pendragon_arther

You could advertise on Airbnb.com and the lets could be determined by you. But you'd need someone to do maintenance etc.

agrinnall

Do you think there is any possibility that you will want to return to live in the house once caring for parents has finished? If not then the real answer is to try harder to sell it, which will probably mean dropping the price to a level that meets market expectations, as it is clearly above that at the moment. If you do want to live there again then I would go for a long term let but be clear in the contract about what you will and will not do for the tenant (I don't know French tenancy law so the LL's responsibilities may be defined there).

peachyprice

I would put it up for sale at what you want and in the meantime advertise it as a holiday let with as many online sites you can Homeaway/Holidaylettings/Airbnb/Owners Direct/Casamundo.

The problem with long term lets in rural France is that it's a very limited market. The French aren't that interested in rural and Brits tend to want summer months.

martindow

Sorry to hear of your predicament. I'm not surprised there is a problem selling - British buyers who are jittery buying here will be doubly cautious with a foreign purchase.

If you go down the letting route you need to be sure of your tax liabilities and renting law. In a lot of Europe long term renting is just that with tenancies of several years and the tenant having the right to renew. No simple S21 type process at all.

It may be worth dropping the price as others have suggested to get a sale. Having this house as a continuing worry is probably not what you need.

richardw

Perhaps put a for sale ad in the back of one of those 'France' magazines that you get in WH Smith.