Good luck to you, but don’t forget there are an awful lot of gites in the Dordogne and Charente departments, many run by British migrants catering for the British market. I don’t know the cost of using a management “company” to look after the bookings, cleaning, changeovers etc, but margins will be fairly tight.
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I have just seen an advert for our own gite in Trivy on Homeaway at the top of this thread!
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Jane - that’s because you must have looked at the ad yourself! The power of internet advertising - you’ll be shown ads relevant to your online activity.
It is an interesting time to think of investing in a rental property business in France without looking at Brexit, and while most of us can understand why you have had more than enough of the speculation going on (as have we all…) in business planning, the political and economic outlook should always be taken into account.
However, having run both a B&B here in France, and a holiday rental property, I can comment a little on the joys of both. The B&B is very hard work, as most people stay 1-3 nights, so you are constantly cleaning and getting up at dawn to provide an early breakfast on the last day as they head off somewhere else! However, we met some extremely charming couples from all around the globe, and it helped make ends meet at a time when our expenditure was quite high.
The holiday rental business was a LOT less work, as we mainly had 2-week rentals and so only a ‘deep clean’ every two weeks. We only rented to families, not groups of friends, as we found they looked after the property really well, and would do kind things such as stripping beds and emptying bins at the end of their stay. We also had a lot of repeat business, so must have been doing something right.
The important thing to say is that we were living in the property next door to the rental one, so while behind a high hedge, we were on hand whenever any help was required. Given people often leave their brains behind at the airport, there can be all sorts of silly little things that they need help with - up to more serious things like illness or robbery - and the fact we could respond quickly, know who to contact, and could translate for them whenever required made a huge difference. We could recommend outings or restaurants having chatted with them to see what they were looking for, and then book those for them. A simple task if you speak French, but a little daunting for some people to use the phone with limited French - a problem I could identify with as when we arrived in France I found the telephone a real challenge given how quickly the French speak when on the phone!
If you are not going to be around to meet and greet your guests, and not fully familiar with all the local services, bus routes, train, shops and with a good selection of local tradesmen who will value your business and respond quickly (for instance you need a good plumber who will come round very quickly if there is a leak and no means of isolating it…) then your guests could feel rather abandoned unless you have an excellent team on the ground to support them. That team will not come cheap, so you will have to give up a high percentage of your hard-found rental income to pay for them.
Your bills for maintenance, cleaning and laundry will be high if you are not there to do them yourself, and will be a drain on your income. As others have said, this can bring in some decent income, but in return for quite a lot of hard work on the ground done normally by resident owners who devote their weekends to changeovers and collapse into a heap once the keys are handed over, complete with a huge ‘hospitality smile’ when the incoming tenants arrive 3 hours later than planned and ruining any plans you had for your Saturday evening…
Recently friends still in the rental business have been concerned about a drop on their bookings as fewer people are choosing France for their holiday. Now, that will of course vary significantly region by region, so you need to get a feel for the real demand for rental properties of the type you propose in your local area. A good way to find out is to try and rent something similar to your proposed property yourself and watch online what bookings they have and what their availability is - in a good year, most of the weeks in high season will be booked out by January, so anyone still with lots of empty weeks for peak season when you look, for example, at the end of March is having issues with their occupancy levels.
Recent proposals on reducing Taxe d’Habitation for French residents is to be balanced by future proposals on increasing Taxe d’Habitation for properties that are not your main residence, so be prepared for significant hikes in the level of property taxes that you will have to pay. What seems cheap at the moment is not going to stay that way.
Do your sums carefully, and make sure that you can actually make the income you are looking for from this new business. Look at different occupancy rates on your profit levels, and how you would deal with large unexpected maintenance bills when you are doing your financial plans. Make allowances for discounting your rate to help fill the property in the early months and years.
Lots to think of, so don’t rush, but enjoy your investigations, and the very best of luck should you decide it is worth going ahead.
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I have Irish Citizenship, and passport… Although I have not run a b&B in the past, but used to take on foreign students learning English, when I lived in London, Manchester and during my time in Salisbury.
I had to provide them with bed breakfast and dinner, and understand totally how hard the work is.
I am not planning a B&B. we want something we can use from time to time, and to let out when we are not there.
We have other incomes, including a good pension, and rental properties in the UK so we are not dependent.
I am fed up to the back teeth of hearing about Brexit on the news in the papers, and all the conflicting information on it. ( I totally concur with your views on that)… and will be glad when it is a “done deal”, which is why I dont want to get into on here. It is such a full on emotional thing, and I will do my “due diligence” in regard to all that before I make my move.
In regard to your advice on how to check things Sandra, very helpful indeed 
I have a friend who splits her time between the US and the UK, and she has no issues. She is only allowed 6 months or under there, and that suits her down to the ground… So she does not have to be a US citizen… I expect France may introduce, if not already in place, similar rules.
I know France is not the same and also know things will change after Brexit… but really we are looking out for somewhere to escape to and any income will be a bonus…
But Sandra, Simon & Jane (and all those that contributed so positively to my request) your info is priceless in what we need to look for
From your reply it comes across that the most important thing to you is somewhere to escape to…so I wonder whether you should also look at an option of buying a place that is already renovated, and is just in need of adapting to your taste? You can find quite a few properties with a ready made gîte attached.
We actually wanted a project, but it was hard work and took several years. We enjoyed it, and made friends doing it as well as getting to know the local area (and a great plumber who now drops everything and comes running if we have a problem in the gîte-which is priceless). However adding it up afterwards it would have cost about the same amount to buy something ready finished.
