We are in the process of purchasing a holiday home that will be our retirement home in hopefully not to many years. We plan to rent the property out in the summer months to help towards the running costs rather than looking to make money out of it.
Having read plenty of posts and been in three different pools in the last two weeks it has made me realise that I need to make the right choices and invest at the beginning to prevent problems in the future although I’m sure some will raise their heads from time to time.
Having had my Son suffer with sore (skin never had sensitive skin before) in one property to the point he didn’t want to use the pool but was happy to use a family pool 2 doors down that didn’t cause irritation as well as a saltwater pool at another property that we all found a pleasure to swim in. We have to get this right from the start.
Looking at Oxygen treated pools as well but have read that these may not be allowed in properties that are rented out? Maybe i have misunderstood this?
Hopefully the experience and guidance of people on here will get us in the right direction.
Also and pool builders you can recommend would be a great help.
Please directly message any who you would warn me away from using so not to cause the forum problems.
That’s a good point Stella. When we bought our place in 2004 we considered putting in a pool, did all the research, got quotes, etc., but decided not to because of the maintenance when we not here etc. Of course had we ever wanted to rent that would have been a disadvantage but we never did so saved a lot of cash an hassle (and probably the odd drowned sanglier).
Now as we’re spending 90% of our time here we’ve decided to put one in, nothing too big just enough to keep us cool, and signed up with Diffazur, who would also have been our preference back in 2004.
The principal advantages of a pool when you are renting are (1) increased attractiveness to potential guests and (2) higher rental prices. I take it you’re in Aude (I’m in Herault) and the pool was virtually an essential for the rental market, I found. My survey of prices (admittedly years ago when I started renting) indicated that comparable properties with pools typically charged about 40% more than those without. It is however essential to have a reliable maintenance person, who can keep it in tip-top condition and respond to problems. A useful website for would-be renters is LayMyHat, where options are explored and experienced renters can give their advice.
If the owner is only seeking to recover some of the running expenses of the property… rather than making an income out of it… I truly do not see “lack of pool” playing that big a part. But it will depend on the finances… and we all see things differently… have different priorities…
Around here… those who rely on Rent as their Income… spend lots of money ensuring that they offer first class “everything”… and they work hard, themselves, at maintenance etc etc… to keep the clients happy.
It’s not an easy way of making a living…
One January years ago, we went on assignment to South Africa and rented our main house out (I think there were some tax implications if one still had a habitable home, at home). Rented to a lovely couple from New Zealand.
We away about a year when my neighbour called me in SA to tell me that there was water running of our front door. On to a plane and back home for a look. The NZ couple had gone back to NZ for six weeks and not turned off the water, so a pipe froze and voila, all hardwood floors ruined (they looked like ski slopes), a few ceilings ruined and a strange variety of mould and mushroom growing on some walls.
The NZ couple came back and tentatively enquired if the could have their deposit back I’ll never rent again.
Thanks for your reply. What you say is a lot of what we have been thinking about this year and is all valid.
We have considered the need for a pool. For use on holiday a pool is a must. 37c today and we all wanted to get back to the pool. I know it’s a cost to keep it correct but we are not looking to make a profit when we are not in the property as by the time you pay for cleaning, key handover and the dreaded tax the money you get soon disappears. If it pays for itself is the important thing.
By the time retirement comes we hope th have got the place how we want it.
If we wait until retirement we may not be fit enough to do the work to get it that way.
Agreed on the rocky market. Between brexit and covid things are unpredictable.
Although some people are seeing a rise in french customers who are staying in France this year, maybe this will help those letting their home balance the bookings. My wife is french so she can deal with that side. If it’s. Just the three summer months half booked would cover our costs as well as the money wwe would spend renting would be in the pot as well.
we’re all coming from different angles… different experiences and mindsets.
It’s down to you to consider what’s been said… stir your own preferences into the mix and then come up with a plan… and go for it… so much fun lies ahead for you…
I’m tempted to say that applies to anything you do to your house, no matter how expensive or theoretically tempting. Mind you I don’t rent my house out, at least not yet, I might some day.
I know what you mean… we’ve done our place up … to our own standard… but notice that even folk visiting us (while we are there) do not take as much care of things as we do…
wouldn’t want to rent it out… I’d be a nervous wreck… wondering what condition it would be in when we got it back…
but, there are folk who do manage to do this quite happily…
I lent my house in UK to the visiting family of a friend (her parents brother and niece) they came from another continent and she didn’t have room, it was not even a rental so you would have expected them to be more careful if anything - never again.
Maybe we’ve just been very lucky, but all our guests have treated our cottage with great care precisely because they know it becomes our home during winter. It means it’s done to a level of comfort as a home and not “just” as a gite and we’ve had comments in our reviews about it being “home from home”.
Makes it a lot easier to attract bookings, as time has gone on, guests expect more not less.
If it is just a rental then I would agree but if you use it as well it’s wonderful.
If only one pool has caused irritation, it would suggest that is a badly maintained pool. The difference is very slight but very important on how you get the pool setup.
Salt chlorination is not allowed in rental properties. Oxygen treatment, please explain exactly who and what, there are plenty of snake oil pool suppliers out there.
You are absolutely right to commence planning the pool first but be careful as so many in the industry haven’t a clue. The look of your pool is down to you, the design and layout of the hydraulic circuit should not be left to a builder. Likewise water treatment requires a skilled water treatment engineer who understands pools.
Would you be able to post the official French government legislation please John as I know of many gites that have salt chlorination setups for their pools.
I’ll never rent again.
