BIG House holiday let
BIG House holiday let
while I'm here today I thought I might just run this past people and get there opinion. I have a BIG house by the coast and I don't know what to do with it, haha bet you don't think that's much of a problem. As some of you will know having spoken before I have some holiday flats but recently we have decided to do some thing different with our own house(used to foster young people but need to stop doing that now), my question is (although I've gone about it a long winded way) does anyone have any experience of letting large houses (9 bedrooms) as a large holiday let? Would it be viable? Who might want it? Any snags or pitfalls I might have with officialdom? Shall I just sell it and save myself the hassle?(I love hassle!) It's in the UK but maybe some of you French Chateau owners have some ideas? Anyway, I just like chatting to you all and would like your opinion if you have one.
'What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?
jude,
Are you willing to do some work on it, or would it have to be rented as-is?
I think that a lot of larger property owners often renovate their properties so that they can be rented not just as one big property, but also as several smaller apartments.
That's just my impression. We have just a two-bedroom house, so I can't really speak from experience.
My only experience with a large rental is from my cousin's wedding. She got married in Italy, and rented out an entire borgo for the guests -- she and her immediate family stayed in the 7-bedroom villa, and the rest of us stayed in all the smaller apartments in the borgo. It was wonderful. The property owners said that it's more typical for them to rent to several different (unrelated) people at a time, in different apartments.
Are you willing to do some work on it, or would it have to be rented as-is?
I think that a lot of larger property owners often renovate their properties so that they can be rented not just as one big property, but also as several smaller apartments.
That's just my impression. We have just a two-bedroom house, so I can't really speak from experience.
My only experience with a large rental is from my cousin's wedding. She got married in Italy, and rented out an entire borgo for the guests -- she and her immediate family stayed in the 7-bedroom villa, and the rest of us stayed in all the smaller apartments in the borgo. It was wonderful. The property owners said that it's more typical for them to rent to several different (unrelated) people at a time, in different apartments.
Brooke
Thanks
Thanks for your reply, think if I was going to go down the conversion route (planning permision, building regs, costs etc) I would probably sell the flats off and just keep one, I'm looking for a way to avoid doing that really and getting the place to 'pay for its keep'. But if all else fails that is what I will do.
'What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?
Hi Jude,
We have a house not quite as large as yours but sleeps 12 and I think it's getting more popular for extended families to holiday together so I think you'd have a fairly good chance of letting it out quite regularly as one unit. That would also be less work than letting out several units.
I think these days, holiday makers are expecting higher and higher standards so I would recommend that you renovate (if necessary), re-decorate and furnish to the highest possible standard. Also offer every possible facility and enhancement you can think of to make it stand out from the rest.
There are several rental listing sites that are specifically for houses that sleep 12 or more so it would be worth looking at those to see what the competition would be.
Good luck!:D
Kathy
We have a house not quite as large as yours but sleeps 12 and I think it's getting more popular for extended families to holiday together so I think you'd have a fairly good chance of letting it out quite regularly as one unit. That would also be less work than letting out several units.
I think these days, holiday makers are expecting higher and higher standards so I would recommend that you renovate (if necessary), re-decorate and furnish to the highest possible standard. Also offer every possible facility and enhancement you can think of to make it stand out from the rest.
There are several rental listing sites that are specifically for houses that sleep 12 or more so it would be worth looking at those to see what the competition would be.
Good luck!:D
Kathy
Thanks Kathy
You have made me feel a bit more positive about the prospect. Your place looks fab, why is it that everytime I look on someones site I want to go there myself? Maybe we should do some house swapping 
'What would I do if I knew I couldn't fail?
If you want to rent it out as a 9 bedroom let, you could try
http://www.thebigdomain.com/
they specialise in places sleeping a minimum of 12 people. Personally I find it difficult to let out our 6 bed place as much as the smaller ones - it is fine in the school holidays and weekends, but it definitely has a shorter season than the smaller ones I let out - but on the plus side, the income is much better! It may be different in the UK though, perhaps you could check out the availability of some of the properties advertised on the above site! If you are by the coast, surely that is another big thing in your favour.
http://www.thebigdomain.com/
they specialise in places sleeping a minimum of 12 people. Personally I find it difficult to let out our 6 bed place as much as the smaller ones - it is fine in the school holidays and weekends, but it definitely has a shorter season than the smaller ones I let out - but on the plus side, the income is much better! It may be different in the UK though, perhaps you could check out the availability of some of the properties advertised on the above site! If you are by the coast, surely that is another big thing in your favour.
Re: Thanks Kathy
Unfortunately Jude we only live in Plymouth so Exmouth isn't a terribly attractive proposition!!jude wrote:You have made me feel a bit more positive about the prospect. Your place looks fab, why is it that everytime I look on someones site I want to go there myself? Maybe we should do some house swapping
But thanks for the offer - however you're welcome to stay at our place!! Strangely enough, this year, although our house sleeps 12 we've had an awful lot of families of 4 staying there this summer and even just 1 couple with a 3yr old. All of them saying that they're not cramped at home and don't see why they should be on holiday -our house is so spacious though that you wouldn't be cramped even with 12. We had 14 of us there at Easter and there was lots of space.What Susan says is very true regarding a much larger wadge of cash for every booking with the larger properties!
