The long term trends look poor. There are 500,000 English owned properties in France thats half a million families that will no longer be renting holiday cottages in France.
We have to say that it doesnt quite feel like that for us. Every year we seem to manage sufficient fullness to be happy with the outcome. Even this year when summer was rained off and we had to pay French taxes for the first time.
As inveterate holiday cottage renters in earlier times we decided upon several things when we started on the venture:-
1) A holiday cottage does not have to be big enough to live in just big enough to be enjoyable for a fortnight. Small really is beautiful.
2) The things that go wrong or are missing are the things you would notice yourself, so at the start we made a list of all things wed ever wanted in a holiday cottage and provided them all. Next we decided to live in our gites from time to time so that we knew their failings. Sometimes we have been aghast that people have not complained about something or another that weve realized is wrong.
3) The holiday cottages had to be sufficiently comfortable and welcoming to be a place to live in ...