Wonder what advice there is re buying a gite business and leaving U.K
Reply to Carole.
The answer is yes.
But we have made many sacrafices to put us in the position where I can say yes.
Left everyone behind in UK AND see them from time to time....MANY of them are dealing with
uk miseries....SOME are still happy there.
But we have always worked extreemly hard....AND? for much of the time for peanuts....but a few wise
decisions here and there has brought us here.
Not perfect.....I MAINTAIN that nothing is.....especially my typing.
But the well run and special operations in my region seem to work....
The bakery which bakes bread in the wood fire oven, the small restaurant with
a goose as Maitre D and the wedding venue which is booked solidly bringing with it tourism
and chance for linking enterprise.
My region can not be unique.
SF AS A united force can help regions develope their possabilities.
Thus helping each other and our French neighbours and friends.
Might I suggest you start a discussion in this group? http://www.survivefrance.com/group/giteowners/
BUT IF IT IS really special then it can work rather well.
But by special.....I mean special in every sense of the word.
Hi Carole
Big question!
Speak to as many gite owners as you can find is about the best advice.
My business is selling gites and B&Bs so I have a fair picture of what the situation is here in the South-West. The rule of thumb is with one gite you can cover most basic costs (edf, gas, water, taxe foncière), with two you can begin to make money and with three you can think about paying off a mortgage. But the region is important as is location - view of the mountains, the fields or the neighbour's brick wall.
A basic question is whether to buy an up-and-running going concern or to start from scratch with a run-down farm. As prices are falling at present I would suggest the former approach. But don't expect to sell it on at a vast profit in a few years years ... prices will continue to fall or, at best, bottom out over the next 5 years. It's worth having an exit strategy from the beginning: some people dream of a new lifestyle but don't always anticipate the pitfalls/problems/accidents that occur to us all.
Visit as many properties as you can before making a choice : there's an awful lot of pretty blue-shuttered stone-built houses out there that look nice but are often in fairly boring/isolated/freezing in winter/inhospitable places!
Good luck! Simon
We have two houses we let out and have been "at it" for 10 years now. I am not saying what we have done is 100% right but if you want to send me a list of questions I will do my best to help, from our experience. Would you prefer to do this by private e-mail?
Almost an impossible question to answer without more information. Is it a going business, how well is it going? How many gites, where is it?
Most importantly do not expect to make a living out of a gite business - it should cover its costs and leave you with spending money but after maintenance, taxes, advertising, etc there is not enough left to live on from our experience.