Where would you spend the money?

[Blue Shutters]

So everybody's budget is different (and ours has shrunk dramatically having been caught out by the crash in the pound, not that it was large to start with!) and not many people have a "no expense spared" budget. How would you prioritise the budget to get a place that needs "freshening up" up to a good quality rental?

I have read the threads on "upscale" and "luxury" and am definitely for the upscale luxury on a very limited budget look, but where is economising not an economy long term when renting out the property? We have convector heating, is investing in a woodburner with back boiler worth it for what is essentially a summer rental, or would you spend the money on better furnishings? Economising on time is also a factor (we have limited time) so is getting the shutters into good condition and repainting them blue worth doing for the "look" or only to be worried about from a preserving the fabric of the building aspect? Could that wait until next year.

Where would you spend the money and time, and what isn't worth the money/time in terms of rental return? (as opposed to long term capital gain, eg the heating!)

[Margaret]

Our priorities have always been kitchens and bathrooms - replacing anything which 'looks' well used because it almost certainly doesn't look hygienic. You can smarten up most other places very cheaply with a combination of Ikea and flea markets and very sharp eyes for special offers. But don't stint on the K&B - new cutlery and pots and pans work wonders.

[pepsipuss]

I agree with Margaret about K&Bs and they don't have to be fancy and white is definitely the right colour. Also I would not skimp on proper matching sets of linens and nice quality towels (please don't let this be the start of another towel thread!)

[Martha]

I would get quality linen for sure. it makes such a difference. I'm just researching ours at the moment and picked my MIL's brains as she knows loads about it. She has just got these from QVC (wahey!)
http://www.qvcuk.com/ukqic/qvcapp.aspx/ ... k.yah.UKHG
and I must say they are lovely quality. I am thinking of getting them - 65 pounds for a 6 piece set is not bad for good stuff I think. BUT it may be worth hanging in there for the January sales. Also I was thinking of getting organic cotton and this place seems to be a good price. I need to do a bit of research on it first though.
http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Beautiful-Linens

I know Ikea is a hideous nightmare but you really can get good stuff there for not too much money, it can be very fitting and it can save a lot of time too. They are currently doing a very pretty looking plate range too. Tempted!!!
http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/30057882

To save time, you can choose it in the UK but order online and get it delivered in France though this has its own set of pitfalls - make sure you have time to go and pick up something that doesn't arrive. It saved us a lot of problems though. Maybe you could get your caretaker (when you find them!) to meet the delivery and check everything is there before you come out.

Ebay.fr is great for characterful stuff when you don't have time to get to flea markets

Amazon regularly do half price deals on Le Creuset - I think there's one on now - or the IKEA fake le Creuset type pans are pretty good too - we have a couple and I must say they are wearing no worse than the real thing so far.

Advice from someone I know was - don't stint on things that get touched a lot.

I seem to remember from staying in a lovely blue shuttered house that theirs had been done with the traditional paint (based on a woad-like plant) and it was a wonderful colour. I would spend some time sourcing and researching the paint...for me, this is something that could wait - I looked at the pics and the shutters look fine though of course it's not close up. It looks amazing and I wish you the very best of luck!

[Ju]

Right I am going to stick my neck out here.

Priority number one (and 2,3 and 4) is ANYTHING which improves the look of your property on the photos.

There is not point in having a great property if no-one comes to stay. (I'm assuming advertising is on a seperate budget)

So with this in mind the shutters may well be a priority, along with garden furniture, pots for the patio etc.

Once these are out of the way the next priority is anything which actively improves peoples holiday. Comfy beds, hot showers fluffy towels etc.

It is only once all these things are out of the way that you start to look at the added luxury extras. If you think a flat screen tv will improve the look of the photos for example then go ahead, but it won't necessaryly improve anyones holiday (assuming there is an ordinary TV).

So write a list of all the things you think need doing then put them into these catagories. The only other items I would include are essential maintenance such are roofs - but then it could be said to improve ones holiday if the roof doesn't leak!

Good luck.

Ju

[Moliere]

Lots of good advice here. Agree with Ju that things which look good on your ads are crucial, agree with Margaret about k & b presentation, and to add my own = good beds!

We spent a fortune on good beds, because a poor night's sleep can ruin any holiday (and of course, you must say that you've done this, otherwise they won't know!)

Agree about the shutters and geraniums as well, by the way - it's all a package, always remember, you're selling the dream (for two weeks at least).

Mols

[Blue Shutters]

This is great, I am so glad we are thinking along the right lines, and IKEA is a nightmare and even DH, the biggest IKEA hater in the world agrees that a lot can be done for minimal spend if IKEA is attacked with a plan, especiallly kitchen ware and bright and cheerful cushions/table clots/throws etc for the black leather sofas that are a bit out of character but cannot be replaced.

All 4 bathrooms need finishing off to some extent, and unfortunately two have slightly twee "frilly" baths (fluted edges) and remind me a bit of Aunt Ethel's style (not wanting to catergorise any Ethel's out there!) BUT the tiles are white and clean/new grout, some work to box in pipes and to have the one half installed shower plumberd in. So all white and clean, but just a bit "English B&B" of the old school (NOT LMH B&Bers!!) The bathrooms are all staying as they are fairly new (very new in one case), just a shame a hip bath wasn't plonked in the middle of one, and a wet room with slate floor or similar in another. I think we can paint and "dress" them, although one shower room has some very red painted walls and what looks like brand new red tiles, rather racy and probably the red paint will stay.