Definitely worth thinking about I suspect.
Kathy
I don't think you would have any problem letting. We often like to go away with our friends, and for all of us to be together we need at least 6 bedrooms, preferably more. There is not much choice for this size of property, especially near the coast. You would cetainly be able to let school holidays, but you could probably let off season for long weekends. I think lots of people like to meet up with old friends, but don't have houses big enough to accomodate.
In terms of special arrangements, I can't think of anything, but you do need to make sure that you kitchen is equiped to cook for large groups and that you have a large enough dining table to fit everybody around. I personnally wouldn't split it into appartments, usually that means several small kitchens instead of one big one which is not as appealling.
We have two properties on one site, which we often let together, making ten bedrooms. The groups are usually extended family, and it is lovely to see the grandparents so happy to have all their grandchildren together at one time.
Good luck.
Ju
In terms of special arrangements, I can't think of anything, but you do need to make sure that you kitchen is equiped to cook for large groups and that you have a large enough dining table to fit everybody around. I personnally wouldn't split it into appartments, usually that means several small kitchens instead of one big one which is not as appealling.
We have two properties on one site, which we often let together, making ten bedrooms. The groups are usually extended family, and it is lovely to see the grandparents so happy to have all their grandchildren together at one time.
Good luck.
Ju
-
chrismooney
- Posts: 103
- Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 3:08 pm
- Location: indre,loire,dept 36
- Contact:
jude
we have someone near to us with 2 gites which in total can sleep 20 so perhaps on a par with your place.they were pretty much booked all of summer and started their season may and finished sept.seems to be a growing demand for large groups, families etc going on holiday together.don't know where your place is but common sense will tell you there has to be aspects of the region etc to attract potential customers to your area.also worth looking to see what other competition there is nearby, look to see what others are doing and the frequency of bookings to ascertain the practicality of your potential business....we did this in our area by checking out bookings on individual websites, and also just driving past and seeing when they had new visitors!! made us feel we were nosey but not breaking any laws!!
as someone mentioned, i wouldn't split the property up too much as seperate kitchens facilities etc can quickly hike up your renovation costs and break up what is probably a grand old building? am i right?
might be worth posting the question here if there are any legal, building,structural requirements about a place with as many rooms, others may be able to help in those areas, or if paolo doesn't mind me mentioning www.totalfrance.co.uk as there are lots of helpful info there as well.
we have someone near to us with 2 gites which in total can sleep 20 so perhaps on a par with your place.they were pretty much booked all of summer and started their season may and finished sept.seems to be a growing demand for large groups, families etc going on holiday together.don't know where your place is but common sense will tell you there has to be aspects of the region etc to attract potential customers to your area.also worth looking to see what other competition there is nearby, look to see what others are doing and the frequency of bookings to ascertain the practicality of your potential business....we did this in our area by checking out bookings on individual websites, and also just driving past and seeing when they had new visitors!! made us feel we were nosey but not breaking any laws!!
as someone mentioned, i wouldn't split the property up too much as seperate kitchens facilities etc can quickly hike up your renovation costs and break up what is probably a grand old building? am i right?
might be worth posting the question here if there are any legal, building,structural requirements about a place with as many rooms, others may be able to help in those areas, or if paolo doesn't mind me mentioning www.totalfrance.co.uk as there are lots of helpful info there as well.
chef who will try anything!!
Hi Jude,
I have 2 houses together in Torrevieja...just 2 modest 3 bedroomed houses...not a grand house like some.
But I must admit 90% of my bookings are for both houses together...they can sleep up to 16....I do rent them separately as well,
Im very pleased with the bookings Ive had and always seemed to get booked early[especially for the school holidays] As has been said for large family holidays...get togethers or just a couple of families.
On some of the websites I advertise on Im the only property/properties...offering that much accommodation.
There are so many 3 bedroomed houses especially in my area that I know I would be struggling if I only had the one....[most of my friends are disappointed with there bookings so far.]
I think if its a large group thats looking they tend to get organised earlier so work holidays can be booked etc....so thats a help as well.
Im not sure if youve mentioned where you are situated but if you look on some of the rental websites for your area and put in how many you could accomodate you can see what competition you would have and the rates there charging and there availabilty.
You could even google Large house wanted in XXXXXfor 16....see what comes up.
Hope this helps .
I have 2 houses together in Torrevieja...just 2 modest 3 bedroomed houses...not a grand house like some.
But I must admit 90% of my bookings are for both houses together...they can sleep up to 16....I do rent them separately as well,
Im very pleased with the bookings Ive had and always seemed to get booked early[especially for the school holidays] As has been said for large family holidays...get togethers or just a couple of families.
On some of the websites I advertise on Im the only property/properties...offering that much accommodation.
There are so many 3 bedroomed houses especially in my area that I know I would be struggling if I only had the one....[most of my friends are disappointed with there bookings so far.]
I think if its a large group thats looking they tend to get organised earlier so work holidays can be booked etc....so thats a help as well.
Im not sure if youve mentioned where you are situated but if you look on some of the rental websites for your area and put in how many you could accomodate you can see what competition you would have and the rates there charging and there availabilty.
You could even google Large house wanted in XXXXXfor 16....see what comes up.
Hope this helps .