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What a difference a bit of information makes. If you had mentioned that you had an Irish passport earlier it would have been so much better. If your partner also has one then you can ignore the B word altogether. What as shame you missed out that vital information and resorted to unpleasantness when other posters were trying to help by pointing out the problems and uncertainties. You posted that home was in Wiltshire, having Irish citizenship is something else.
It’s worth doing some research into the way that partners can be treated differently in France than they are in the UK. Being married or being in a civil partnership can make a big difference at times.
All of the people I know who run gites use the money generated to supplement their main income, none of them could live off their gites.
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I love renovating… it is a hobby of mine Jane… done all me own houses.
Glad to have been of some help. Being Irish is fabulous, lucky you! My sister’s 3 children have all applied for Irish Passports as their Dad is Irish, made me smile!
We have had rental properties in the U.K. and always done well with them - we had long term tenants, mainly from overseas on a 1 or 2 year contract, and the rental return was very good. With long term rentals in France you make very low returns, and take a huge risk as the rights of the tenant are extreme, everything is stacked against the nasty landlord. Take my advice (and that of the avocation we had to use in the end when we had an issue here) and don’t be tempted to go down that route, Stick to short term holiday let’s and you are reasonably safe.
In terms of overall return for your money, you would be best advised to get another property in the U.K. - you will make more on your investment and sleep easier at night. With the enhanced profits you can rent in France yourself whenever you wish. Only go the French route if you are going to use the place a LOT yourself and prepared to spend your own holidays there doing maintenance. The quality of the housing stock here is poor, so be very careful what you buy and where. Simple things, not next to a river (floods) not in the woods (fire) not in a dip (like a little Siberia in winter as cold air goes to the lowest place) … South side of the hill, not North facing etc. You will be surprised how many people get this wrong. Buy in winter in the rain, if you love it then, it can only get better in the summer!
Enough now, don’t want to put you off France all together (we love it here and no plans to move, been here nearly 17 years) but as finance is my ‘metier’, decide if this is a ‘heart project’ or a ‘financial investment’. Unlikely to be both, sadly…
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Jane… send by private message… 
Well in which case…off you go!
We too have done up several houses, which is why we wanted a project like this. However it was certainly more complicated doing it in France…administration and public services are not there to help you, and simple things like sorting our new electricity connection took months. There seems to be less of a culture of renovating houses (building a new one is much more popular) so a lot of things I took for granted are not available.
Final thought, garden maintenance services are phenomenally expensive, so be careful about the amount and complexity of land you buy. There is a reason why many french people had dead flat, square gardens with not much in them as most economical to mow with a ride on mower.
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It was a mistake! Trouble with iPads that they can be too sensitive so sent my signature as I brushed over the screen…
Wise words to check French sources. They appear to be more transparent than those from UK.For example at the moment they are discussing a large percentage rise in Taxes on second homes ( No it is not just for Brits as reported in some UK papers ) as Macron is hoping to reduce Taxes on primary residences.
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We are looking at property in France and have found the house taxes to be extremely variable and certainly not necessarily cheaper than the uk. Some are definitely much higher.
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The UK has also heavily taxed second homes, and councils no longer give discounts when they are empty, for even one month - full council tax is charged regardless. You are then charged more when you purchase another home if you already own one, with stamp duty, and also your mortgage is counted as profit not an expense , if you rent the property out. Clearly this is a tax against landlords, which is foolish as the councils are not providing enough social housing, … swings and roundabouts but hey ho
I live here and due to moving and then kids leaving home I have a couple of spare houses now that I’m considering either long term letting or using as holiday lets. I already let my ex family home in the UK There are so many complications letting in France I’ve been procrastinating over doing it for a while now and that’s with me living here, with a spare house next door and the other 18km away. Though being an overseas landlord of a UK house hasn’t been too bad (it’s a pain organising repairs, especially when the tenant doesn’t get on with the person doing them), I really wouldn’t want to be an overseas landlord in France from the UK and that’s for long term lettings. Short term lettings would be even more difficult.
I don’t understand why all that mention of brexit when it doesn’t affect you? It would have been better to say from the start that brexit is irrelevant since you’re Irish and so will retain EU Citizenship. However, though it may be irrelevant for most of the things we Brits with no EU Citizenship worry about, it’s still worth keeping an eye on developments because there are still things that could affect you just because you’ll be buying from the UK - whether free movement of capital is agreed to continue being a major one.
The planned increased taxes on second homes are for habitation tax and will affect you once the property you buy is furnished. It’s not going to affect all areas - only certains areas with a population of more than 50k which are having housing problems - but it’s certainly worth checking if the area you plan to buy is one of those as this can mean up to 60% extra on the tax d’habitation bill.
Finally, check whether you actually need to set up a French business structure to do it as it’s probably cheaper just to declare the earnings on your tax return and you don’t necessarily need to be paying cotisations which include pension cover, healthcare, sick pay etc .
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Hi Elizebeth
I haven’t read all the replies to your post, however we have a rental property in the Dordogne and our experiences over the last 30 years may be of interest, especially if your Wiltshire base is anywhere near Salisbury, our base. You both would be welcome to come round for a cup of tea and a chat.
Have a look at our website…
Www.lesbouleaux.uk
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And there’s talk of doubling some of these taxes, for non-resident owners. At the moment it will apply to cities but no guarantee they won’t roll it out later.
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You should look at the tax implications of how the group of buildings is set up. There are some regulations that work out the tax habitation and fonciere based on whether you have separate electricity and water supplies, or whether there’s a single supply. If separated, you can find yourself doubling or tripling your taxes. Definitely worth getting good advice from a tax expert before you start any work.
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Wow Paul, I live in Amesbury…lol, used to live in Salisbury near Milford Hill. How weird is that. We may take you up on that, as it would be most interested to touch base! Thank you for your offer, I shall tell my partner and let you know