French Gite or Long Term Let In France?

by Steve Ellis
Co-Founder of LetsRentPropertyInFrance

Being a French property owner myself and quickly finding that I had a 'spare' house so to speak got me to asking myself, should I let it short term as a rural French gite or aim for a long term French property let and save on the hassle of weekly change-overs possibly having to pay for a key-holder or other form of property management service.

I'm still undecided to tell you the truth and having tried both approaches have found benefits either way.

French Gite
Certainly this can be very profitable but it is only a short term option, better if you are nearby and unlikely that you will be able to consistently rent out your French property for more than a few 'prime' weeks of the year. The main benefits are probably to be found in the summer months depending on your region:

• Low heating costs <-- I have no idea why the font here is different... <--- and here????
• High weekly rental rates
• Hot weather and lots of local attractions open (so your guests are out most of the day) :O)
• erm......
  

Having owned a holiday home in sunny Cleethorpes and found that after ten years the only person renting it was Mr. Kenzo Spagg of Purley who came three times a year to spot strange objects on the beach the idea of letting it long term began to appeal, obviously not to Mr. Spagg though who ended up in jail. It seems that him flashing his torch into the dark waters of the Humber at night wasn't as innocent as first thought.... Just goes to show you never know when HM Customs Officers are out and about. But, I digress.

Long Term Let In France
Possibly not as profitable in the short term but the long term benefits of a long term let can outweigh any financial rewards.

• Security for your property, possibly year round.
• A steady, albeit slightly lower, monthly income.
• If you're lucky, you let to a person who loves gardening.
• Creation of a little income for a local person to manage your property

For people who have a secondary property on the same land as their primary residence a long term let could become invasive and indeed a total pain in the *%@# not worthy the few quid a month you may earn. Come the winter time the possibility of a heating malfunction or power cut (not unknown in rural France, and not unknown to last several days) could have your tenant clamouring at your door for resolution, refund or even your first born...

Difficult choices to make but it's worth trying both options to see what suits you.

For me I'd rather win the lottery but seeing as how I haven't bought a ticket for 5 years it's unlikely.

Happy letting.