Same with the kitchen with those limed oak units...... the iffy wallpaper is coming off definitely and lots of fresh paint. The odd dangling light unit that looks like an extractor fan that isn't can also come down to open up the room.

[goosie]

My top things would be:

top quality mattresses - it is probably the single thing that people comment on when bad so that is number 1

ditto linen and towels

some hi-spec `look good` things but they don't have to be expensive. Consider your look and use the homes magazines to go for that feel throughout. A fair bit of our extras are from Ikea but set amongst the high quality of other things they look good rather than cheap (and are easily replaceable).

enough cutlery and crockery for everyone plus a spare set - people don't want to wash up for every meal.

comfortable sofas!!!

[Giddy Goat]

Hmm, well I don't want to stick my neck out here, but although I like the idea of blue shutters, if the existing white ones are fine for the moment, it's a big house, hence a lorra lorra shutters! So I'd be inclined to leave them for the time being myself and fcus on the must-do's.

Our house has off-white shutters, and they look fine, elegant even to some - certainly haven't harmed bookings, and our Virginia Creeper looks pretty dramatic against them BS.

[pepsipuss]

Definitely the beds - if you suffer from a bad back there is nothing worse than a bad bed and if you don't suffer when you arrive, you will before you leave ifyou have to sleep on a saggy, lumpy mattress.
Agree on the spare crockery etc - especially important in smaller places with dishwashers for reasons of economy of water and electricity or they will wash with a half-full machine!

[Blue Shutters]

We've stayed in the gite that lived up to expectations on external appearance, view and pool, with the most awful beds (and that was the year before my back was bad, perhaps that was the cause?) and although we took our own duvet covers and sheets, the only bedding provided was not duvets, as you may expect, but dingy old scratchy army blankets. The whole of the furnishings (except the salon, that was fine) decoration and state of tiny 1970s installed en suites let the whole place down, it was a dilapidated grand house to say the least.

Then there was the gite with the paper walls, not good when staying with in laws or friends! Bad location for that one too.

The gite where smoking was allowed, as we don't smoke and hadn't thought about a gite where smoking was actually allowed, and that was next to a main road too, but the owners thought it was quiet compared to central Nottingham! Each to their own as a definition of quiet.

So we are trying to rectify all of the above with our own place.

All the above great advice from LMHers ties in with our experiences, and what we are trying to achieve and NOT achieve too, nothing grand or precious just nice and a bit like a little realistic French Dream, my it will be good if we ever get that far!

[paolo]

I would go along with Ju: first priority, get people coming; second priority, get them coming back.

[Blue Shutters]

I would go along with Ju: first priority, get people coming; second priority, get them coming back.

Now that is a lesson in concise writing, very well summarised.

The "get them coming back" is a very hard one in my books, we have never been to the same place twice (except in laws gite) and find the concept of repeat custom from the same guests difficult to get our heads around. Yes "word of mouth recomendations" for increased custom would be the aim, it is ten times easier and cheaper to retain a guest than go out and find another one.

Seeing the booking patterns of the luxurious but reasonably priced gites owned by people here, I now see why none of the gites we have ever stayed in have warranted a return, the stupendous ones are booked as the guests are leaving the previous year, so in peak times the second rate properties are left if your holiday is not booked until spring at the earliest.

Or you get lucky and book one that is new to the market....

My list:

Pool security

Bright pots with geraniums dotted around pool, some attractively arranged outside furniture and parasol and a very thorough pressure wash of all terracing. A carefully styled du pain et du vin lunch laid out Paint one rogue wooden shutter white, wait for sunny day and take the drop dead gorgeous external photos!! (Geraniums at Easter, how do we achieve that? Can you get fake ones if desparate? Can we force them inside at home? I just abandon them in the garage each year and replant the sticks "hopefully" in May.)

Finish off bathrooms (one shower to install, box in pipes, finish tiling and paint. All very similar style so go with different colours (one is already red!) Good quality towels (just don't mention ze towels on LMH!!!)

Finish off landing flooring, paint plasterboard in one bedroom.

Take off wallpaper in kitchen and decorate.

Buy/make red or blue patterned oversized cusihions and soft furnishings (IKEA!!!) to brighten up living room, and a large canvas Photobucket prints for walls in main rooms. Postcard collections.

Work out if beds/matresses are good enough to keep, and choose good quality bedding.

Be ruthless in kichen and ensure pots, pans, cutlery and crockery are good quality but robust. Sleeping a maximum of 14 we will need say two dozen of everything. Repeated all in melamine/picnicware for outside. Test appliances!!

Light fittings (bare economy bulbs just now, IKEA again?)

Work on a great visitor "things to do file" with character, not something that looks like my recipe collection

Organise broadband

Reliable property management/cleaners are really top of this list.

New travel cot/s, high chair/s, booster seats and pushchair. Stair gates.

Inside Table/chairs to seat at least 12.

Broadband (as we will need it too and I think that's more of a draw than flat screened TVs etc!)

Give each room some character, depot vente, painted bedside tables etc.

Quite a list really, and that is probably the tip of the iceburg.

[Giddy Goat]

I seem to remember from staying in a lovely blue shuttered house that theirs had been done with the traditional paint (based on a woad-like plant) and it was a wonderful colour.

It's called Lectoure Blue in our neck of the woods Martha. Very pretty - just to confuse Fiona further!:lol:

http://tinyurl.com/5lja3t

[Blue Shutters]

Agggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

and there was I deciding I was going to change my persona to white shutters, with sparkling pool and red geraniums.....

that is THE blue of course GG!! LUSH......

(but I don't think I will get away wiith that price at 90E for 2.5l......)