Sales Websites

[la vache!]

This is my effort (unfinished)! from so far today:

http://brittanygites.squarespace.com/

(Inspired by Jimbo's blog!)

[Jimbo]

... two of my neighbours have recently sold their properties by word of mouth ...

Alan, 'word of mouth' is one of those delicious three-word phrases that waft me back a gentler, more civilised time. ('Cheque in post' was another particular favourite of mine). I'd imagine that much French property in rural areas still changes hands in smokey rooms over a glass or two of the local wine between people who know each other, without an agent coming within sniffing distance.

Just before we left England, we sold a small ragstone barn with planning permission for a dwelling. An agent turned up one afternoon with a minibus full of couples on a property hunt. They crawled all over the building for 20 minutes, crashing into each other and then shot off to their next venue. They'd been on the road for hours. Did any of them make an offer. Of course not.

Maybe your own sales blog is the modern 'word of mouth'.

Jim

[Mountain Goat]

La Vache,

Excellent, concise, simple, to-the-point - I like it.

Might be worth sacrificing the name of the property in the title bar for something boring but Google seductive - Brittany Gites for Sale - or something?

Just a lonely (and crafty) grocers' apostrophe on the home page (before 'staggeringly') which will keep me awake until it's found a home, but otherwise, great.

MG

[la vache!]

Thanks MG! It is far from finished (but it's amazing what you can do in a few hours when you put your mind to it!) and I will no doubt be asking your cousin to help out with a proof read. Good point about the title, I hadn't even thought about making it Google friendly, more just as a reference, but will do that too. And of course get rid of the offending apostrophe tout de suite!

[Jimbo]

Like it too, LV. I'd be tempted to add a few quotes from your guests but that's just me.

Good luck.

Jim

[la vache!]

Added to the list Jim I've got to update the website quotes too as there are plenty more good comments to add from this year (fortunately!)

[Giddy Goat]

and I will no doubt be asking your cousin to help out with a proof read.

Any time LV, just say the word - it's looking great BTW!

[KathyG]

Wow! If only immobiliers could come up with something like that for all their properties - I would just so love to show them how to do it properly - that's brilliant Susan!

A few typos in case you haven't spotted them (I'm also a repressed proof reader...)

Home Page - You need a space at the end of the first sentence and a full-stop after Dinan. A stray 'to' in ....It is close to many to ports......

Les Chouettes - an 's' after 2 double.... a double bedroom.

Les Alouettes - an instead of a open fire.

Pool - You've spelt measuring 'mesuring'.

Sorry - just can't help myself!

I'm surprised though at the low price, would have though that Les Chouettes on it's own would almost have warranted that - maybe I wouldn't be such a good immobilier after all!

[Giddy Goat]

I'm surprised though at the low price, would have though that Les Chouettes on it's own would almost have warranted that - maybe I wouldn't be such a good immobilier after all!

MG is in for another sleepless night!

Sorry Kathy, it was irresistible! One of these days someone is going to catch me out on that one, it's just so easy to do.

[Jimbo]

If only immobiliers could come up with something like that for all their properties ...

Ain't that the truth. So many internet property sites are so bad as to be laughable.

Here's one that aims to be better, run by Bob Murray-Jones and his French wife Marie and aimed squarely at the UK market. We used his site when we were looking for a property in France three years ago. His descriptions were even more comprehensive back then, they've been curtailed a lot which is a shame. His photo coverage, however, is still second to none.

It can be done well but so rarely is. Which is odd because it's not as if there isn't plenty of money swilling around the property market.

www.smj-immo.com

Jim

[Giddy Goat]

Wow Jim - what a great example!! I only looked at one property - the first on the list - and immediately wanted it!!

[helene]

Looks good LV so well done - given that you were selling 'a business' I clicked on that button immediatley and found that there wasn't anything there yet. On that section I thought it would be useful to emphasise the variety of guests you get as that indicates you are not reliant on one country's economy for your business. Obviously as you said it is still being progressed. I liked the stats on the 2007 letting season and also think it is worthwhile saying how many weeks you also have in advance for 2008 and I seem to recall you also have 2009 bookings as that always feels like a safety net for any potential buyer.

You might also want to consider offering a handover period (which can be fraught) to help them handle what is quite a large undertaking with so many beds, etc. When we were looking at Amercan motor-homes one of the UK dealers invites you to spend 2 days on their premises while they teach you all the whys and wherefores of ownership. I know the business is different but again it is an added-value service that would be very welcome for most people and helps support the price differential.

Good luck with the sale - I would be interested if we did not have La Briquerie
Helene
PS You might also want to add something about the way businesses are treated in France (and how that can give you French health insurance) and how that impacts on income vs profit and also what time is involved as I have noticed that on the television programmes (home and away for example) they compare B&Bs with rental acommodation which to me are not directly comparable given the additional amount of work that is involved.

[Jimbo]

helene wrote:

You might also want to consider offering a handover period (which can be fraught) to help them handle what is quite a large undertaking ...

This is an excellent suggestion and one that could easily tip the balance with a nervous purchaser contemplating a move to a new country and having no experience of the rental industry. Like us when we moved here! I well remember that feeling of gentle panic when our sellers vanished down the road without a backward glance and our first guests were arriving at the same moment.

We'll do our utmost to ease our purchasers into residence.

Jim

[la vache!]

Thanks ever so much for all your comments and suggesitons of how to- Kathy - I've corrected and Helene - I've filled in the business page and added guest comments as you recommended.
If anyone has the time to look and add any further advice I'd be very grateful!
http://brittanygites.squarespace.com/welcome/

[e-richard]

LV, thats a great set of sales pages. Not too much text, but enough info to whet the appetite.
Am I imagining it, or has the price jumped a lot since we first saw these pages ?

I think I have spotted a significant omission:

If a potential buyer finds your site and likes what they see, how do they contact you ?