French Property and General French Interest for Francophiles

French Holiday Property Rentals for 2008

Are there any french holiday property owners out there? Have you started getting bookings for 2008 yet? Where are you pitching your prices compared with 2007?

I have gently increased my prices from a low base over the past 3 years and think that I will leave them alone for 2008. I'm going to actively market to those people who rented my cottage in years 1 and 2, as all seemed to have a good time and I figure that it might just generate a little more business - if not from them directly, then from people they know who might want a french holiday in 2008.

Labels: 2008, bookings, france, french, holiday, vacation

French Property Insurance

Does anyone have any advice on holiday property insurance for the french market? I have used 'Insurance for Homes Abroad', a company from Weston-Super-Mare for many years. I have never had to claim, and so I don't know how they would perform when I needed them most, and I find this a little concerning.

Labels: france, french, holiday, insurance, property

Hints & Tips for Buying in France #3 - Pay the right price!

Ok, so you have this dream to buy a place in France where you can bring up your young family and enjoy a quality of life which is not available to you in the UK - right? Well, despite what people may say about there being a price differential between the UK and France this gap has come down in recent years. There has been a bit of a property boom in France, due to both French and English (and Dutch and other nationalities) pushing up prices in a desperate attempt to get on the (2nd home) ladder.

Whether this continues or not is up for debate. What is for sure, though, is that buying a home in France is not as cheap as it was a few years ago. The cost of buying, in terms of taxes and other fees, is still quite high, despite having come down in recent years. This additional cost is so often not taken into account when comparing prices. We grumble about the cost of stamp duty, but this pales into insignificance when compared with french buying costs.

I'm a firm believer that prices revert to the mean over time. So, I look at a graph of, say, prices over the past 40 years, then draw a trend line through the graph. If current prices are above this line then I suspect that prices may fall in the medium term. If the current prices are below this trend line then I suspect they may rise in years to come.

So, my advice would be:
1. Don't rush into an inappopriate purchase - don't buy at the top of the market just because everyone tells you it's the thing to do!
2. Negotiate with the owner - they know that buyers are desperate to 'own the lifestyle' and can be very optimistic when it comes to pricing their properties
3. Remember to add the purchase fees - it's not unusual for this to add 15%-20% to your purchase price

Labels: france, french, increase, price, property

Une Vacance en France

Monday, December 03, 2007

French Holiday Property Rentals for 2008

Sunday, September 02, 2007

French Property Insurance

Saturday, July 01, 2006

Hints & Tips for Buying in France #3 - Pay the right price!