Quillan, and to a lesser extent Limoux, are not in the "wind tunnel" - you're right to take the Tramontane into account, Martin, it's just as bad as the Mistral, avoid the triangle Carcassonne-Narbonne-Perpignan, it's the second windiest place in Europe, after the North of Scotland :-O
Get your French as good as possible before coming out here, you won't regret it ;-)
Hi Martin,
I lived in Quillan for 18 months, and close to Limoux for the past year. No hidden drawbacks from my point of view. Never hear about the Tramontane wind, and it's not a particularly windy region.
As a carpenter/builder, you've got the perfect profession for this neck of the woods. Building materials and house renovation generally are a lot more expensive here than in the UK, as are building services, so a lot of people bring stuff in from the UK and other countries. You'll hear a lot about bureaucracy, but it hasn't been a big issue for me - I've found that if you just get someone to help who is fluent in French, you can get most things done. There are people that will act as go-betweens to sort out official stuff, if needed.
You don't say how much French you have between you, but it's essential here, though I know people who've lived here over 10 years and still speak only a few sentences. But that will greatly curtail your enjoyment and integration. I arrived in 2013 with about 5 words, and can now stumble my way through a conversation, but still rely very much on the kindness and tolerance of the French (which I encounter every day here) to make myself understood.
Other people can advise you on renting out your holiday home, but it's not difficult to find people who are available for the work of changeovers, cleaning, etc.
Start planning your first trip, once you've been you'll have a much better sense of whether it's right for you or not.
I spent a month based in Limoux, and my bike and I got well acquainted with the brilliant cycling to be had. I started every day with an early morning spin around the Hills and was always amazed at the ease of riding and how safe I felt, compared to car-centric rugby mad Kiwi drivers!
I was climbing each morning one longish 5km pass enjoying the sunshine , I stopped at the top one morning to take some photos to find a tailback of about 6 cars waiting patiently for me to clear the narrow road. As they went by I got claps of approval and calls of encouragement. here in NZ it would have been a barrage of abuse and things thrown at me.
Don’t want to repeat myself but… Quillan is pretty sheltered by the hills, Limoux as well but to a lesser degree. the tramontane, and marin, make the narbonne/carcassonne/perpignan triangle the second windiest place in europe after the north of scotland. All the info’s there on the web, have family (aveyronnaise) living in carcassonne, been there for over 20 years and it still drives them mad - the wind that is 
It’s the local equivilent to the mistral, created by the same meterological conditions too, just funnelled between the massif central and the pyrénées rather than the massif central and the alps