Everything to do with using your own website to advertise your rental property. Design, usability, hosting, getting listed on the search engines, optimising your site, pay-per-click, etc, etc.
Alan,
I think it is slightly different if you live on site - I don't hesitate in having maps on the website and sending out directions to people (I do this when I send out the final invoice), but if I didn't and had no near neighbours, I would probably be more discreet.
Dont know about other countries, however, Pages Jaunes if you click on your telephone entry then on the may, you can view the area where you live, even down to your home, similar to google earth.
Again, its too good for the bad guys out there. A bit of fun really.
Are we going to be invaded by thieves, rogues and vagabonds?
There are many villas in Torreblanca that are occupied by the owners for only 6 months of the year (mainly during the Winter season) and we have had a few break-ins in unoccupied villas. In one local news paper report, the police on a 'routine' patrol (which is very rare) in Torreblanca found the front door of a villa open, only to investigate and find unwanted "house-sitters". The owners were of course oblivious until notified.
The other point is that we have availability calendars (which we religiously update) on the websites we advertise with, clearly showing periods when the villa is unoccupied, so having a location map of our property on our website would just invite trouble.
If you happen to live on site then this sort of problem shouldn't arise, but if you don't then you are open to theft or squatters. We don't live on site and are fortunately only a 5 minute drive away, however during low season when we don't get any bookings there is still that concern that our unoccupied villa could be targetted by thieves.
Alan Knighting wrote:What's the secrecy all about?
There have been a number of break-ins in our region, and it would be pure stupidity on our part to advertise our house, with photos and details of the dates when it is unoccupied along with a nice clear map pinpointing its exact location...
France may be a lovely place to live but unfortunately Alan I think you need to take off your rose-tinted spectacles - it is not without its fair share of "thieves, rogues and vagabonds".
I have a multimap link which shows the general area where my cottage is. You can use multimap to locate your area, then copy the complete url and paste it as the link into your website.
I do agree with others on here that if you are not onsite all of the time it is not a good idea to show the precise location and current availability on your website. It's just inviting trouble. Has anybody considered the insurance implications with this? Would your insurers reject a claim where it was found that you had actively advertised precisely where your property was and when it was vacant?
France may be a lovely place to live but unfortunately Alan I think you need to take off your rose-tinted spectacles - it is not without its fair share of "thieves, rogues and vagabonds".
I don't think it is the colour of my glasses which is important.
It's more likely to be that I live in an area where the crime rate is relatively low. Also I live on site.
Nevertheless, I don’t want to tempt fate so only supply maps and location details on receipt of deposit.
